PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER: THE MEK MANIFESTO
WE ARE ALL BEING LIED TO.
The fossil fuel, animal agriculture and manufacturing industries have spent decades and billions of dollars brainwashing us into their galvanised belief systems, facilitated by the advertising and design industries.
Cognitive dissonance and social conditioning keep us trapped in a cycle of aspirational consumerism, distracted by the lies we’re told by the world’s largest industries with billion-dollar profits, taxpayer subsidies and the power to enact laws that hide the truth behind their practices.
They treat us as consumers, customers, data mines, numbers and statistics while suppressing our individual autonomy as they run rampant in destroying the planet with immunity.
WE ARE ALL BEING LIED TO.
We have the right to know how products are made.
We have the right to know what happens in a slaughterhouse.
We have the right to know where our money is being invested.
We have the right to know if workers and supply chains meet labour standards.
We have the right to know how brands address sustainability.
We have the right to know how our purchases impact the environment.
We have the right to know which companies lobby the government.
We have the right to know the truth.
Advertising tells us what to believe, what to think, what to eat, how to look, how to act and who to love. It seduces us with buzzwords to make us feel good about doing our part for the planet as it drives demand for the endless consumption harming it.
GREEN.
CLEAN.
HUMANE.
ETHICAL.
ORGANIC.
FREE RANGE.
FAIRTRADE.
HEALTHY.
ECO.
NATURAL.
RENEWABLE.
SUSTAINABLE.
RECYCLABLAH BLAH BLAH.
WE ARE ALL BEING LIED TO.
Design makes products and services beautiful, engaging and convincing. Design also makes lies beautiful, engaging and convincing.
We believe designers have the unique opportunity to evolve beyond the outdated systems of the 20th century we still use to perpetuate the fallacies of the most damaging corporations of our time.
As architects of desire, we have a responsibility to make the choices that minimise the impacts of the climate crisis more accessible, truthful, and easier for everyone to understand, while being transparent about what we’re putting out into the world. Designers excel at problem-solving through innate curiosity and critical thought, and this must extend beyond our creative capabilities to question the practices, direction and ethics of who we work with.
MEK stands against the industries that not only contribute to the climate crisis but maintain systems of oppression and injustice towards human and non-human animals.
We call on our industry, fellow designers and agencies to join us in taking a stand against working with companies that profit from the exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants.
Transparency is their greatest threat.
It is our greatest power.
MEK: Armenian for one.
One people. One planet.
Let’s do better together.
—
If you’d like to join us in taking a stand against working with clients harming the planet, please email us with your full name, company name and website: impact@mek.studio. We’ll be publishing a list of signatories in the near future.
The fossil fuel, animal agriculture and manufacturing industries have spent decades and billions of dollars brainwashing us into their galvanised belief systems, facilitated by the advertising and design industries.
Cognitive dissonance and social conditioning keep us trapped in a cycle of aspirational consumerism, distracted by the lies we’re told by the world’s largest industries with billion-dollar profits, taxpayer subsidies and the power to enact laws that hide the truth behind their practices.
They treat us as consumers, customers, data mines, numbers and statistics while suppressing our individual autonomy as they run rampant in destroying the planet with immunity.
WE ARE ALL BEING LIED TO.
We have the right to know how products are made.
We have the right to know what happens in a slaughterhouse.
We have the right to know where our money is being invested.
We have the right to know if workers and supply chains meet labour standards.
We have the right to know how brands address sustainability.
We have the right to know how our purchases impact the environment.
We have the right to know which companies lobby the government.
We have the right to know the truth.
Advertising tells us what to believe, what to think, what to eat, how to look, how to act and who to love. It seduces us with buzzwords to make us feel good about doing our part for the planet as it drives demand for the endless consumption harming it.
GREEN.
CLEAN.
HUMANE.
ETHICAL.
ORGANIC.
FREE RANGE.
FAIRTRADE.
HEALTHY.
ECO.
NATURAL.
RENEWABLE.
SUSTAINABLE.
RECYCLABLAH BLAH BLAH.
WE ARE ALL BEING LIED TO.
Design makes products and services beautiful, engaging and convincing. Design also makes lies beautiful, engaging and convincing.
We believe designers have the unique opportunity to evolve beyond the outdated systems of the 20th century we still use to perpetuate the fallacies of the most damaging corporations of our time.
As architects of desire, we have a responsibility to make the choices that minimise the impacts of the climate crisis more accessible, truthful, and easier for everyone to understand, while being transparent about what we’re putting out into the world. Designers excel at problem-solving through innate curiosity and critical thought, and this must extend beyond our creative capabilities to question the practices, direction and ethics of who we work with.
MEK stands against the industries that not only contribute to the climate crisis but maintain systems of oppression and injustice towards human and non-human animals.
We call on our industry, fellow designers and agencies to join us in taking a stand against working with companies that profit from the exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants.
Transparency is their greatest threat.
It is our greatest power.
MEK: Armenian for one.
One people. One planet.
Let’s do better together.
—
If you’d like to join us in taking a stand against working with clients harming the planet, please email us with your full name, company name and website: impact@mek.studio. We’ll be publishing a list of signatories in the near future.