Making posters to understand statistics: towards a didactical approach in communication design

The paper describes a didactical approach to introducing statistics to communication design students at the master level. The approach helps them develop a critical attitude toward data manipulation and information visualization, acknowledging a lack of education in such areas despite their growing relevance in the communication design field. In previous experiences, we observed how theoretical lessons in statistics were inefficient because they were perceived as distant from the communication design practice. We, therefore, adopted a “thinking-through-doing” approach: instead of asking students to study statistical methods, we asked them to design a poster explaining them. In the paper, we present the didactical experience discussing the outcomes. The approach brought students to understand better statistical methods and the implications of the decision taken in setting the analysis. In conclusion, we argue that it succeeds in making students more aware of the intersections between design and statistics.