Abstract
Human beings are constantly devouring the steady stream of media, largely in the form of branded products, advertising, and propaganda, that shape our beliefs, behaviors, and actions. We have constructed an alternative and estranged reality stemming from a materialistic relationship to mass brand media. This reality is a reflection of the lived world we once interacted with, materializing into an objective ideology of the world represented as the media environment. Our unconscious disconnection from the lived world is affecting both the human condition and our Earth’s ecosphere leading to a crisis in the media environment. Earth Brand (EB) aims to explain the reality of the crisis in the media environment and to communicate why being aware of the crisis is important for both the human condition and our real-world problems. This paper will analyze brands in reference to the global environment in order to reveal anomalies in the media environment. EB will use graphic satire and détournement to exemplify how our media environment alienates and manipulates our society impacting the human condition and the planet. A new visual paradigm, or a re-imagineering of the media environment, needs to be sought and I believe graphic design can and should play an important role. I believe taking an ethical and moral approach to graphic design and consumerism in our current visual culture paradigm is paramount to help aid in the recovery of our ecosphere.