Making Good Media
Project Introduction
Project Overview
What if the media empowered us to combat climate change? 
The media maps and shapes our culture. But today’s stories don’t reflect the overwhelming consensus that we’re having a negative impact on the planet.
We can create a culture of positive climate actions with simple shifts. The weather presenter could improve our understanding of the energy grid, the finance report could redefine value and what it means to be a market-leader, a cooking show could help reduce food waste, and children’s television could inspire the next generation and give their parents hope. We can inform and empower broad audiences without increasing climate anxiety.
Content innovation and shifts in language can make an exponential difference. But we need the right people in the room – an intersectional community with diverse knowledges, supporting First Nations perspectives, data-based climate science, life-centred design, economic strategy, and more. Be part of it – it’s already happening.
Let's connect and collaborate to..
- Combine our networks and make this movement global
- Create compelling content together
- Uncover resources to deliver at scale
- Activate influential media outlets
Project Team
Rebecca Green
Project Lead
Dr Rebecca Green (PhD) is a Lecturer and researcher at UNSW Art & Design (Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture) and an experienced graphic designer and illustrator. She has qualifications in graphic design and sociology. Her research into the visual communication of Climate Change highlights the significant influence that the language of graphic design can make on the uptake of, and trust in strategic climate messaging. As Academic Lead, 2021 Global Engagement Program at the International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA), this research is currently at the forefront of IUCA Global Climate Talks and University Hackathon environments. This research is key to similarly complex scientific issues such as vaccination uptake and COVID-19 messaging, and to types of misinformation prevalent on social media. Given the rapid advancement of digital media technology, which has led to the dominance of an even more image-based style of visual communication, the role of the graphic designer in translating these important messages becomes more important every day.
Anna Tow
Animation and Visual Arts Specialist
Anna Tow is an education professional with a professional development focus. Her background is in animation and the visual arts with 20 years experience working in the film and TV industry. She is skilled in 3D Visualisation Techniques, Art Direction and Animation.
Carmel O’Connor
Project Manager
Carmel O’Connor is a professional staff member at UNSW’s Faculty of Arts Design and Architecture where she works as Strategic Lead in Academic Quality, with qualifications in Law/Arts in International Studies. She has worked in the university sector for seven years, delivering on diverse and key strategic projects in multidisciplinary teams.
Alongside her career in Education, she has worked as a writer across magazines, film, fiction, and non-fiction for over ten years. She is currently writing a young adult, speculative fiction series, which presents stories that aim to empower young people amidst climate change. This series is inspired by research into how traditional media narratives contribute to climate anxiety, and awe as a device to regulate nervous systems for greater individual and collective problem-solving.Â
Carmel brings her breadth of expertise to the Project Manager role in the Making Good Media team, to enrich the creative outputs and help drive delivery. This project adopts a multi-phase approach, with view to scaling a Making Good Media movement.
Damien March
Creative Technology Specialist
Damien March is the Team Leader in the ADA Resource Centre. Damien has two decades experience in the visual arts, audio visual/ media technologies and academic research. Supporting a wide array of technology used in the Faculty’s pedagogic pursuits and it’s wider creative cultures, he combines the knowledge and understanding of being an artist and facilitator of education in creative practices.Â
Sarah Liu
Art & Design Student Collaborator
Sarah Liu is a student currently in the final phase of her dual degree program at the University of New South Wales. Pursuing a Bachelor of Design, specialising in Graphic and Interaction Design, coupled with a Bachelor of Media in Public Relations and Advertising, Sarah’s practice fuses artistic creativity and strategic communication. She is deeply passionate about circular design, advocating for positive change, and empowering women in the design sector. Her design philosophy emphasises innovative reimagining of traditional concepts, blending new ideas with a hint of tradition to create designs that resonate with both novelty and familiarity.
Her academic journey is marked by a commitment to personal and professional growth, supplemented by roles that have honed her business and communication skills. A notable achievement in her career was collaborating with Bruce Mau and Bisi Williams in 2022 on the Massive Action Sydney project, which significantly enhanced her strategic design and public speaking skills. As she navigates her fourth and final year at university, Sarah stands as a motivated individual, driven by a passion for collaborative work and an unwavering commitment to continual learning. Sarah has a vision to achieve positive change through compelling, beautiful, and persuasive design.
Supporters
