“Should-Have” versus “Do-not-Have”: Functional Practices and Production of Anti-Domestic Violence Promotional Materials in Community Campaigns

Abstract: As a global social issue, the prevention of domestic violence necessitates reliance on refined community governance systems. This study investigates the functional gap between the “prescribed functions” and “de facto functions” of promotional materials in grassroots anti-domestic violence campaigns. By analyzing the relationship between design flaws and organizational mechanisms, it explores the functional dynamics of these materials from a design perspective. Adopting a case study approach, the research analyzes 10 campaign cases and reveals that in anti-domestic violence activities, key communication elements—such as visual symbols and information hierarchies in legal-popularization-oriented and emergency-response-oriented materials—are compromised by budget constraints, non-professional production, and merged campaign implementations. These issues result in critical functional deficiencies, including missing information priorities and insufficient differentiation. Such problems reflect both limitations in design capabilities at the grassroots governance level and contradictions in resource allocation within organizational mechanisms. To address these challenges, the study proposes multidimensional strategies, including tiered policy formulation, specialized training, and external design collaboration mechanisms, to enhance the effectiveness of anti-domestic violence publicity.