Design Fundamentals – A Workshop Presented in English to Undergraduate Fashion Students at Asia University (Taichung, Taiwan)

Abstract

This paper reports on a five-day workshop, delivered in English, to 29 undergraduate fashion students registered at Asia University (Taichung, Taiwan), in Spring 2018. The workshop was concerned with design fundamentals and was under the title 'Structure and Form in Design'. The intention was to encourage students to consider design perspectives sourced outside their selected subject specialism, especially the use of grids based on regular or semi-regular tiling arrangements to help in the organisation of repeating components of regular patterns. The workshop was comprised of a daily lecture of around 45 minutes and a two-hour period for face-to-face discussion between students and the workshop presenter. Students registered on the workshop were required to produce a collection of four original repeating pattern designs, on black and white only, based on original source material generated by them, with anticipated production using screen printing on a fine 60/40 per cent cotton/polyester blend, and suited to either a fashion or interior design use. In addition to the small design collection, students were required to submit a 'mood'/'story'/'marketing' board, also in black and white only, showing examples of design development, identifying the specific method of print production and the precise anticipated end use as well as general marketing information. Responses were submitted by students on day four of the workshop and individual face-to-face feedback was given to each student on day five. This presentation includes further details of the workshop, including summaries of lectures presented and images of design collections submitted by participating students.