Second Nature, a Practice-Led Design Investigation Into Consumerism Responding to Sustainable Home Habits

Date
2023-03-15
Authors
Chambers, Jade
Mortensen Steagall, Marcos
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universidade Anhembi Morumbi
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.

Description
Keywords
4701 Communication and Media Studies , 33 Built Environment and Design , 36 Creative Arts and Writing , 47 Language, Communication and Culture , 3303 Design , Behavioral and Social Science
Source
DAT Journal, ISSN: 2526-1789 (Print); 2526-1789 (Online), Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, 8(1), 213-249. doi: 10.29147/datjournal.v8i1.695
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