‘Not Fair’: A design campaign that gives a unique spin to the fairness cream debate

Titled 'Not Fair', the pictures are designed as if to show a mirror to the society and its beliefs about fair-skinned people.

There are tubes which have been re-imagined as legitimate brands that promote ‘casual racism’, ‘colonial hangover’, ‘internalized colourism’, among others. (Source: Instagram @thoughtoverdesign)

While complexion bias has always been real and rampant, it recently led to furious debates around the world once again, with people demanding action and stronger laws against race crimes. In May, a man named George Floyd was killed in the US, causing people to take to the streets. In India — where the colour of the skin has always been a benchmark for the society — the incident especially highlighted how deeply flawed the conditioning has been.

It came as a pleasant surprise then that after years of propagating that people with lighter skin tones have an edge over those with darker complexions, a melanin-suppressing fairness cream brand decided to re-brand itself, to show more sensitivity and solidarity. But, as soon as its new brand name was announced, people deemed it as unsatisfactory and farcical.

Now, with an interesting and a fresh take on the Indian society’s obsession with the fair skin, Thought Over Design — which is a brand strategy and design studio that essentially “works closely with entrepreneurs and businesses to translate their vision into brands of tomorrow” — has come up with a series of pictures on their Instagram handle, based on conversations around fairness and creams that promote as such.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thought Over Design (@thoughtoverdesign)

Story continues below this ad

Titled ‘Not Fair’, these pictures are designed as if to show a mirror to the society and its beliefs about fair-skinned people. For instance, there are tubes which have been re-imagined as legitimate brands that promote ‘casual racism’, ‘colonial hangover’, ‘internalized colourism’, among others.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thought Over Design (@thoughtoverdesign)

It has been conceptualised by Anushka Sani, who tells indianxpress.com that she thought about what can be done differently to address the obsession with fairness, and that is when the team came up with the campaign. “We took an ironic approach saying let us call this brand ‘Not Fair’, and let us kind of package the actual thing that they are selling,” she says.

“It was something we did over the weekend last, and started posting it, and we got really good responses, too. As creative people, we have the power to make these decisions, where a project comes our way and we feel it is propagating something that we don’t think the world requires, we can turn it down. Through brands we are part of creating new cultures,” Sani concludes.

📣 For more lifestyle news, click here to join our WhatsApp Channel and also follow us on Instagram

PM Modi releases special coin, stamp to mark 100 years of RSS

India2 hr ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh [RSS] had suffered at the hands of British and Nizams for its belief of ‘nation first’. He also said RSS members, including founder KB Hedgewar, had been jailed during the freedom struggle. Modi released a special commemorative postage stamp and a coin to mark the centenary of the RSS.

View all shorts

More Lifestyle

Lifestyle Unicorns exist in real life too -- in the ocean. Medieval Europe's royals paid gajillions for their horns