What information designers can do for media and information literacy: a didactical approach

Information Designers play an increasingly important role in observing, interpreting, and translating the non-neutral dynamics of social media platforms, where shared meanings, information, opinions, and cultural models of varying reliability circulate, contributing to the emergence of polarising and problematic digital trends. The Media and Information Literacy (MIL) framework offers a reference for navigating these environments critically. This paper examines the relationship between Information Design and MIL and proposes a didactical approach that builds on Information Designers’ competences to design effective MIL artefacts. We present a teaching methodology developed within the Final Synthesis course of the Master’s Degree in Communication Design at Politecnico di Milano. The methodology is based on Knowledge Objectives (KOs) and Knowledge Activators (KA), and unfolds across four phases: Designing with Data, Data Design, Data to Knowledge and Data Publics. Across these phases, students investigated eight digital trends and translated their findings into a set of Information Design artefacts designed for a heterogeneous public. By presenting the outcomes of each phase and discussing both successes and limitations, we show how this methodology fosters a practice of Information Design that is critical, traceable, and open to evaluation. These qualities place Information Design competences at the centre of MIL initiatives, where the role of Information Design remains underexplored. Within this framework, KOs functions as both didactic and evaluative devices: they help students articulate design intentions and assess whether artefacts effectively convey the intended knowledge. Although grounded in a single course, the results suggest the approach could extend to other educational contexts, acting as a methodological bridge between Information Design education and MIL.