Najwat Rehman

On the Same Map

Najwat Rehman is using Gigamapping to help researchers gain a deeper understanding of the complex, dynamic, and overlapping realms of climate change, food security, and strategic decision making in Pakistan. 

“Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, even though it doesn’t produce nearly as many emissions as the top contributors like the United States, India, and China,” Rehman said. “This is a big food security and equity issue. Food insecurity is a consequence resulting from climate change, and the general population is paying a heavy price in terms of extreme weather events and resulting losses in agricultural productivity, ”

Najwat Rehman is a graduate student in the MDes Program at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan. Though the larger focus of his thesis explores the role of design in promoting equity and access in social spaces, his cohort has focused on food systems for the past two years. Rehman’s thesis is unquestionably interdisciplinary, and is grounded in climate change, virtual design, agriculture, food security, and policy making. 

Rehman’s work focuses on Pakistan, where climate change is placing an ever present burden of food insecurity upon its citizens. In order to address this inequity, Rehman is using systemic design and Gigamapping to address the complex problem space. Described by the individual who pioneered them, Gigamaps are “Rich multi-layered design artefacts that integrate systems thinking with designing as a way of developing and internalizing an understanding of a complex field.” It is further described as “extensive mapping across multiple layers and scales, investigating relations between seemingly separated categories and so implementing boundary critique to conception and framing of systems.” In partnership with researchers in Pakistan who are trying to influence policy and action, Rehman provides a design lense for building a platform for these researchers to strategize their action. Built off of data from the landscape, these maps will help researchers and policy makers to address inequities by providing an understanding of the complexities within the ecological climate, social culture, and agricultural situation of Pakistan. “GIGA-mapping allows us to map out which ministry is doing what, who is funding which programs, what connections and interactions (or lack thereof) exist within the system,” Rehman said. “The maps can tell us what policies are in place, and what policies need to be made next.” 

Rehman’s strengths lie not only in design, but within the literary field as well. His fiction story Overdue Monsoon won the LUMS short story competition in 2018, and this talent carries over into his thesis, where he tells visual narratives through the Gigamaps he produces.

Rehman began his thesis work last summer, and said that completing a thesis during a pandemic has not been without challenges. In addition to going wholly virtual and online, he has struggled to secure interviews and speak to government and policy representatives in Pakistan for policy perspectives for his project. Furthermore, with a background in graphic design, Rehman said he was initially intimidated by the complex web of climate change, agriculture, and food security. “Initially, I was out of my comfort zone with that web,” Rehman said. “Now I find it fascinating, and so enriching.”

Rehman is currently putting his creative problem solving skills to the test with the complexity within his thesis, and using design to do so. “Food insecurity and climate change in Pakistan will become more complicated and even messier as time goes on,” Rehman said. “By using integrative design for social innovation, we can understand complexities within these issues in order to address their inequities.”

Learn more about Najwat Rehman and his design work.

Story by Claire Pajka.