Tackling Wicked Problems in Risk and Crisis Communication Through Design Thinking: Insights From the ICRCC Conferences 2024 and 2025

This paper compares two design thinking workshops conducted at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conferences (ICRCC) in 2024 and 2025, each tackling a distinct yet equally wicked communication challenge. The first workshop addressed internal cyber risk communication, exploring how to shift employee behavior and internalize security messages in organizational contexts. The second workshop focused on governmental crisis readiness, co-developing strategies to improve political and administrative response to crises such as cyberattacks, political scandals, and public emergencies. Each workshop utilized human-centered design approaches – emphasizing empathy, co-creation, and rapid prototyping – anchored in the IDEA model and enriched by tools such as persona development, message mapping, and readiness canvases. This comparative analysis demonstrates the versatility of design thinking in navigating complex, under-researched issues in risk and crisis communication, and offers actionable insights for theory, practice, and pedagogy in strategic communication planning.