Visual ethics & design style

The visual language of Living Without Letters has been purposefully developed in relation to the topic and the people it represents. Although the designer has a background in classical drawing techniques through vocational training in fashion and garment design — enriched by years of painting and art practice — this project required a more approachable and functional visual form. Learning digital sketching tools and adopting Brand’s (2020) methodology for visual thinking resulted in an intentionally loose, sketch-like, almost childlike style.

This is a deliberate response to the socio-cultural associations surrounding low literacy. People with limited foundational skills are frequently positioned as less independent and less “adult” within institutional systems (Street, 2013). By leaning into this aesthetic, the design exposes these implicit judgments rather than hiding them — turning stigma into a site of awareness and critical engagement. It mirrors the discomfort and confusion experienced when navigating a world built for those fluent in written language (Freire, 1970).

At the same time, the colour palette is bright, energetic and optimistic, aligned with perspectives that view social innovation not as a response to deficit but as a pathway toward shared possibility (Manzini, 2015). While the game presents barriers, it also reveals accessible routes forward — support, chance and collaboration — a form of experiential empathy echoed in French & Teals’ (2016) call to bridge designer–participant divides through situational practice.

The visual design therefore serves as both a strategic design decision and a critical position:

one that invites empathy, challenges literacy-based normativity, and puts forward an optimistic proposal for more inclusive communicative futures.

References

• Akama, Y. (2015). Practising Empathy: A Method to Bridge the Designer–User Divide.
• Brand, W. (2020). Visual Thinking: Empowering People & Organizations through Visual Collaboration.
• Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
• Manzini, E. (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation.
• Street, B. (2013). Social Literacies. Routledge.