Sustainability principles are now essential in architectural education. The built environment is confronting serious environmental challenges. The rapid growth of interactive digital platforms offers new chances to change teaching methods in higher education. This transformation is significant and timely. This review explores how sustainability education and digital pedagogy intersect in architectural curricula. It analyzes the role of interactive technologies in improving the teaching and learning of sustainable design principles. This study reviews current literature and examines how effective digital platforms are for teaching sustainability. The platforms include Building Information Modelling, virtual and augmented reality, simulation software, and gamification tools. Given that these platforms are developed most extensively for environmental performance analysis, this review focuses primarily on environmental sustainability while acknowledging the broader four-pillar framework. This review brings together recent studies on digital teaching theories. It focuses on constructivism and experiential learning. The emphasis is on how these theories apply to sustainability education in architecture. Interactive digital platforms provide clear benefits. They help visualize complex environmental systems. They also allow for real-time feedback on design choices. Additionally, they promote collaborative learning that reflects professional practice. These technologies enable the simulation of sustainable building performance. Students can experiment with design variables. They can immediately observe the environmental impacts. The review highlights significant obstacles to implementation. These include resistance from institutions, limitations in technical infrastructure, and the need for faculty training. This analysis reveals significant gaps in existing research. There is a notable absence of longitudinal studies that assess learning outcomes. Additionally, interdisciplinary approaches are not well integrated. The review highlights key areas for future research. The findings add to current discussions on teaching methods in architectural education. They offer practical advice for educators aiming to improve sustainability curricula using digital technologies.
Beyond its role as basic sustenance, food has become a multisensory and experiential medium shaped by sociocultural, aesthetic, technological, and sustainability-related factors. In design education, its material instability, perishability, cultural embeddedness, and sensory richness can make abstract design thinking processes more tangible. This article addresses the use of food not as a professional culinary specialization, but as an exploratory pedagogical medium for early-stage industrial design studio education. This study adopts a qualitative, interpretive, and theory-informed research design. It combines an updated literature review on design thinking, food design, material experience, and reflective studio pedagogy with the qualitative analysis of selected food design examples and four food-centered studio projects. The student projects are treated as illustrative pedagogical case studies. Rather than claiming statistical generalization or empirical validation, the study uses cross-case qualitative coding to identify recurring learning patterns and to formulate a proposed competency-based framework. The cross-case analysis suggests that food-centered studio practices can activate specific design thinking competencies, particularly sensory-material exploration, form-function reasoning, user interaction, cultural interpretation, iterative prototyping, and reflective evaluation. The cases also show differences: some projects foreground abstraction and concept materialization, while others foreground bodily interaction, packaging, cultural reinterpretation, or sensory testing. The article proposes food-centered studio practice as an adaptable and exploratory competency-based framework for industrial design education. The framework should be understood as a conceptual and pedagogical model derived from literature synthesis and qualitative interpretation, not as a quantitatively validated model. Its contribution lies in clarifying how food can support embodied, material-based, and experience-oriented learning when applied with attention to context, institutional resources, and student variability.
Grounded in Bauhaus-based basic design pedagogy, the transition from abstract two-dimensional composition to three-dimensional volumetric and spatial thinking in a first-year basic design studio is examined through a studio-based qualitative evaluation framework. The research aims to read students’ iterative productions and learning processes multidimensionally through a method developed specifically for this study and applied within studio practice. The two- and three-dimensional works of twenty-one students, produced through abstract artworks selected from modern art history, were evaluated according to five criteria: formal balance, creativity, spatial thinking, process orientation, and material–technique integration. The analysis relies not only on final outcomes but also on the joint consideration of process outputs such as sketches, intermediate trials, relief explorations, and model-making. The findings reveal that students developed a marked sensitivity in formal balance and process-oriented working; however, they displayed more variable and still-developing patterns in constructing spatial depth, establishing volumetric continuity, and making the light–material relationship a constitutive component of design. The results demonstrate that Bauhaus principles of learning through process, experimentation, and material engagement can be meaningfully reinterpreted within contemporary studio conditions. The shift from two-dimensional abstraction to volumetric and spatial thinking constitutes a critical learning threshold in basic design education. Accordingly, the study offers an applicable and replicable qualitative framework to support the evaluation of studio learning in design education.
Apparel design programs prepare students for industry careers by teaching design, patternmaking, technical design, and garment construction. Many courses simulate these processes in studio settings, with students completing all steps individually or as part of a team. This study examines the ninth cycle of a long-running technical pack (tech pack) exchange project, using Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) to simulate real-world apparel development processes and communication. Students often rely on familiar techniques, avoiding challenges that build new skills. As a result, their tech packs and patterns rarely reflect industry standards or test their communication abilities in realistic contexts. In this project, twenty-four students from two universities formed five teams and created shirt designs, patterns, and tech packs. These materials were exchanged to produce prototype garments using only the information provided. Students demonstrated an understanding of the simulated roles and the impact of their decisions on outcomes. Reflections indicated that students gained insight into how tech packs communicate with factories, as well as the consequences of incomplete or unclear information. While students met the design brief and completed the required materials, they identified ways to improve their tech packs and patterns. Reflections revealed insights into miscommunication, the impact of assumptions, and the importance of clarity in professional apparel development.
Design thinking (DT) has gathered prominence in recent times, gaining traction inside and outside the design industry. Its name notwithstanding, DT did not emerge from or is created for the design industry but has gradually evolved into a widely adopted central approach across disciplines, including fashion design. Valued for its human-centered, iterative methodology that enables innovative and sustainable outcomes, DT forms the basis of this study, which examines its application in fashion design higher education to enhance sustainability. Rather than positioning sustainability as an explicit instructional focus, the study attempts it as an organic outcome of DT-led, project-based learning (PBL) with insights from students, faculty, and industry practitioners. The Design Thinking Process Guide by Stanford d.school serves as the primary conceptual framework, complemented by experiential learning theory and sustainability frameworks in the context of fashion design. This case study involves undergraduate students at a university in Dubai who are engaged in a semester-long DT-based studio project, and the learning outcomes and feedback of the students and faculty involved are collected and analyzed to answer the research question—How does the application of DT in PBL influence the advancement of sustainability in undergraduate fashion design education? To ensure industry relevance, the study moves beyond academic settings by incorporating interviews with practicing design professionals, examining their views on how DT is integrated within real-world workflows, and the intentional integration of sustainable practices. Supported by a review of relevant literature, the findings reveal that DT promotes responsible, inclusive, and context-sensitive design solutions, reinforcing its relevance as a pedagogical and professional approach that supports sustainability.
Long working hours and course-specific demands can result in musculoskeletal discomfort among design students. However, this has not been thoroughly investigated among students in India. Thus, this study aimed to develop a comprehensive questionnaire using a co-design approach to assess musculoskeletal health and classroom chair-related problems, usage, and needs of design students. It also recommends dissemination strategies for digital data collection in the Indian context to address the challenges associated with questionnaire development and data collection. Our approach comprised five stages: (a) literature review, (b) pilot study on design students, (c) questionnaire refinement using Delphi, (d) questionnaire finalization, and (e) building dissemination strategies. The questionnaire portions developed using Delphi were reliable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.869). A thematic analysis was performed on the opinions of Delphi experts regarding possible motivations for students to complete online surveys. This analysis exhibited three broad themes: strategizing for reward and incentive, optimizing the questionnaire design, and building tailored engagement and outreach strategies. The questionnaire was accordingly refined, and dissemination strategies were streamlined to a top-down strategy, social media strategy, and snowball strategy. Our findings will help researchers conceptualize similar surveys and devise suitable dissemination strategies for better outreach.
Nature has been a source of inspiration for many disciplines. Nature provides abundant opportunities for learning and inspiration. This article investigates the use of natural toys as a source of inspiration for toy design. An exploratory survey (n = 76) indicated that there was low awareness about natural toys like Delonix regia sepals, Nilgiris seeds, and Maple seeds, whereas common play objects like sand, pebbles, and Mimosa pudica were widely recognized. This gap motivated the development of the Nature to Nurture (N2N) toolkit, a toolkit that would inspire toy designer students to take inspiration from natural toys. N2N consists of three linear stages: creative exercises (shake it loose), field visit (into the wild), and cards (harvest ideas). In the final stage, cards had four categories: inspiration, design principles, mechanics, and classification. The toolkit was implemented by fourth-year design students (n = 20) in the module Toy Design. Qualitative and quantitative analyses showed positive results of the N2N toolkit. Ninety-eight percent of the participants reported that the toolkit supported exploring their creativity, and the rubric evaluation of design outcomes showed a significant distribution of inspiration application (χ²(2) = 17.76, p = .00014). Participants reported that the inspiration category was easy to comprehend, whereas the mechanics category was perceived as difficult. The students felt that the toolkit was effective and also challenging. Experiencing nature consciously played a vital role in the toolkit. There is still substantial potential to investigate how nature can be used as a framework for design and in other domains.
This study systematically reviews the integration of circular economy (CE) principles into fashion design education across different educational contexts. The review addresses the central question: What educational methodologies, strategies, and/or tools focused on CE are being implemented in fashion design courses? A structured search using the keywords “fashion design,” “education,” and “circular economy” with the Boolean operator AND was conducted across the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. To ensure methodological rigor and minimize bias, the Quality in Qualitative Evaluation Tool was employed, providing a framework for evaluating the quality of the selected studies. From an initial pool of 358 records, eight studies—five journal articles and three conference papers—published between 2017 and 2022 were included for a descriptive thematic analysis. The review identified Project-Based Learning (PjBL or PPBL), Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and Experiential Learning as the most frequently cited active learning methodologies. These approaches collectively emphasize interdisciplinary integration, practical experimentation, and critical reflection, fostering student engagement and creating a dynamic environment for the incorporation of CE principles into fashion design education. This review highlights the increasing integration of CE into fashion design education, reflecting a growing commitment within academia to align fashion design pedagogy with sustainability goals. By synthesizing existing knowledge, the findings provide valuable insights for advancing CE-focused pedagogies and offer a foundation for further curricular development in this evolving field.
The rapid development of 3D and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is transforming the fashion industry, redefining design processes and enhancing production efficiency. This transformation has created an urgent need for future-ready professionals with interdisciplinary and digital competencies. This article examines the synergies between universities and companies in developing skilled professionals. It highlights the adoption of 3D and AI technologies in fashion design through cooperative programs. The two case studies, which comprise a forty-hour training course on 3D fashion design and a one-day hands-on AI workshop, demonstrate practical ways to bridge the gap between theoretical education and industry practices. The main issues including the rapid advancement of technology and the need to align the goals of academic institutions and companies are examined together with suggested solutions to address them. The author hopes that this article can serve as a reference point for educators, researchers, and industry practitioners seeking to innovate digital fashion design education and advance the industry’s technological capabilities.
This study examines the systemic transformation of Chinese design education as it pivots from a traditional fine arts-centric foundation toward a synergistic orientation necessitated by the generative AI era. Utilizing a qualitative comparative framework, the research evaluates divergent pedagogical paradigms across nine representative institutions in China, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, specifically focusing on the interplay between admission policies, curricular structures, and assessment mechanisms. The findings reveal how structural differences influence students’ design thinking, creativity, and adaptability. Specifically, China’s historically exam-oriented and skill-centered approach creates structural impediments to innovation, whereas Korea’s holistic evaluation system and the UK’s industry-integrated, project-driven pedagogy promote creative problem-solving and critical engagement. In light of generative AI technologies, the study emphasizes the need for Chinese design education to shift from technical imitation toward fostering AI literacy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and human–machine co-creation. Recommended strategies include redesigning curricula to prioritize process and ethics, strengthening partnerships between academia and industry, and re-centering pedagogy around creative intelligence. This cross-national comparison offers both theoretical insights and practical guidance for systemic reform, aiming to enhance the global competitiveness of design education in an increasingly automated creative landscape.
This study investigates how the narrative structure and image-production methods of cinema can be integrated into the architectural design process. Treating the act of design not merely as a formal production process but as an intellectual and intuitive activity, the research positions cinematographic narrative as an epistemological component of architectural thinking. Drawing upon Henri Bergson’s concepts of duration (durée) and intuition, along with Gilles Deleuze’s notion of the movement-image, the study explores the potential of cinematic narration to conceptualize the relationship between time and space and to cultivate new modes of thinking within architectural design pedagogy. The practical component of the research is based on a studio workshop conducted with nine students from various project levels at the Faculty of Architecture, Karabük University. The process was carried out in two phases: in the first, students developed conceptual narratives through narrative templates; in the second, they translated these narratives into spatial representations using storyboards and cinematographic techniques. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Findings indicate that narrative templates helped students organize their ideas, justify their design decisions, and structure the overall process more coherently. Students also reported that cinematographic tools enhanced their ability to perceive and interpret space through the flow of time. Ultimately, the study suggests that cinematic narration can serve as a valid pedagogical instrument in architectural education, integrating intuitive, cognitive, and creative dimensions of design thinking.
This research investigated how trustworthiness in practice-based research (PBR) by practitioner-researchers can be supported in a doctoral course context. The study analyzed one student group project in the Doctor of Design (DDes) program at the School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU Design), treating the student work as the case study of PBR in a doctoral subject. The case involved first‑year DDes students, all experienced design practitioners, who conducted PBR on artificial intelligence (AI)‑assisted scriptwriting as both creative practice and research inquiry, and this study focused on how students understood, implemented, and supported trustworthiness within that project. Data for the case study included observations notes from class tutorials and presentations, students’ project documents (e.g., initial proposal, project reports, reflective reports), and a post‑course semi‑structured focus‑group interview with the four student participants. The study addressed three questions: how PBR was implemented in academic settings, what challenges arose in ensuring research trustworthiness, and what strategies supported trustworthiness. The findings underscored the significance of systematic structuring of the research process, reflective documentation, and the management of the dual role of practitioner-researchers. This study contributes a contextually grounded conceptual and practical framework for enhancing methodological rigor in PBR and emphasizes the need for doctoral educational frameworks that better integrate creative and scholarly practices.
Design studios form an integral part of architectural education as spaces for making. However, starting with a design is daunting, and students must grapple with the first steps of generating a design response. This is further exacerbated by digital tools, such as Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), where incorporating context and considering scale and creativity are disregarded. Therefore, a hands-on design approach is required. In the Master of Architecture program at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), the studio is seen as a laboratory that tests various design strategies. Through a design research approach, students are guided to identify a theme or topic, understand context, investigate site strategies, and further develop these ideas into morphology. In this study, these methods are explored as design tools to define the process through analog artistic responses. An analog approach is deemed important to understand scale, connect the hand and body with place, and actively become part of the process of making. This is a direct counteraction to AI, in which the student remains the main actor. Ideas could be further developed with AI tools; however, students remained the main generators of content. Through this response, the hand is considered a tool, thus becoming the “thinking hand.” In a changing educational environment, the relevance of these methods in contrast to (and conjunction with) AI needs to be considered to further develop architecture design studios.
This article introduces the Iterative Three-Diamond Design Model, which serves as a conceptual and methodological framework for teaching design across associate, bachelor’s, and graduate programs. The model was developed through a critical review of established design models and the contextual needs of the Design Department at the Instituto Tecnológico Metropolitano (ITM) in Medellín, Colombia. It integrates inductive, deductive, and abductive reasoning with the Department’s biocentric disciplinary approach. The model comprises seven design phases that guide design and research processes from a systemic, transdisciplinary, and life-centered perspective, structured across three stages: foundation, execution, and dissemination. It was evaluated through three case studies corresponding to the institution’s educational levels, complemented by an expert review panel. The results indicate that the model is navigable for students, faculty, and coordinators; enables the integration of diverse design tools; and possesses an evolving nature that allows it to expand over time. This article contributes to the discipline by proposing an adaptable, flexible, and situated framework capable of responding to both current pedagogical challenges and the complexity of contemporary problems.
This research presents an analysis of Transparent Wood (TW), a material currently under development, focusing on its perceptual and sensory aspects, specifically through sight, hearing, and touch. The objective of this study is to examine TW’s current perception to propose clear and effective communication strategies enhancing its adoption and acceptance before its market introduction. Advances in material innovation contribute to sustainability, performance, and the meaningfulness of new artifacts, yielding benefits not only in academia but also in the real-world contexts of businesses and end users. In this context, the research falls within the domain of Design for Materials, which intersects the fields of Design and Materials Science. The study uses a protocol drawn from the scientific literature for evaluating perceived quality through a sensory test administered to eighty participants, referred to as “material tasters.” Data were collected during a two-hour session in which participants, provided with TW samples, performed three distinct actions for each selected sense, and selected four adjectives from a predefined list that they considered most appropriate. The collected data were subsequently analyzed for each sensory modality and across cross-sensory modalities, yielding guidelines to improve future communication strategies related to the perceived quality of TW. Results may be limited by the geographic homogeneity of participants and by preconceived notions of traditional wood and other transparent materials—aspects currently under further investigation. The proposed guidelines will be validated with designers and architects in upcoming focus groups, ensuring a broader and more diverse perspective on the material’s potential applications.
The combination of human-centered design (HCD) and the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) challenges designers to control artificial intelligence (AI) software by constructing workflows that enhance human capabilities to conceive and formalize design ideas and solutions. Consequently, the integration of the Drawing Representations for Auto-Measure in Spaces (DREAMS) and Empathic Prompting (EP) methodologies with GenAI is introduced to create collaborative, co-creative procedures that develop prompts to feed AI generators for image production in interior design projects. Consequently, this study explains the origins and logic behind the creation of the DREAMS and EP methodologies, as well as the human-centered approach that leverages AI to benefit interior design students with diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise. Furthermore, the AI Collaboration Index (AI–CX) and its calculator are presented to measure student–AI interaction when using GenAI in interior design projects, allowing students to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of GenAI in their workflows.
This study aims to develop a brand identity for Mahasarakham’s pottery community, focusing on Ban Mo Village, located in Khwao Sub-district. With a tradition spanning approximately two hundred years, Ban Mo Pottery has yet to establish an official brand. The project involved collaboration between third-year graphic design students at Mahasarakham University and local artisans, aiming to create a brand that embodies their unique heritage and enhances market reach. Twenty-two logo prototypes were designed based on participatory input from forty community members, evaluating elements such as typography, imagery, color, and ability to communicate the community’s artisanal identity. Results identified Logo No. 9 as the most preferred, due to its depiction of two hands molding clay, symbolizing the craft’s manual nature. Further assessment with 475 consumers revealed five preferred logos (Nos. 12, 20, 3, 19, and 15), each effectively conveying the community’s cultural essence. The project demonstrates how collaborative design processes can foster community-led branding, strengthening local products’ visibility and competitiveness both domestically and internationally. This initiative highlights the importance of collaborative design approaches in cultural branding and offers a model for integrating academic expertise with community heritage to support economic development, while crucially raising awareness of the Ban Mo Pottery community and its local wisdom through collaborative practices.
The design and development of wearable interactive products demand not only technical expertise but also a strong conceptual foundation, user-centered thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This article presents Circuit, an interdisciplinary, project-based learning initiative that brings together design, textile, and electronics engineering students. Together, they developed an innovative wearable product—a running jacket capable of monitoring heart rate and visually displaying performance through interactive LEDs. The project emphasizes interdisciplinarity by integrating design aesthetics and functionality, textile engineering, and embedded electronics. Students from very distinct disciplinary areas are encouraged to tackle real-world design challenges collaboratively and creatively. Besides the development of a technical prototype, the project also fosters key skills such as teamwork, user research, iterative prototyping, and design communication. The result of this work shows how wearable technology can serve as both a creative medium and a pedagogical tool. Contemporary design practice is increasingly technology-driven. This project explores how collaborative work can bridge students’ knowledge gaps in design and technology. Students are likely to face similar challenges in their professional design or engineering practice.
Design has the capacity to improve public health through advancing devices, service strategies, communication, and more. A robust partnership between TEAM Malawi at Virginia Tech (VT) and the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) has brought multiple disciplines together to address women’s health in Malawi. This case study documents the partnership development between institutions, the integration of professional practice in an undergraduate program through a community engagement project in Malawi, and the resulting outcomes for the students and community partners. Students improved their technical skills in painting. They developed a project proposal for approval by their community partner. The faculty was challenged to support the students in off-campus work and still the medical facility welcomed the students to do work on the visual communication of important health facts. After the completion of the pilot project, the group is now pursuing further visual communication work. The significance of this project is the demonstration of a sustainable model of professional practice in design education by setting up working relations between institutions, as well as high impact practices that support professional development for students who further the wellness of their communities.
Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) tools have transformed the ways educators teach and students learn interior design. AI tools have revolutionized the teaching and learning landscape in interior design, impacting how pedagogies are implemented. This study employs a descriptive qualitative approach using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and constructivist learning theory to examine the perception, classification, and interaction of students in the interior design program with AI tools at the University of Petra (Jordan) across three academic levels (second, third, and fourth year). Employing a mixed-methods approach that combines a structured survey (n = 40) with thematically analyzed open-ended responses, the study categorizes AI tools according to their functional purpose, complexity, and accessibility, and investigates the perceived impacts on creativity, efficiency, and ethical awareness. Results indicate that the use of AI is widespread but largely informal, that high-cost barriers limit its use, and that there are substantial differences in AI use across academic levels, which is explainable based on TAM constructs of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). Discrepancies between prompt and output, over reliance, and lack of formal training were identified as challenges from the qualitative themes. The results add to a limited body of literature on the region and have real-world applications for curriculum design with AI, access policy, and ethics education in design programs.
