Novel Interactive Visual Heuristics for Evaluating Audience Perception of Ethical TikTok Campaigns

The rapid evolution of social media, particularly short-form video platforms like TikTok, has fundamentally transformed the dissemination of ethical and sustainability messages to global audiences. This paradigm shift presents a profound challenge for contemporary design researchers and communication practitioners, who must navigate the complexities of audience perception within an intensely competitive and fast-paced digital ecosystem. The core objective of this study is to develop and demonstrate a novel interactive visual heuristics framework that enables the simulated evaluation of audience response to ethical campaign content prior to public deployment. Our methodological approach involves the systematic construction of a prototype interactive environment that applies defined visual heuristic principles to synthetic eco-influencer campaign material, analyzed using rigorously generated dummy engagement data. Key findings from this simulation reveal that specific interactive heuristics, particularly those emphasizing procedural transparency and authentic source relatability, serve as the most significant drivers for positive ethical perception and intended behavioral engagement. The primary contribution of this work is a rigorous, reusable design research tool that provides graphic designers and digital strategists with an evidence-based, low-risk methodology for optimizing the visual rhetoric of sustainable messaging on TikTok, thereby bridging a critical gap between theoretical design principles and practical campaign development.