42 A Design Thinking approach to implementing Sustainability Thinking in teaching practice

Lisa Zimmermann shared her experience of embedding sustainability thinking in visual communications education. In a field lacking established regulation or consensus on sustainability, she emphasised the importance of preparing students for the everyday design decisions that shape environmental and social outcomes.

Rather than relying solely on broad global frameworks like the SDGs, Lisa advocates for discipline-specific sustainability skills. Her teaching focuses on three parameters:

1. Responsibility – awareness of design’s impact on society and the environment.
2. Materiality – critical understanding of materials, formats, and media, whether digital or print.
3. User Experience (UX) Principles – applying design thinking to ensure communication is meaningful, inclusive, and efficient.

She illustrated this with design briefs that incorporate sustainability considerations at decision points, encouraging students to weigh trade-offs in real-world contexts. Importantly, she often avoids overusing the term “sustainability,” which can overwhelm or feel vague, instead embedding it implicitly in design choices.

Ms Zimmermann positions sustainability thinking as a skillset rather than a subject, cultivated through iterative design thinking and reflection. Her approach blends top-down interventions (frameworks, curriculum redesign) with bottom-up experimentation, empowering students to apply sustainability in tangible ways within their profession.

By grounding sustainability in the everyday realities of design practice even creative disciplines can foster systemic change through granular decision-making, preparing students to lead in industries only beginning their sustainability journeys.

About the author

name: Lisa Zimmermann

institution: Munster Technological University

Lisa Zimmermann is an Assistant Lecturer in Visual Communications at Munster Technological University.