Her research on the visual communication of climate change highlights the influence of graphic design on trust in messaging.
Dr Rebecca Green teaches graphic design, cartooning and data visualisation at UNSW’s School of Art & Design. Her research “straddles design and sociology” and focuses on the communication of complex problems, including communications around vaccinations during COVID and climate change.
“Graphic design is really about persuasion, and its effectiveness can often be aided by a sociological or psychological perspective. My current research focuses on climate change and how visual communication is influencing strategic messages that we think we're sending,” she says.
“The ‘language’ designers use can really affect how people receive those messages in terms of whether they trust them or not, or they make them bored or feel bad.”
Recently Rebecca has been working in video, using a speculative design approach to visualise what the future might look like.
“In the videos, we don't talk about climate change at all. We're in a world where we've solved it, and we show what the everyday looks like – like how a weather report might influence your daily energy use.”
Changing directions
Before academia, Rebecca worked as a graphic designer and museum designer for 20 years. She was in her last role as an Art Director at a record label until the company’s values no longer sat well with her.
“We were trying to introduce slightly more sustainable practices around 2005. Then we encountered a whole bunch of barriers and naysayers because a more environmental approach was going to cost 0.5 cents more per unit across larger volumes.”
She quit and started a Master of Design degree.
Around the same time, Rebecca was in the national Taekwondo team and represented Australia at two World Championships.
“I won a Bronze Medal at the last one I went to – after working my guts out for about five years. Up on the podium, there was an initial thrill, but I realised that achieving your goals may not give you the satisfaction you're looking for. It's about how you get there and what you're doing.”
She joined the Royal Australian Air Force as soon as she got home.
Rebecca is now a Flight Lieutenant and is grateful for “really great support she receives from UNSW” as an Air Force Reservist. She has worked in flying operations at a squadron level, as well as at a Headquarters level helping coordinate airspace – and what goes on in the airspace, for example, over an amphibious landing or a battlefield. She is currently working in helping implement Air Force strategy for United Nations Women, Peace and Security and Protection of Civilians mandates.
“It's been good supporting flying operations, but I think I can make a bigger contribution in this new UN role. I'm always chasing that – not so much a bigger achievement, but a more important one.”
What might surprise your colleagues about you?
I was a professional basketball mascot for three years for the Brisbane Bullets.
What's the best advice you ever received?
1. My dad said to me, ‘Don't ever let yourself be measured by someone else's standards’.
2. Achievement or winning is a great feeling, but it's really quick. It’s how you do it that lasts, and you don't have to win to get that.
What's one thing that makes you happy?
That feeling, or moment when a team is in perfect sync.
What day in your life would you like to relive?
Caitlin Foord scoring against Denmark in the Women's World Cup, and how emotional it was for me as a female athlete to see women's sport finally supported like that.
What's the best thing you watched in the last year?
Dune 2, as a long-time fan of the book and of the French cartoonist (Moebius) who influenced a lot of the design for that movie – it was incredible.
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