Interest in Transition to Digital Sketching in Early Design Education Phase

Abstract

Sketching is essential in all stages of design process. It is mostly executed with basic tools as pen/pencil and paper. Since the digitalized mediums/tools and their applications come into designers' lives, digital versions of basic tools have also aroused design processes. Designers have not evolved into fully digital design world yet, still are in a situation of transition from traditional way (paper-based) of sketching to digital mediums. Although there is a growing interest in digital sketching mediums/tools, they still have ineffective sides as in capture design decision-making. In this research a literature research and feasibility study were undertaken to examine the opportunities and barriers and to state the equivalent perception in transition in design sketching in early design education. A survey was conducted about mediums/tools that were using to sketch/draw and their usage experiences to identify the motivational factors in sketching/drawing. This survey and semi-structured interviews were made with 76 first and second year students from design and art departments. Major conclusions include: (i) to all design students, sketching was important and they had motivation to draw better with a growing interest in technology (ii) Majority of the students considered that digital sketching was exciting, looked professional and helpful for building their future career; and (iii) for all students digital sketching displays were prompt them to learn and develop their drawing abilities. Add to this, digital tools are one factor to burst the interest on sketching, however other factors to motivate students are needed to be combined in their education process.