chapter dividers have essays on half-pages

book about natural cycles

concrete book about sound

type studies for poster about a superfund site near my home

concrete book about the origin of wind according to the Navajo

Thesis Abstract

We come from nature. We are nature. Yet we are human. Many of us have lost sight of our intimate connection with the natural world. Thankfully, nature has a way of correcting this. Inherent in any natural system are feedback loops maintaining the equilibrium of organisms, communities, ecosystems and even planets. As you read this, your brain is monitoring levels of carbon dioxide in your blood. When they get too high, your brain sends a signal to the muscles around your lungs making them contract, making you breathe. This signal, or nerve impulse, is called an action potential. It is the essential carrier of the neural code. Without it, you could not breathe. You would not survive.

Our culture has established feedback mechanisms of its own to regulate its survival and we have even developed ones to manage our interactions with the natural world. Yet it is here, in the space between culture and nature, that the feedback systems we have employed are failing. Nature’s response to our actions is often too subtle for us to recognize or appreciate.

Graphic design has great potential to help nature’s signals reach culture by motivating cultural action and presenting complex ideas in ways that spark imagination, inspire wonder and promote understanding. By inserting design into the feedback loops between nature, science and culture, complex issues can be explained and important issues reframed. A greater understanding of our relationship with the natural world will lead to not only more sustainable lifestyles and spiritually fulfilling lives, but a healthier planet and culture as well.

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