Designing the Pause: Behavioural Campaigns for Conscious Fashion

At Colectivo, we believe great design doesn’t just make experiences better, it makes systems visible. That’s why, through our Behavioural Design for a Sustainable Future student series, we’re proud to spotlight emerging voices who are using behavioural insight to reimagine the everyday.

This week’s feature comes from Valeria Pérez Martínez, a strategic designer currently completing a dual master’s in Customer Experience & Innovation and an International MBA at IE Business School. With a background in branding and experience design, Valeria brings a storytelling mindset to questions of sustainability and impact.

Designing for Conscious Consumption

By Valeria Pérez Martínez on tackling impulsive fast fashion consumption among Gen Z

In her visual insight, Valeria presents “Look de Impacto”, a behavioural design campaign with the Comunidad de Madrid in mind, that tackles impulsive fast fashion consumption among Gen Z.

The campaign is grounded in the Observe-Frame-Design-Act methodology and focuses on a single powerful moment: the pause. That split-second of reflection before a purchase decision, where design has the chance to shift behaviour.

Using emotional salience, social proof, and subtle friction, “Look de Impacto” reframes what we see when we shop. Instead of aestheticised silhouettes and style cues, campaign visuals featured polluted rivers, carbon emissions, and textile waste, strategically placed in metro stations to interrupt habit loops at just the right moment.

Rather than guilt or moralising, the intervention invites self-reflection through visibility. As Valeria puts it:

“We didn’t say ‘don’t buy.’ We asked: Is this look worth the impact? That single pause, between intention and action, was the space where behaviour could begin to shift.”

Valeria’s work demonstrates the power of behavioural insight when paired with visual storytelling. By making consequences feel immediate and embodied, we can design systems that empower and guide people toward more intentional choices.

It’s a clear reminder that behavioural design it’s about clarity.

About the Author

Valeria Pérez Martínez is a strategic designer with a background in branding and experience design. After seven years helping small businesses craft meaningful brand identities, she’s now completing a dual master’s degree in Customer Experience & Innovation and an International MBA at IE Business School. She is especially interested in the intersection of behavioural insights, sustainability, and storytelling.

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