In order to engage communities successfully in climate change messages, researchers from the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) have proposed design guidelines for climate change communication.
The first author and doctoral student, Marta Ferreira is focusing on using data visualization to communicate climate change. According to her examination of the research, there have been several major patterns in climate change communication.
In her words, “The earliest projects, up until 2016, were much more focused on energy-related topics such as eco-feedback technologies, but since then, there was a shift towards sustainable lifestyles and biodiversity.”
Under the supervision of Nuno Nunes and Valentina Nisi, ITI researchers and professors, Ferreira discovered that most climate change communication efforts take a neutral tone.
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The majority of the projects under analysis delivered neutral framing visualizations with little recommendations for future applications of concrete measures.
The team provided a set of implications for design that make use of various communication tactics based on the examination of 74 projects.
Ferreira and her supervisors noted that interactive engagement is essential for effective engagement, particularly in commonplace locations like bus stops, stores, or the street.
Another recommendation is to present the subject in a favourable light, utilizing a story tailored to the audience and offering suggestions for doable actions.
The Interactive Technologies Institute is already implementing some of these recommendations in projects like “Finding Arcadia,” an interactive data story about ocean ecosystems and whales, which aims to evaluate these implications for design.
To address this worldwide crisis, the research community generally thinks that it is essential to re-engage audiences with this complicated and emotionally sensitive topic.
Story was adapted from Phys.org.
