Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a real product?

No. Deep Wellness is a design fiction: a fictional brand created to provoke reflection on the wellness industry and how we respond to systemic problems.

You cannot buy these kits. They don't exist. That's part of the point.

Why collective action instead of self-care?

We're not against self-care. Rest matters. Boundaries matter. Looking after yourself matters.

But individual coping strategies cannot fix collective problems. You cannot meditate your way out of understaffing. You cannot journal your way out of a housing crisis. You cannot manifest your way out of climate breakdown.

When systemic problems get reframed as personal wellness deficits, the burden of coping falls on the people being harmed. The systems that cause harm continue unexamined.

Isn't some wellness helpful?

Yes. Meditation has real benefits. Therapy helps. Rest is necessary. We're not dismissing any of that.

What we're questioning is the wellness industry: the commercialisation of coping, the individualisation of systemic problems, the way "wellness" has become something you buy rather than something we build together.

A meditation app provided by your employer is not the same as your employer fixing the conditions that stress you out. Both might help. Only one addresses the root cause.

Who made this?

Deep Wellness was created by Will Osborn, a designer interested in where design interventions sit and whether we're treating symptoms or causes.

Why does it look like a real wellness brand?

That's intentional. Design fiction works by creating objects that feel plausible, that exist comfortably in the world they're critiquing. The satire emerges from the contrast between the familiar form (wellness brand aesthetics, warm marketing copy) and the unfamiliar content (union guides, mutual aid toolkits).

If it looked like a joke, you'd scroll past. If it looks real, you might stop and think.

Can I share this?

Please do. That's what it's for.

What should I do now?

Whatever feels right. Maybe nothing. Just let it sit.

Or maybe: talk to a colleague about pay. Look up your union. Introduce yourself to a neighbour. Join a local campaign. Notice where the burden of coping falls, and ask whether that's where the intervention should sit.

The kits aren't real. The problems are. The responses can be too.