An Unexpected Shift to an Online Design Studio Course: Student Insights on Design Critiques

Abstract

AbstractOnline education is not a common practice in design education. As the cornerstone of design education, the design studio incorporates a hands‐on approach that stems from its materiality. This tactile character of the design studio has been challenged by the recent pandemic since many design schools and departments decided to proceed with their education online. Consequently, some fundamental pedagogical mechanisms that rely on the distinct habitat of the design studio were moved to the online context. Design critiques, a crucial activity in communicating design knowledge, were also carried to online channels. This shift from the physical to the online environment caused some changes in both the communication and understanding of design critiques. In the light of recent developments, this article reflects on students’ perceptions of design critiques in an online studio setting. In‐depth interviews were conducted with six industrial design students who started their semester in a physical studio environment but continued online. The study demonstrates that the students’ impressions of design critiques have been affected by several factors that can be grouped under three categories: crit actors, crit process and crit context.