Integrating Storytelling and Scientific Communication: A Design Approach to Common Disease Health Communication Based on the Course Visual Information Design Research

Against the backdrop of the “High-order, Innovative, and Challenging” (Two Properties and One Degree) standards proposed by China’s Ministry of Education, art and design education urgently needs to explore interdisciplinary and research-oriented training models. The course Visual Information Design Research takes the visualization of common diseases as its entry point, transforming medical knowledge into artistic narrative and information visualization expression, thereby serving as a representative case for cultivating application-oriented research talent. Through an investigation of the cognitive status of residents in urban and rural communities across three cities in southern Jiangsu regarding 18 common diseases—including diabetes, postpartum depression, and coronary heart disease—the course guides students to understand medical knowledge within an interdisciplinary context, construct visual communication models, and optimize design solutions using a “three-stage progressive” narrative strategy. The course not only employs diverse methods such as information graphics, interactive design, AI generation, and eye-tracking experiments to verify communication effectiveness, but also seeks a balance between scientific rigor and artistic expression. In doing so, it embodies the cultivation of higher-order thinking, the application of innovative methodologies, and the challenge of integrating cross-disciplinary knowledge. The study finds that this curriculum reform effectively enhances students’ research sensitivity and sense of social responsibility. The resulting works demonstrate practical application value in smart community health communication scenarios, helping to reduce public blind spots in understanding common diseases and improve preventive awareness. At the same time, interdisciplinary curriculum design under the “High-order, Innovative, and Challenging” standards not only promotes the cultivation of application-oriented research talent in design disciplines, but also provides a replicable model for the deep integration of art and design education with public health communication.