Connecting Values: Teaching Sustainability to Communication Designers

Benson, Eric; Napier, Pamela

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/126067 Copy

Description

Title

Connecting Values: Teaching Sustainability to Communication Designers

Author(s)

• Benson, Eric
• Napier, Pamela

Issue Date

2012-07

Keyword(s)

• sustainability
• design education
• participatory design

Date of Ingest

2025-02-28T19:26:15-06:00

Abstract

This article explores the question of “how do we teach sustainability to communication designers?” through examining the combined research of the two authors that focuses on connecting issues of sustainability to the values of design students. The article further cites the work of other undergraduate educators who have found success in connecting the concept to that of the students' values, supporting the work of the authors. It is our hypothesis that in order to most effectively introduce sustainability into a curriculum, we must first recognize that it is a political term, concerning the public affairs of our society. It is therefore important to determine the students' values as designers/individuals in order to demonstrate how sustainable issues and politics are intertwined with all of our ethics and specifically with students' professional ambitions. This strategy, combined with principles and methods of co-designing, can help eliminate apathy and pushback within the class, and help empower the desire to integrate sustainable methodologies into students' own working processes.

Publisher

Design and Culture

Series/Report Name or Number

4(2)

Type of Resource

text

Genre of Resource

article

Language

eng

DOI

10.2752/175470812X13281948975521

Copyright and License Information

• Eric Benson
• Pamela Napier

Owning Collections