Designing for Social Impact: Preventing Childhood Obesity with Higher Education Students

The present study aims to share a pedagogical practice implemented at Lusófona University – Centro Universitário do Porto, in 2021. This practice is multidisciplinary and involves undergraduate students from Physical Education and Sports, Communication Design and Video Games. The main outcome is a comic magazine, named Yes. The magazine promotes healthy habits regarding dietary and physical activity as strategies to prevent childhood obesity. The research team surveyed children in Porto schools to determine their preferences for visual language and so, children’s choices are being used to guide the research team and design students in future editions using the Design Thinking methodology. The article is divided into four main parts: Introduction, conceptual framework, methodology, and final results. This pedagogical practice has proven to be relevant for many reasons: (i) It brings together students from different educational backgrounds fostering collaboration and diverse perspectives; (ii) It promotes healthy lifestyles through creative methods; (iii) It encompasses children's preferences to ensure a final product in line with the target audience; (iv) It promote the integration of students in research activities; (iv) It prepares students for professional life after graduation; (v) It is an opportunity for students to work on a real-life project and see their work recognized, published, and used by the community as a valuable resource for children, educators, and physicians. Thus, this pedagogical practice demonstrates the relevance of multidisciplinary collaboration, user-centered design, and innovative pedagogical approach in addressing complex societal challenges.