Encouraging responsible design: the use of value thinking and psychology in the education of graphic communication designers

The following article considers the case for integrating students’ personal values into the work processes of graphic communication design (GCD) to encourage an ethical approach. The author is currently undertaking action research to explore how this might happen. This article explains the author’s position in undertaking the study. It looks at the area of education for sustainable development (ESD), and considers a study where an ESD framework was tested in a graphic communication design education (GCDE) context, to evaluate its potential. The author also evaluates an example of value thinking used in a GCDE context. Through assessment of both examples, the author suggests that there may be benefits in considering the psychology of values in further explorations of ESD in a GCDE context. This follows from investigation into the psychology of values in the area of ESD. The author’s research in this area is then described.