Design educators have been trying for the past decades to frame real-world problems in the context of studio-based practices through the lens of economic design logic as the status quo. Such studio-based design pedagogy distances students from real-world problems, leading to poor problem definition resulting from poor understanding and not experiencing the problem firsthand. In order to counter such a conservative design problem-solving approach some design educators have adopted nomadic pedagogy, which promotes curious-emphatic design approach that embraces performative enactment to generate solutions based on a well-defined problem.

This study expands the concept of cosmopolitan localism by Manzini (2010), which supports the approach of contextualised design solutions and not necessarily a global approach due to context differences. The research adopted an ethnographic approach for studying emerging sustainable graphic design practices with the aid of Sustainability Development Analytical Grid and Activity Theory. The results show the practice of sustainability through the aid of Ghana Food and Drugs Authority and Ghana Environmental Protection Agency who checked the content and materials of graphic design products for conformity to set standards.

The study investigates appropriate approaches to new curriculum development and educational practice at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).This is necessary in order to ensure success of the multi-cultural student body and facilitate the creation of ethical and culturally unique design solutions by the Bachelors of Technology (BTech) Fashion and Surface Design learners at CPUT.

By using the research dissertations and studio work of six learners as examples, possibilities of best practice and challenges with regard to this diverse context are highlighted, as the success of these learners in the 2006 BTech programme is analysed in a qualitative manner.