FAT-integrated pedagogy: a case study of footwear product design instruction in higher education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Facing the drawback of the traditional product design approach and educational courses, this study aimed to explore an innovative approach through which synthesised knowledge and skills of product design in Function (F), Aesthetics (A) and Technology (T) can be integrated into the instruction of art and design subjects in higher education. With shoe modelling as a study case, experiments with the involvement of 19 participants were conducted to test a traditional shoe design method and a FAT-integrated shoe design method in terms of efficiency, flexibility and accuracy. The results demonstrated that the FAT-integrated shoe design method was more advantages than the traditional method. The study can conclude that the FAT-integrated shoe design method can not only propel the efficiency of product design but also the quality. It can enhance the quality of higher education in art and design subjects and promote the new technology application in traditional labour-intensive industries.