University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Connecting Values: Teaching Sustainability to Communication Designers

Benson, Eric; Napier, Pamela

Content Files
Connecting_Values_Teaching_Sustainabilit.pdf

Permalink

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

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

Research and Publications - School of Art and Design PRIMARY