How can we build a better, more inclusive visual language?

The guide argues that current imagery of the natural environment lacks social, ethnic, and geographic diversity, which creates barriers to inclusion. It proposes six principles to diversify visual narratives: using positive stories, avoiding tokenism, depicting diverse activities and landscapes (including urban areas), including real people, and diversifying the creators behind the camera. These changes are framed as essential for engaging a broader range of people with the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

• Current imagery of the natural environment fails to reflect social, ethnic, or geographic diversity, which can prevent people from feeling a sense of belonging in nature and hinder the development of a diverse climate movement.
• To create inclusive visual languages, the document recommends six principles: telling positive stories to enhance belonging, ensuring authenticity over tokenism, expanding the range of depicted activities and landscapes, highlighting urban green spaces, showing real people in everyday contexts, and diversifying the photographers and designers.
• There is a specific need to shift the focus from idyllic countryside imagery to include urban areas, as most people live in towns and cities and experience nature in these settings.

APA

Outreach, C. (2022). How can we build a better, more inclusive visual language? Climate Outreach. https://climateoutreach.org/naturevisualsguide/

Chicago

Outreach, Climate. How can we build a better, more inclusive visual language? Climate Outreach, 2022. https://climateoutreach.org/naturevisualsguide/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Outreach |first1=Climate |title=How can we build a better, more inclusive visual language? |publisher=Climate Outreach |date=21 March 2022 |url=https://climateoutreach.org/naturevisualsguide/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{outreach2022how, author = {Outreach, Climate}, title = {{How can we build a better, more inclusive visual language?}}, institution = {Climate Outreach}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://climateoutreach.org/naturevisualsguide/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }