Communicating disparity: How social design can create public engagement with issues of inequality

Abstract

This discussion highlights the fact that inequality has become embedded in society and as such it is difficult to motivate people that change is possible. This is partly due to a widespread tolerance of the social condition and the often esoteric presentation of the situation to the public. By focusing on these issues of communication and naturalisation, social design can seek to introduce disruptive strategies and tools to elicit change and achieve greater popular engagement. The article looks at a selection of recent communicative responses to social inequality and finds that storytelling, including its tools and delivery, is crucial to the success of any public and community engagement approach. Therefore, a social design focus should concentrate on context-specific innovations that open safe spaces for dialogue and create new ways of delivering motivating and clear messages to the general public by challenging normalised ideas. Ultimately, this article creates a platform upon which this type of social design thinking and output can develop.

Key words: Inequality; communication; social design; storytelling