Design Students Research Articles

The differences in the portfolios of graphic and digital design students in Greenwich, Vietnam

Designing portfolios for students majoring in graphic design, digital fine art, etc. at many Vietnamese colleges entails drafting a job application immediately following graduation. However, graphic and digital design students in Greenwich, Vietnam, will create privateportfolios, which are extremely crucial. Designing a portfolio not only helps graphic and digital design students in Greenwich, Vietnam, survey the social needs of the vocational market, leading to building career aspirations, but also orients self-employment in the future.Most portfolios of graphic and digital design students in Greenwich, Vietnam, identify the strengths and weaknesses of their current skills, achieve outstanding results in competitions, and use pretty skills obtained from freelance works a. Furthermore, the ultimate purpose of creating a portfolio is to boost students' personal confidence by presenting it while they are interviewing for a new position right after graduation or approaching a new career. As a result, research, market analysis, and portfolio creation allow students to exercise professional working abilities while also laying the groundwork for confidence and originality in product design. The study's findings reveal certain disparities in the creative portfolios of graphic and digital creative students in Greenwich, Vietnam, who already possess a wealth of remarkable information, aptitude, particularly communication in a foreign language, and flexibility as global citizens

Analyzing the Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning and Information Literacy Instruction at a Liberal Arts College

Project-based learning engages students in the collaborative design of generating and seeking answers to questions. Students work independently and creatively, to plan, execute, and make necessary adjustments to produce high-quality work, while developing competent twenty-first-century skills. These skills include critical thinking, collaboration, creativity/innovation, and communication. This work presents a unique partnership between a physics faculty member, a librarian, and a physician in a project-based ultrasound course at a primarily undergraduate institution. Implementing project-based learning, students actively engaged with real-world and personally, meaningful problems. Information literacy skills, such as evaluating and synthesizing information, were also naturally incorporated throughout the completion of student projects. Students responded to general surveys, self-evaluations, peer evaluations, metacognitive surveys, reflections, and attitude tests to help instructors improve, calibrate, and assess the teaching method. Key findings indicate a 9% growth in students’ information literacy skills and increased engagement. Additionally, results suggest that students prefer project-based learning compared to traditional teaching. This article highlights the course approach, assessment tools, and student engagement and perception.

Sustainability agendas and communication design pedagogy in HE

PurposePrevious research has evidenced that communication design students wish to engage further with sustainable practices but struggle to understand how (Newton and Ellis, HER conference 2023). Whereas other design disciplines (fashion, product, furniture) can often focus on a “physical” output, communication design embraces multiple outcomes, distributed throughout a range of platforms, representing an area of industry and study which can prove difficult to define. This study aims to add further clarity as to how students consider sustainability aligned to their practice.Design/methodology/approachPrevious focus group research sought to uncover how communication design students implicitly consider “sustainability”, uncovering that their knowledge is limited. Suggestions from participants emphasised that it was the role of the institution, not the student, to fully integrate sustainability into practice and to define methods they can deploy. This paper notes a subsequent workshop conducted with 33 Level 5 undergraduate students asking them to reflect on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12/13 in relation to meaningful practice and institutional responsibility.FindingsWorkshops demonstrated the need to engage with sustainable thinking throughout every stage of development. It is clear that students demand more from academic staff at programme level, and from the institution at large, to provide further solutions to sustainability concerns which are relevant to their specific practice.Originality/valueDiscussion surrounding pedagogical practice across communication design lacks interrogation, yet the discipline represents a significant aspect of both design and contemporary society. It is paramount that methods for reinforcing implicit engagement with sustainable best practice within students, their development and their future beyond university are therefore developed.

AI Technology Integrated Education Model for Empowering Fashion Design Ideation

The rapidly increasing importance of technology integration and generative AI in the fashion industry is prompting changes in fashion design education. This study explored a new design methodology utilizing AI for sustainable and future-oriented fashion design education. The methodology involved consulting practitioners to select ChatGPT and Midjourney as AI tools and technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) as the theoretical framework. An AI prompt guide was developed based on specialized books, from which an educational program was created. An experiment with 30 third- and fourth-year fashion design students showed that their overall satisfaction with AI through TPACK was 4 out of 5, suggesting that TPACK enhances students’ creativity and efficiency through generative AI. Prompt guides received a satisfaction score of 4.7, indicating their usefulness for creative and efficient design outputs. AI-powered educational programs, like ChatGPT and Midjourney, also improved student creativity and learning efficiency, with ChatGPT scoring 4.5. However, concerns about technology dependency were noted. This study offers insights into integrating the latest technology into fashion design to improve process efficiency and creative output. This study not only provides a foundation for future research on AI design methodology but also explores practical directions for sustainable design in the fashion industry.

Understanding the perception of design students towards ChatGPT

The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled language models, such as ChatGPT, have contributed to their growing popularity in education. However, there is currently a lack of evidence regarding the perception of ChatGPT, specifically among design students. This study aimed to understand the product design (PD) and user experience design (UXD) students' views on ChatGPT and focused on an Indian university. The study employed a survey research design, utilizing questionnaires as the primary data collection method. The collected data (n = 149) was analyzed using descriptive statistics (i.e., frequency, percentage, average, and standard deviation (SD). Inferential statistics (i.e., one-way ANOVA) was used to understand the significant differences between the programs of study, gender, and academic level. The findings indicate that the students expressed admiration for the capabilities of ChatGPT and found it to be an interesting and helpful tool for their studies. In addition, the students' motivation towards using ChatGPT was moderate. Furthermore, the study observed significant differences between PD and UXD students and differences based on gender and academic level on certain variables. Notably, UXD students reported that ChatGPT does not understand their questions well, and formulating effective prompts for the tool was more challenging than for PD students. Based on the findings, the study recommends how educators should consider integrating ChatGPT into design education curricula and pedagogical practices. The insights aim to contribute to refining the use of ChatGPT in educational settings and exploring avenues for improving its effectiveness, ultimately advancing the field of AI in design education.

Behind the designs: An exploration of sustainability attitudes among interior design students in Jordan

This research is an attempt to understand where interior design students in Jordan and the Middle East Region stand in the sustainable thinking process through education and practice and if their education on sustainability and environmental issues is enough or if it needs more development in terms of interior design programs curriculums to be more effective sustainable interior designers. The survey instrument was used to assess the attitudes of interior design students toward ecological responsibility and environmental sustainability; a modified New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP) was used in this research. Students enrolled in interior design programs at a Northern Jordanian university were surveyed. The sample comprised 160 interior design students from different levels of an interior design program at a public university in Jordan. In the study’s sample, the students showed more interest in the negative effect of human usage of many of the planet's resources and how this will impact the planet's ecological system. This attitude provides insight into the students’ minds regarding where they have those ideas. As design students, this can motivate them to take a proactive stand toward sustainability, which may be done through their projects in the future. However, many participants did not understand sustainable practices and strategies. This can be due to the lack of sustainability training at the university level.Based on the NEP score distribution in each section, it can be concluded that students support the concept of sustainability and reject the destruction happening to the planet. This data shows an increased awareness of environmental and ecological problems, which can positively push design students and future designers to adapt sustainable design strategies to their projects.

Generative Artificial Intelligence in Graphic Design Education: A Student Perspective

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is re-defining the way higher education design is taught and learned. The explosive growth of GenAI in design practice demands that design educators ensure students are prepared to enter the design profession with the knowledge and experience of using GenAI. To facilitate GenAI’s introduction in a project-based context, it is suggested that design educators use critical engagement as a starting point to assure students understand the strengths and weakness of GenAI in the creative design process. There is little guidance on how to systematically integrate GenAI in design studio practice while maintaining a critical perspective of the ethical issues it has engendered. This research explores student attitudes toward GenAI, frequency of its use, and student perception of its impact on their future design careers. A survey of a representative cohort of graphic design students (n = 17) reveals a pragmatic acceptance that GenAI will change how design is practiced and a concurrent willingness to learn more on how to use it effectively and ethically. The survey validates the need for design educators to engage and guide students critically in their understanding and use of GenAI within studio and professional practice.

The interplay between teacher beliefs, instructional practices, and students’ reading achievement: national evidence from PIRLS 2021 using path analysis

BackgroundReading and reading comprehension are crucial skills, yet many students in grade 4 struggle with them. To address this, several instructional practices have gained popularity. For one, explicit reading strategy instruction (ERSI) is deemed useful, given the finding that successful readers tend to employ reading strategies. As a second example, differentiated reading instruction (DRI) is believed to improve all students’ reading comprehension. Indeed, a one-size-fits-all approach may not work for all students, considering their different reader profiles. Despite the importance of ERSI and DRI, much uncertainty remains about what happens in the classroom and why. One way to understand teacher instructional practices such as ERSI and DRI, is by applying psychological behavioural theories to the teaching context. They provide a framework to predict human behaviour based on human characteristics and beliefs. Educational research points to teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) and attitudes (TA) as particularly important concepts, especially in the field of science. However, associations between TA, TSE, instructional practices and students’ reading achievement remain insufficiently studied. This study addresses this knowledge gap by exploring the interplay between TSE and TA regarding ERSI and DRI, the implementation of these practices, and students’ reading achievement.MethodsDigitalPIRLS 2021 data from Belgium (Flanders) were used. To gather information about ERSI, DRI, TA and TSE, national adaptations were made to the teacher questionnaires. Three nested path models with a two-level design (students nested into classes) were estimated.ResultsThis study indicates that teachers with higher TSE and more positive TA in ERSI and DRI implement these practices more frequently. Positive TA regarding ERSI and DRI also correspond to positive TSE regarding these instructional practices. Furthermore, ERSI and DRI implementation are positively related. Finally, no significant associations between teacher beliefs, instructional practices, and students’ reading comprehension were found.ConclusionWhereas TSE and TA are considered highly context-dependent, uncertainty remains about TSE and TA regarding ERSI and DRI. The results highlight the importance of subject-specific TSE and TA for teachers’ instructional practices. Ultimately, the findings emphasize the necessity of supporting teachers in developing their TSE and TA towards reading comprehension instruction.

Design-based learning in higher education: Its effects on students’ motivation, creativity and design skills

In art and design education, the roles of motivation and creative performance in design skills hold immense significance for design students. As such, the teachers’ instructional strategies are crucial. Among these strategies, design-based learning (DBL) is one of the important instructional processes that integrates design principles, problem-solving skills, and creative thinking to engage students in hands-on, authentic learning experiences. This study aimed to investigate the effects of DBL on the motivation, creativity, and design skills of students in art and design education. Pre- and post-test experimental research was conducted on 207 participants who specialize in art and design education at Kazan Federal University and the Kazan State Institute of Culture. Employing non-probability sampling, they were assigned to an experimental (treatment using DBL; 105 students) and a control (traditional instruction; 102 students) group. The findings demonstrated that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group, while no significant interaction was observed between groups and sexes in the development of motivation, creativity, and design skills. Moreover, achievement motivation was found to significantly influence creative performance and design skills. This research serves as a valuable resource for educators and researchers, as it offers insights into fostering the creative performance of students within the field of art and design education.

Development of Flipped Classroom Learning Design Assisted by Digital Storytelling Media in the Photography Course for Visual Communication Design Students in The Bachelor's Program at STIE Asia Malang

This study aims to develop a flipped classroom instructional design assisted by digital storytelling media for the Photography course for undergraduate students of Visual Communication Design at STIE Asia Malang. The approach of project-based learning integrates the use of technology and active learning methods to enhance the effectiveness of learning. The Research and Development design used the instructional design proposed by Degeng & Degeng (2018). It divided into three phases of instructional design formation, namely 1) analysis of learning conditions, 2) development of learning strategies, 3) development of outcome measurement procedures. The results of the study show that this instructional design is effective in increasing student engagement and active participation. Students are more involved in the learning process, more motivated, and better able to apply the knowledge they have gained in real projects. Additionally, their learning outcomes significantly improved in both conceptual understanding and practical application. The efficiency of this design is also evident from the optimization of learning time, where students can utilize out-of-class time to study the materials, while in-class time is used for more interactive discussions and collaborative projects.

Using artificial intelligence teaching assistants to guide students in solar energy engineering design

Engineering projects, such as designing a solar farm that converts solar radiation shined on the Earth into electricity, engage students in addressing real-world challenges by learning and applying geoscience knowledge. To improve their designs, students benefit from frequent and informative feedback as they iterate. However, teacher attention may be limited or inadequate, both during COVID-19 and beyond. We present Aladdin, a web-based computer-aided design (CAD) platform for engineering design with a built-in artificial intelligence teaching assistant (AITA). We also present two curriculum units (Solar Energy Science and Solar Farm Design), where students explore the Sun-Earth relationship and optimize the energy output and yearly profit of a solar farm with the help of the AITA. We tested the software and curriculum units with over 100 students in two Midwestern high schools. Pre- and post-survey data showed improvements in understanding of science concepts and self-efficacy in engineering design. Pre-post analysis of design performance gains reveals that AI helped lower achievers more than higher achievers. Interviews revealed students’ values and preferences when receiving feedback. Our findings suggest that AITAs may be helpful as an additional feedback mechanism for geoscience and engineering education. Future efforts should focus on improving the usability of the software and providing multiple types of feedback to promote inclusive and equitable use of AI in education.

Design Students’ Affordance-based Messages in an Undesigned Design Studio

In this study, as PhD candidates and teaching assistants working in the Interior Architecture Department of the Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) we aimed to explore the interrelationship between the students’ messages and the studio’s affordances by using participant observation and photovoice methods in the classes we attended in the same physical space. We used the photographs taken by us during the studio courses as the central data set to explore the messages triggered by the studio affordances, which are formed based on the complex environments and relationships created by the limited physical facilities of our design studio, the high student quotas and the large project groups using the same physical space at different and even the exact times. Through collaborative commentary and reflective writing, we produced written and visual reports on the final themes at the conclusion of the analysis process. Finally, we concluded that the four main themes, namely, direct message, indirect message, transcendent message, and no message but action, guided us in exploring and explaining our studio’s affordances.

CAD Inspiration for Design Students on the Geometric Modification of Letters

CAD Inspiration for Design Students on the Geometric Modification of Letters

Different flags over shared terrain: Making sense of ‘design labels’

Design students, professionals, and academics often use design labels, such as social design, co-design, and sustainable design, to position or explain their work. We argue that the labels are insufficient for a clear and nuanced approach to describing design practices, and suggest a way to say a bit more. Seventy design labels were collected and categorized, yielding five clusters. Four clusters derive their name from a necessary element of a design project, namely resources, outcomes, criteria, and methods. The fifth cluster indicates application domains. The discussion explores the clusters and the related elements. We conclude that the labels are often insufficient to clarify a position, that the elements can assist in describing and planning a design practice. But that the labels remain valuable: although these do not describe or explain how these practices are conducted, they do serve to identify specialist communities, and highlight new directions in the field.

VISUAL ARTS EDUCATION FOR DESIGN STUDENTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF MUSEUM EDUCATION IN A SOCIAL CONTEXT

The article is a theoretical-practical study, focused on valorization of the visual arts education for design students in the context of museum education. The paper reveals fundamental concepts, identifies certain perspectives to researches in the targeted field. Additionally, it specifies and describes several essential educational aspects, such as the objectives of visual arts education; the value axes centered on visual arts education; cognitive processes developed by design students during activities carried out in museums; educational actions regarding the optimization of visual arts education for design students; strategies and methods (scientific documentation, analysis and synthesis, conversation, product study, etc.) of enhancing visual arts education for design students. The study specifies, analyzes, and validates the positive impact of activities conducted in museum spaces on the visual arts education of design students, focused on achieving these aspects in the context of university-museum collaboration. In conclusion, an approach to visual arts education of design students from the perspective of national and universal artistic heritage can ensure both the optimization of initial training for design students and lifelong education.

Promoting Wellness for Architecture and Landscape Architecture Students: Lessons Learned from a Mixed Method Study

Background: Universities face increasing pressure to model healthy campuses in response to the ongoing mental health crisis, yet limited research explores ways to improve student wellness. Aim: This study explored strategies architecture and landscape architecture students adopt to overcome stress and solutions for promoting wellness in a school of architecture. Methods: The study utilized a convergent mixed methods research design. First, design students (n = 277) responded to an online wellness survey to explore how they lower stress during their academic studies. Second, semi-structured interviews (n = 37) uncovered students’ coping mechanisms to overcome stress during their academic studies and recommendations for creating a more healthful environment. Results: Strategies students most often adopted to lower stress were socializing, sleeping, exercising, taking personal time, spending time outdoors, and improving time management. Students recommended improving communication and time management, a sense of community, and building a health and wellness culture. Findings were translated into design considerations for creating healthier places on college campuses. Conclusions: Design students employ a variety of strategies to overcome the debilitating effects of mental distress. Policies and campus planning efforts should work toward student-informed solutions to promote wellness.

Mental Health Challenges in Architecture and Landscape Architecture Students

Background: College students are experiencing increasing levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, but little research exists on factors weakening the mental health of design students.Aim: This study investigates the prevalence and precursors of mental health challenges among architecture and landscape architecture students.Methods: This study used a convergent mixed-methods research design with three data collection methods: The Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21; n = 399 students), an online wellness survey (n = 269), and semi-structured interviews (n = 37).Results: Findings reveal that 33%, 46%, and 33% of students screened positive for moderate to extremely severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. The leading factors elevating stress included school deadlines and schedule, workload demands or amount of work outside of class, inadequate sleep, and time spent at work. Negative behaviors due to stress were discussed, including neglect of self-care (e.g., poor sleep patterns, eating habits, and physical inactivity), inability to focus, emotional instability, and social withdrawal.Conclusions: This study underscores mental health concerns among design students and identifies potential factors that contribute to unhealthy habits and compromise academic performance, including pedagogical approaches, learning and teaching culture, studio environment, and lifestyle choices.

Performance and eye movement patterns of industrial design students reading sustainable design articles

Sustainable design education plays a crucial role in cultivating sustainability awareness and competencies among students studying industrial design. This research investigates their sustainability levels, reading performance when engaging with articles, and fixation patterns during reading. 60 industrial design students participated in the study. We evaluated their sustainability levels using the Sustainable Consumption Measurement Scale. After reading both theoretical and case article, they completed tests assessing their recall and perspective scores. We collected eye-tracking data to analyze fixation duration and conducted lag sequential analysis on fixation transitions. Students were categorized into higher and lower sustainability groups based on their sustainability scores. Female students demonstrated higher sustainability levels, and students with design experience performed better in the higher sustainability group. While recall scores did not differ significantly, the higher sustainability group exhibited elevated perspective scores in theory article. Perspective scores were generally higher for case article compared to theory article. The higher sustainability group exhibited longer fixation durations in theory article, while the case article had longer fixation durations on images. Fixation transition patterns varied between theoretical and case article, with the former featuring transitions from images to texts, and the latter demonstrating transitions between images. This study provides valuable insights into sustainable design education for students studying industrial design.

Project-based learning in basic photography learning: The effect on student learning outcome

This research aims to assess the impact of implementing the project based learning on enhancing student learning outcomes in photography sessions within the visual communication design program at Vocational High School. Additionally, the study intends to compare the effectiveness of this learning with conventional learning. The study used a quasi-experimental method using a non-equivalent control group. The study was carried out at Vocational High School Muhammadiyah 1 Kepanjen. The samples in this research were X-grade students in visual communication design. They were separated into two groups: the experimental group, consisting of 17 students, and the control group, also composed of 17 students. The data was gathered by assessing students' learning outcomes before and after using the learning strategies of each group. The research utilized a portfolio of photographic project outcomes as the instrument, which included specified evaluation criteria. The data analysis in the research included a normality test, homogeneity test, and independent samples t-test. The findings indicated a notable disparity in learning outcomes between the experimental and control groups. The study findings suggest project-based learning may enhance student learning outcomes in photography sessions.

Preparing humane ML experts for a better future. Experiments with design and engineering students

Preparing humane ML experts for a better future. Experiments with design and engineering students