In 1967, the Experimental Cartography Unit (ECU) launched at the Royal College of Art and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with the main aim to ‘advance art, science, technology, and practice of making maps by computers.’ (Rhind in Kemp 2008). The ECU was also tasked with working on new ways of communicating cartographic information. (Coppock 1968) Amongst the innovative approaches to emerge from ECU’s researchers was the development of a stereographic or anaglyph method for representing spatially statistical data on maps. Such advances in automated cartography techniques contributed significantly to the growing field of computer-assisted information visualisation.

Nearly fifty years on, links between technology, science and design continue to be a key focus for RCA students and researchers alike. In particular, the ways in which students and researchers are ‘transforming information into experiences through design.’ As shifts in technological, informational and socio-political environments occur, so too has the need to re-evaluate the role design and education plays in addressing these new contexts. This paper outlines the current pedagogical challenges faced by the School of Communication, RCA, and exploring both relevant and forward thinking design curricula within an art school context.