Design and communication for innovation and social change: creative solutions to complex challenges

2025-07-07

Most of us have heard on more than one occasion that complex problems require complex solutions. Latin America is no exception, as it has been marked by inequality and various socioeconomic problems as a result of the disconnect between economic growth and social welfare (Barzola and Mendoza, 2020). This has required a paradigm shift in the design of public policies and interventions that generate real social change. Driven by international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the Millennium Development Goals, innovation has been increasingly inserted as a new paradigm and, in particular, the use of design and its methodologies to find solutions to pre-existing problems (Barzola and Mendoza, 2020) and, why not, new ones. Communication is not left behind and since the last decades new approaches have emerged that no longer see it as a mere instrument but as a fundamental process to generate social change, either by empowering communities, promoting inclusion, positioning new voices in the public agenda, encouraging citizen participation and even facilitating the discussion and formulation of public policies (Fernández-Viso, 2024). 

These new approaches to communication and design have changed the conceptions that have long characterized these disciplines. Design has been considered focused on aesthetics, the functionality of products and services, as well as the integration of technology to them (Brown & Wyatt, 2010; Avalos, 2019).  Communication, on the other hand, has been seen as a tool anchored to commerce and the promotion of products and services (Alvarado, 2012). However, for several decades design and communication have evolved, generating approaches that put these disciplines at the service of the common good and contribute to respond to the needs and problems faced by our societies: design and communication for social change (Alvarado, 2012, Avalos, 2019). 

Citing various authors and analyzing its evolution, Avalos (2019) explains that design for social change can be understood as that which, far from focusing on market problems, seeks, above all, to meet human needs and is oriented to provide solutions for those people and collectives facing various challenges; it is the application of design thinking and methods - such as Design Thinking - for the creation of solutions that generate well-being and a better quality of life for people and society (Brown & Wyatt, 2010). These solutions are also characterized by the participation of people throughout the design process (Brown & Wyatt, 2010). Precisely the latter is also one of the characteristics of communication for social change. Although it is more complex to define, several authors such as Marita Mata (2023), Amparo Cadavid (2023), Luis Ramiro Beltrán (2014) and Mario Kaplún (1983, 2001) have theorized about its role in transforming societies (Peña & Marroquín, 2025). Whether from the term “popular”, “horizontal”, ‘participatory’ or “alternative” communication, the idea is to see communication as a process through which people and their communities acquire their own languages, construct their messages and use them to re-signify their realities and make them reach the public sphere, all through a process that is participatory (Peña and Marroquín, 2025) in which the communities themselves are protagonists throughout the process of their own communication (Gómez, de la Noval, Guerra, 2022). 

In this new issue of Revista Abierta we want to expand the understanding of design and communication as disciplines that contribute to development and social change. We invite authors to consider the different areas from which design and communication can contribute to change, whether through the design of products, services, experiences and/or the use of communication in participatory campaigns, community media or innovative strategies to promote awareness and change in individual or social attitudes and behaviors. 

Some of the lines of research in which specific topics can be developed are: 

  • Application of people-centered design methodologies for the generation of sustainable solutions. 
  • Case studies on the active participation of communities and the interdisciplinary importance in the design of solutions or communication campaigns. 
  • Social design applied to education, inclusion and social cohesion. 
  • Management and communication strategies of participatory community radio and media. 
  • Integration of social networks and digital platforms in communication for social change. 
  • Communication campaigns for the promotion and defense of human rights and social causes. 
  • Integration of artificial intelligence in the design of solutions and management of communication for social change.  

Submission guidelines  

Authors should send their articles or essays before August 15, 2025 to wcarballo@monicaherrera.edu.sv. The texts must meet the requirements and adhere to the guidelines of Revista Abierta established in the Submissions page. In addition, authors should provide their full names, institutional affiliation and contact e-mail address. 

Proposals accepted for blind peer review will be notified on Monday, September 8. 

Bibliography 

Alvarado López, M. A. C. (2012). La publicidad en el marco de la comunicación para el desarrollo: hacia un nuevo modelo de publicidad para el cambio social. Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación, 17, 191–207. 

Avalos, M. (2019). Diseño para el cambio o la innovación social: antecedentes y posturas: una perspectiva de diseño social aplicada a proyectos de cátedra en la Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera. Abierta Anuario De Investigación, (13), p. 10–50. https://revistaabierta.monicaherrera.edu.sv/index.php/abierta/article/view/55  

Barzola, M., & Mendoza, M. (2020). Políticas de Estado para la innovación social a través del diseño. Cuadernos Del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación, 21(83), 15–23. 

Brown, T., & Wyatt, J. (2015). Design Thinking for Social Innovation. Annual Review of Policy Design, 3(1), 1–10. https://ojs.unbc.ca/index.php/design/article/view/1272  

Fernández-Viso, A. (2024). Cuestionar y enfrentar el edadismo hacia las personas mayores desde la comunicación. El caso del movimiento asociativo de las personas mayores en El Salvador. Mediaciones, 33(21), pp. 110-133. https://doi.org/10.26620/uniminuto.mediaciones.20.33.2024.110-133  

Gómez González, Gretchen, Noval Bautista, Luis Alain de la, & Guerra Rubio, Luisa. (2022). Comunicación, desarrollo y cambio social, nombrando el campo. Revista Estudios del Desarrollo Social: Cuba y América Latina, 10(1). http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2308-01322022000100006&lng=es&tlng=pt.  

Peña, F. y Marroquín, A. (2025). La experiencia mediática de las radios jornaleras en Estados Unidos. Otra comunicación para otros migrantes. En Willian Carballo (Coord.) Toma este tiktok, patria querida. Identidad cultural de la diáspora salvadoreña en tiempos de plataformas digitales. Mónica Herrera Ediciones, San Salvador.