It’s no longer enough to simply provide a good ol’ fashioned product or service. Today, the transaction has moved beyond the material world and into the emotional multiverse.

It’s not just a case of providing a product or service, it’s about selling a feeling.

So, with today’s brand culture built around embodying the values of consumers as much as the brand itself, it’s also ripe for activism.

Historically, activism has been confined to the political and social spectrum. These days though, driven by expectations from socially-conscious consumers and younger generations, brands are increasingly being forced to take a position on socio-political issues to be drivers for change.

But the question remains: how much positive change are they actually affecting, or is it all just smoke and mirrors?

To be fair, brands can be forgiven for living in a constant state of analysis paralysis. Do nothing and risk being perceived as complacent and out of touch, or take a stand on an issue and get accused of indulging in virtue-signalling.

It can be challenging to distinguish between a brand’s true values and performative gestures. Are they genuinely committed to their stated values, or just trying to appear impressive?

Consumers today are as savvy and intuitive as they’ve ever been. In a modern world, brands that chase clout without genuine intent are quickly singled out and forced to atone for their sins.

However, the real issue is the collateral damage they leave behind. More often than not, that’s the cause or people they’re purporting to champions of.

When brands align with social causes, there’s always a risk of it feeling performative if steps aren’t taken to be real about intentions. Empty gestures and hollow promises are easily seen through, especially when a brand’s actions don’t match its words.

The good news though, is that brands genuinely have the ability to make a difference.

When they support progressive movements in an authentic way, they bring attention to important issues and help drive real change. But it’s not enough to just jump on the bandwagon.

 back this up too. Brands that genuinely live by their words and values in an authentic way will make stronger and more positive relationships with their audiences.

If a brand is viewed as more authentic in the eyes of a target market, it will be significantly more trusted than brands with the opposite perception. But with more trust comes a greater responsibility to fulfill their brand promise — and breaking this promise can result in irreparable damage.

To truly make a difference though, brands need to understand and find allies within the movement they champion, encourage alignment internally with stakeholders and employees, engage with it authentically, and show a real commitment and advocacy to the cause.

This means doing more than just adding a hashtag to a social post; it’s taking real action for real change.

With authenticity being a crucial factor, brands must ensure that their support for social causes are consistent with their audience, internal practices and long-term commitments.

Brands need to live their values from the inside out, as credibility to stand for change.

Are your social change initiatives aligned with your stakeholders, employees and audience? Transparency is key for authenticity.

Social change is made through a collective approach, not in the marketing department. Collaboration is key, and working with other communities around the cause, can help drive real change.

Brand involvement can bring much needed visibility and resources but they need to be aware of their potential of overshadowing the movements they are trying to support, and risk doing a disservice, or worse, take it backwards.

When a brand steps into a social issue, it can sometimes divert attention away from the grassroots organisations and activists who have been working on the ground for years.

Don’t feel completely pressured to take a stand on every issue with your brand. Focus on the right cause for you, and lock in for the long game.

Knee-jerk reactions to social issues can lead to brands looking opportunistic, jumping from one issue to the next without a genuine long-term commitment.

Engaging in progressive movements means facing scrutiny and criticism, but it also offers the chance to learn, grow, and make a lasting impact. Authenticity, consistency, and a genuine commitment to the cause are crucial.

Brands absolutely have the power to be catalysts for positive change. All it takes is for the humans behind the logo to align their values and be true to their cause — and importantly, their audience.

Brand activism: a force for good or looking good?

Cause/Affect is the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

We all want to leave our mark on the world. But passion is nothing without purpose.

With everything we do, we’ve always tried to strike the right balance between head and heart. We see the bigger picture, and we see the potential in pushing things to a better place.

Our passion leads us to big ideas, and now we have a platform fit-for-purpose to bring them to life. The timing is right for us to evolve. Our brand is changing to better reflect our intent, beliefs and values as a creative studio.

In short, if change is inevitable, we want it to be the right change.

At the heart of this repositioning is the drive to align our values with our appetite for meaningful action.

We’re still a First Nations-led multidisciplinary creative studio doing all of the things you would expect a multidisciplinary creative studio to do, but our aperture has been widened to a point where we can now see the potential of ushering in real impact with the tools and talents we have at our disposal.

For us, it’s about affecting meaningful social impact through considered, insight-led creative solutions. We have the passion, and we’re crystal clear about what our purpose is: bringing about better outcomes for people and more connected communities.

We’ve always operated organically within the social impact space, but we’re now moving into a more active phase in bringing this to life. Our goal is to always be ready to amplify causes where we can see potential for change.

Practically, this looks like less
hoping and more doing.

We firmly believe that every problem, no matter how big or small, has a solution — it just needs the right people with the right skills to tease it out first.

We’ve seen this in practice in the work we’ve delivered right up to this moment. From working with Cancer Australia spreading awareness about the importance of screening among First Nations communities, to creating materials to empower vulnerable young people interpret complex court processes.

The end goal here? Empathetic, inclusive, and impactful outcomes.

Led by Waanyi and Kalkadoon woman Keisha Leon (Thomason), Cause/Affect is the product of years of professional experience on both sides of the fence and a deeply informed cultural vantage point.

This means Cause/Affect will continue to deliver agency levels of service within a highly collaborative and personalised environment with our in-house team and diverse external network of experts.

Our services are evolving too, with a greater focus on brand strategy and user experience complementing our existing design, illustration and artwork skills. Here’s a rundown of what we offer:

First Nations artwork and creative direction

Are we live? Absolutely! Cause/Affect is up and running and taking new briefs right now.

We’re deep into rolling out a number of projects with clients from the social services sector, with real potential for big and lasting impacts.

 if you have a project you’d want to talk to us about (no matter what stage it’s at) or if you want to get involved in bringing social impact projects to life in your own way and time.

n the meantime, stay connected with us through our 

, and keep an eye out for new projects and updates over the coming weeks and months.

We’re just getting started. But there’s plenty more to come.

Welcome to Cause/Affect — the evolution from Leon Design

A note from Keisha Leon, founder of Cause/Affect.

With the Voice just around the corner and knowing that silence never made history, I thought I’d share my personal take on the referendum…

And before you wonder/so there’s no room for doubt, I’ll be answering 

I favour the case for ‘yes’ because I’m a proud Waanyi and Kalkadoon woman AND an informed individual — Meaning, I recognise that past treatment of First Nations people was unacceptable.

Historically, biased constitutional laws, government inaction and a lifelong national ignorance has negatively impacted First Nations people

In the same breath, I also recognise that there’s a lot of commentary on the Voice and we’re all ‘short on time’. So before you vote — at a minimum — please do these two things:

Right now, the government makes all decisions for First Nations people. Yes we may have pre-existing advisory groups, but the government has the power to say who’s involved.

Recognising an advisory group in the constitution is the only people-first solution to this problem. Voting ‘yes’ gives First Nations people a seat at the table AND ensures decisions 

Hopefully this change will also recognise and mobilise more constitutional advisory groups, impact law and policy, better allocate funds and resources to First Nations people – particularly grassroots organisations and communities, and set the foundations for treaty and truth-telling.


Previously, the nation has told us that we’re nothing. That we’ll never amount to anything. That our history does not exist.

The stereotyping, misinformation and fear mongering narratives that are present within both history and the ‘no’ vote are an ugly reminder of the racism that our Australian identity is built upon.

Our nation hides behind mateship, fair-go and larrikins; living in purposeful ignorance to the genocide and trauma that is still perpetuated today. First Nations people are blissfully ignored and wilfully forgotten.

Establishing a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice responds to the loud call for change. It helps us seek sovereignty in our own Country, empowers First Nations people and guides the nation through the first steps towards reform. Saying ‘yes’ to constitutional change paves the way for a better future.


We are resilient, we will continue to be resilient

Regardless of the outcome, we will continue to be resilient. Everyday I think of my family;

Who have pushed through adversaries to create better lives for their families.

Who selflessly honour culture in everything that they do.

Who put people, community and Country first, always.

If the result is ‘no’, continued ignorance and racism won’t stop us. It never has. If the answer is ‘yes’, we’ll seize the opportunity and affect positive change.


When I think of the future, I think of an Australia that my son is proud to be part of. A country free of racism where he can stand tall as a Waanyi & Kalkadoon man and make decisions for himself — which is a privilege 

What I don’t want is for him to be fighting the same fight in 30-50 years time.


I’m a pessimist and I don’t often believe things will change. Not because I don’t believe in change, but because all too often the world beats you down until you have no hope left and the nation reminds us that we’re standing alone.

Hope that this opportunity will lead to a change that I’ll get to see in my lifetime.

Hope that we have a better future to look forward to.

Whatever you vote, make sure you favour knowledge and conviction, not ignorance and influence.

And for the sake of my/our/First Nations people’s future — the one that you’re deciding on — don’t stand with those who want to see us erased.

The Voice

It’s time for new ideas. Engaging First Nations creatives affect outcomes that impact design for the better.

Better outcomes begin with the right people 

 people are not involved in projects that affect them, and their community. So how can we really design for the better when we aren’t creating from lived experiences. Bringing diverse and First Nations voices into the creative supply chain, not only betters our industry, but positively affects the very people we are designing for.

Treat creatives as people, not commodities. Investing in good people is the best investment you can make. And good people make good work. Build on relationship capital by cultivating relationships of value, respect and reciprocity and people will invest in the work you do.

Secondly, don’t expect creatives to work on every “big opportunity”; it is not a given, it is earned. As David Williams from 

 said, “Give people time to think, contribute and consult so that people are informed properly.”

Place value on First Nations voices in all projects and you will see more First Nations creative willing to engage with you.

Engaging First Nations creatives from the start, not at the end.

Tokenism is a big problem when it comes to creative engagement. As a designer, I am eternally frustrated when I am engaged for the first time at the 

 of the project to “make it look Indigenous”. This is a BIG NO. It’s simple, the more First Nations people involved in the supply chain and at every touchpoint within a project, the better the outcome and ultimately the more impactful the project will be. It’s a win win.

No two First Nations creatives are the same.

We come from over 500 different nations. Don’t assume, just because you’ve worked with one First Nations creative or one mob, means you've worked with them all. And don’t assume just because someone identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, they can do 

 artwork, design or creative expression; or become your ‘Cultural Competence’ teacher. Let 

 dictate what we are able to work on, and what projects we want to be a part of.

Be upfront about the usage, licensing and price

In the words of the wise intellectual property lawyer Stephanie Parkin “Intellectual property (IP) and copyright is an asset to First Nations creatives. The work we create is valuable, from both a cultural point of view and as a business.” (

listen to the full yarn with Steph here here

We as creatives are expected to advocate for our work, but corporations and creative industries need to do better in providing safe spaces for us to work and not be exploited. While I am not a lawyer myself (go check out 

), here are a few pointers from my own experiences:

 for the work, and let the creative determine their own costs

 before developing contracts and commencing work

. You do not own our cultural work, it remains with First Nations people.

 If the licensing opportunities expand, talk to the artist for approval first and expect additional licensing costs.

IP and copyright laws are here to protect our work appropriately and in a culturally safe way.

Don’t pay in “exposure” – it should be a mutually beneficial relationship.

Remove “exposure” from your language. If I hear “It’s great exposure” I am out before you’ve told me what the project is. The engagement bar is at the lowest when paying in exposure. It sets a dangerous standard when the value of our work is worth nothing —this is the very definition of a take-only relationship.

First Nations people bring unique perspectives and innovative ideas from over 80,000 years of knowledge. Not only will your business and project be richer from this; but you will learn and grow in your creative and personal perspectives.

We talk a lot about change, without changing. Open your mind to a better way to work and engage with all creatives, and I guarantee the work and impact on people will be much greater.

Brand activism: a force for good or looking good?

Welcome to Cause/Affect — the evolution from Leon Design

The Voice

How to engage First Nations creatives

Stay on trend.

Blog

Brand activism: a force for good or looking good?

Welcome to Cause/Affect — the evolution from Leon Design

The Voice

How to engage First Nations creatives

Stay on trend.