MEXICO: Day of the Dead would generate 53 billion pesos and poses a challenge for brands

ESDESIGN analyzes how brands reinterpret the symbols of the Day of the Dead without losing sight of their cultural significance.

In a season where brands want to be part of the conversation, standing out depends not on using more symbols, but on understanding what they mean before turning them into designs.”

— ESDESIGN, Barcelona School of Design

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO, October 21, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / -- Skulls, marigolds, papel picado (cut paper decorations), and altars begin appearing every October on packaging, shop windows, collections, and campaigns. The Day of the Dead has also

become one of the most important commercial seasons in the country: for 2026, CONCANACO SERVYTUR estimates an economic impact of 53 billion pesos, 7% higher than the previous year.

Brands respond each year with new offerings. In 2026, Vans presented a Day of the Dead-inspired collection developed in collaboration with Mexican artist Mauro Garfias, while brands like adidas and Converse have released editions linked to the celebration in previous years. Beyond fashion, the holiday has extended to packaging design, visual identities, advertising, and brand experiences.

For ESDESIGN, Barcelona's School of Design , this presence presents a particular challenge for design: working with recognizable elements of a cultural tradition without reducing it to merely a seasonal aesthetic.

Day of the Dead concentrates symbols that already possess their own meaning before a brand incorporates them into its communication. Marigolds, offerings, photographs, papel picado (cut paper decorations), and references to Mictlán (the Aztec underworld) don't function simply as visual resources; they form part of a celebration built around the memory and remembrance of those who have died.

From a design perspective, understanding this context changes how a campaign is built. A neuromarketing analysis by Antonio Ruiz, a professor at ESDESIGN, indicates that emotions and memory have a significant influence on how people process stimuli and relate to brands. In a celebration with such a strong emotional charge, the challenge lies in using design to complement that meaning, not just reproduce its visual codes.

Some campaigns have explored precisely this relationship. Welcome, developed by the Montalvo agency for J. García López, built its concept around the return of those who are no longer with us, using messages and floral elements in different spaces to convey the idea of ​​reunion through communication.

Product and packaging design offers another area for experimentation. Alpura, for example, incorporated elements related to Day of the Dead into millions of packages and later developed experiences with altars in public spaces where people could add photographs of their loved ones. Victoria Beer, for its part, has built campaigns over several years inspired by stories and representations linked to the Mexican imagery of death.

These cases show that incorporating recognizable symbols is not the same as building a narrative around them. For ESDESIGN, the difference begins with understanding what each element represents, its relationship to the celebration, and the brand's role within that story.

The risk of simplifying a cultural tradition to its most easily recognizable elements is also nothing new. The commercialization of Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) has generated debates about the boundaries between dissemination, reinterpretation, and commercial exploitation. One of the best-known examples occurred in 2013 when Disney applied to trademark "Día de los Muertos" in the United States and later withdrew the application after the backlash it generated.

Given this scenario, ESDESIGN identifies some principles that can guide creative work. These include prioritizing meaning over aesthetics, highlighting people's stories and experiences, building narratives that extend beyond the season, and collaborating with local artists, illustrators, artisans, and other creators to develop proposals with a deeper understanding of the cultural context.

For brands, Día de Muertos represents an increasingly visible commercial and creative opportunity. For designers, it also implies a responsibility: understanding that behind the orange, the flowers, the skulls, and the papel picado lies a tradition whose value doesn't stem solely from its visual impact.

In a season where more and more brands want to be part of the conversation, standing out depends not on using more symbols, but on understanding what they mean before turning them into designs.

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About ESDESIGN

ESDESIGN is the first 100% online design school, a meeting point where distance, days, and hours don't matter. It's a school without doors, with a thousand windows to the world. It's about connecting personal drive with global and social commitment. It's about transforming ideas and projects into realities. ESDESIGN is part of Planeta Formación y Universidades, the international higher education network of Grupo Planeta.