Cindy Raspiller
Lecturer
San Jose State University
Climate resilience is rarely taught in visual communication design curricula, despite the growing recognition of design’s role in addressing environmental challenges. This research investigates why this gap persists and how climate resilience can be meaningfully integrated into design education. The Shift Deck is a pedagogical tool based on this research that empowers educators to introduce shifts toward climate resilient design into their teaching.
Analysis of the mixed-methods research approach–including literature reviews, curriculum analysis, survey data, and 24 semi-structured interviews–indicated that climate resilient design methodology is rarely taught in visual communication curricula because it is not physically substantial in nature, is considered academically separate from design, and professors feel unprepared to teach it.
These findings were synthesized into three interconnected frameworks that bridge theory, curriculum structure, and practical implementation. The 7 Mindsets of Climate Resilient Designers are student-facing learning objectives that define knowledge and practices necessary to build climate resilience, such as systems thinking, ethical responsibility, and resource stewardship. The 5 Levels of Sustainability Pedagogy in Design Education reflect degrees of student engagement with sustainable concepts and practices within the context of curriculum; from sustainability as passive content to sustainability as critical inquiry. Finally, the project’s design guidelines support instructors in practical application of the Shifts.
The frameworks informed the development of The Shift Deck: 27 small steps–or Shifts–educators can take to include climate resilient strategies in their assignments. Refined through interactive prototyping and student-centered co-design workshops, this bottom-up approach allows educators to advocate for climate resilient design practices without completely overhauling their pedagogy.
Built on prior work in sustainable design and pedagogy, including McDonough and Braungart’s Cradle to Cradle and David W. Orr’s Ecological Literacy, The Shift Deck offers conceptual frameworks and practical tools to position climate resilience as an accessible and actionable dimension of contemporary visual communication design education.
This design research is presented at Design Incubation Colloquium 12.3: Virtual Summer on Friday, June 26, 2026.