Fengjin Yu, Simon Downs, and Alis Iacob
Fengjin Yu, Simon Downs, and Alis Iacob
Graphic design has done a lot to bring about the current crisis in environmental health and resources, effectively enhancing public awareness of sustainability and disseminating sustainable information, which has become a pivotal factor in graphic design research.
As an important method for creating visual information, graphic design has the power to influence public perception, shape information, and facilitate communication. However, the profound impact of visual communication in the field of graphic design on systematisation and sustainable transformation of global to sustainable capitalism remains insufficiently explored. From a perspective combining systems thinking and visual communication, this paper explores how to structure information through graphic design, thereby promoting the understanding of wicked problems such as sustainable transitions. Through an analysis of the past literature, this paper finds that graphic design plays a key role in the field of sustainability. It suggests that by integrating multiple themes and pieces of information with a systems thinking approach, graphic design can generate intuitive and insightful critical expressions to drive sustainability transformation. Moreover, the visualisation of information through graphic design reveals both the collaborations and potential conflicts among different stakeholders, thereby supporting interdisciplinary and cross-sector dialogue. Finally, by offering targeted education and information integration, graphic design provides visual support that helps audiences overcome information bottlenecks and structural obstacles. However, as is widely recognised, if graphic design remains confined to visual aesthetics or isolated aspects of information dissemination, it will be subsumed by existing economic and political systems, thereby diminishing its true transformative potential in sustainable transitions. In response, this study advocates for the integration of systems thinking and critical perspectives into graphic design. By harnessing the potential of graphic design and visual communication, it aims to enhance public understanding and discussion of information, thereby directly supporting the effective articulation of wicked problems and social issues.
Keywords: Graphic Design, System Thinking, Visual Communication, Graphic Design Education