The question, whether graphic design can change society, is in itself problematic, because it implies that graphic design is not a part of society. The question doesn’t acknowledge that graphic design is already a part of society, and any changes within graphic design could be a change in society too. If you think of social change only as ecological or political awareness campaigns, you are missing the point. Small changes in newspaper typeface, for example, can reflect social dynamics—this is social interaction. Min Choi

I don’t think graphic designers can change society, but they can change the design of society. Tetsuya Goto

Transparency and change are important notions for my work. As graphic designers, we have the responsibility to be truthful. Sometimes clients come to us with a heroic picture of themselves that they want us wrap a design around. We always try to analyze what is behind that desire and what a client’s real qualities are. We discuss these issues openly with our clients, because we believe that only transparency is viable in the long run.
Change is important to me because visual communication needs to be developed in Thailand. We have to enhance our visual tradition and communicative mindset by applying experiences and knowledge from the U.S. and Europe. Therefore, we always try to push boundaries in our work—we don’t go for the common, safe solution. Vorathit (Tap) Kruavanichkit

Claiming, that graphic design can change society, is too extreme. I do think that graphic design can be a part of social change. It can contribute to better understanding for one. Just think of the devastating flood here in Thailand a couple of years ago. No one really knew what was going on or what had caused this catastrophe. Then a group of designers came up with infographics that creatively illustrated the water levels and the flood paths in the city and how efforts were being taken to handle the situation. This really helped to prevent panic. Some of our designers joined the project too. Vorathit (Tap) Kruavanichkit

I’d like to postulate the possibility to change the society as a broader concept. These days “change” means not as much transformation as before, but as stated earlier, graphic design helps the younger generation to develop a voice in society. Kwangchul Kim