Art Center students recently completed a Designmatters-led studio class, in partnership with the Aquarium of the Pacific, focusing on public education and action strategies to address the crisis of sea level rise.

Project Coastal Crisis, held Spring Term, was a transdisciplinary project embedded in the “Design for Sustainability” Product Design curriculum. Students were challenged to translate urgent scientific data on sea level rise and coastal resiliency into easily accessible public awareness communications and educational tools.

“Projects like these are about educating you not by force, but by engagement,” explains Product Design Department Chair Karen Hofmann. These projects have touch points that linger long after the experience is over.”

Students formed four different teams, each producing mixed media communication strategies to educate Aquarium of the Pacific visitors and other target audiences, including California coastal communities and policymakers. Careful consideration was taken to ensure that the campaigns would be easily accessible to a wide audience.

Read more about the four teams and their outcomes.