‘You need to research your subject so you know the subject well, and your users so you know what they need’. Teaching graphic design using information design principles.

Abstract

Set against a background of graphic design’s ‘identity crisis’, this paper proposes that information design can provide an adaptable and relevant framework for teaching graphic design. With social, technological, environmental, and industrial changes providing a new context for design and how it operates in the world, an audience-focussed, problem-solving approach is validated as central to reimagining graphic design education. Through a case study example, the paper suggests that when graphic design students in a traditional craft-based design education programme are offered a human-centred approach to solving design problems—specifically information design problem solving and research methods—their own graphic design practice changes.