Second Nature, a Practice-led Design Investigation into Consumerism Responding to Sustainable Home Habits

Abstract

This article discusses a graphic design project about unsustainable habits around the home and their effects on climate change. The article reflects on practice-led design research, asking: How can graphic design be used to provoke young adults to make positive changes towards their unsustainable consumer habits in their homes? The design project entitled: Second Nature - is an awareness campaign that combines the researcher’s passion for environmental sustainability and creative practice as a way of expression through graphic design conventions. The project responded to the research question with a communication campaign, consisting of a series of design artefacts, including a poster series, a zine set, social media presence and a website. The artefacts allow the audience to consider the negative impact their habits cause, providing ways to make small changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle. In conducting the study, reflective and heuristic enquiry was utilised as an approach to problem-solving. In the enquiry, the project employed methods such as contextual review of knowledge, mind mapping, sketching and mock-ups to ideate, reflect and test. The article adopts a commentary on practice and evidences the design decisions to the context, including how the artefacts engage with the audience. The research contributes to the current discourses about climate change in a world dominated by consumerism, proposing and unpacking how an awareness campaign can be used as a tool to combat the depletion of our greater home, earth.