Sustainability at the forefront: educating students through complex challenges in visual communication and design

Abstract

Although a range of academic disciplines in higher education are now introducing sustainability into their curricula, the need to present this concept to graphic design and visual communication students is especially important. These fields influence trends in society and culture and have great potential to impact decision-making for individuals, corporate practices, policies, and politics. Recent workforce surveys (Adecco Group, 2013; Workforce Solutions Group, 2013) reveal that employers across many fields value 'soft skills' more than technical skills. Acquiring these competencies can stem from experience in sustainable development and include: applying human-centred research methodology; systems-based thinking; awareness of human behaviours and impacts; tackling complex problems and employing creative approaches to solutions. Although these skills make students more competitive in the workforce, recent graduates often lack these capabilities. Therefore, this paper considers a collection of case studies from university-level graphic design and visual communication courses that used project-based learning to further sustainable practises. Examining multiple projects helped researchers highlight broader themes, learning advantages, best practices and methods for students to evaluate outcomes. The anticipated benefits are that students who use visual communication in the classroom, while tackling the complexity of promoting sustainable public practices, will likely develop unique problem-solving abilities as they simultaneously brainstorm and design potential solutions.