Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports provide policy-relevant assessments of climate change science to inform policymakers and diverse global audiences. However, figures – i.e. data visuals – from past reports have been criticised for being difficult to understand for many audiences. Therefore, for the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment many of the figures for the Summaries for Policymakers were developed through co-design involving climate experts, information designers, cognitive and social scientists, and policymakers. The design process considered the Message, Audience, Design and Evaluation (MADE principle).
In this talk we present insights from our research that assess the cognitive design principles applied during the co-design process and evaluate to what extent comprehension of the figures improved as a result.
For 12 IPCC figures we take early drafts (prior to co-design) and their final published versions (post co-design). In an online study, participants view six early draft figures and six co-designed figures, but never receive a matching pre and post co-design pair. Participants complete comprehension questions for each figure, along with measures of graph reading ability, climate knowledge and climate beliefs as control variables. Through additional data collection, participants’ preferences for pre and post co-designed figures are evaluated.
Findings will (a) inform understanding of the influence of co-design and the application of cognitive principles to making IPCC figures more accessible for non-expert audiences, and (b) identify which comprehension challenges remain to be addressed, to help inform the design of figures for the next cycle of IPCC Assessment Reports.
Keywords: IPCC, comprehension, co-design