Visual Communication: A Context For Developing Design Concepts

College Student Journal, Sept, 2000 by Kenneth R. Jr. Tremblay, Susan A. Kreul-Froseth, Lawrence Von Bamford, Brian H. Dunbar

In the applied design fields, developing concepts is crucial for solving design problems. A teaching unit was implemented to introduce interior design students to design concept development through visual communication. Using an approach termed self-conferencing, students initially experimented on their own with multiple design concepts through free-hand sketching. More complex drawings were completed as students received feedback while focusing on their selected design concepts. Evaluations of the teaching unit were positive, as students creatively explored various concepts through visual communication to solve design problems.

Introduction

Similar to most college majors, entering students in the applied design fields have varied academic backgrounds, experience levels and communication abilities. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a strategy that addresses issues in the development of design concepts utilizing visual or graphic communication as a primary tool. Design concepts are essentially ideas for solving design problems (Abercrombie, 1990), such as determining how to arrange a classroom environment that fosters professor-student interaction. The development of design concepts is critical to the overall success of any project in interior, architecture, landscape, industrial and graphic design. As applied design educators, the challenge is to identify teaching techniques by which concept development can be presented to students with various skill levels.

In this study, a teaching unit was created to introduce sophomore-level interior design students to concept development through visual communication. Visual communication in design includes freehand sketching, utilizing two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawing techniques, constructing three-dimensional models and computer animation. The objective of the teaching unit was for students to form a solid information base which they could utilize to explore design concepts through graphic means. As a requirement of concept development, students must effectively communicate with themselves to test design ideas and understand space. In this teaching unit the focus was on graphic means to strengthen students' awareness of concept development, including encouragement to incorporate the design elements of space, form, line, texture, light and color as well as the design principles of balance, rhythm, emphasis, scale, proportion and harmony (Nissen, Faulkner, & Faulkner, 1994).

Literature Review

In addressing the sixth annual Design Communication Association conference, Hershberger (1994) stated that teaching design students the means by which space can best be represented and how the general public might respond to these representations is a crucial area of applied design education. Effective graphic communication is obvious to clients and builders as they need to visualize how a space might be realized. For example, before adding new lighting and sound controls, projection systems and other "smart" technologies in a classroom, college administrators need to visualize the aesthetics and functionality of that classroom through drawings completed by designers. For both the design student and practicing professional, design concepts must be developed as an integral part of beginning work on graphic representations of space to be presented to clients.

Linking design concept development with visual communication has implications for the process by which the designer communicates with self. According to Benedict (1996), if drawing and drafting techniques are taught in the context of concept development, then the means of visual communication (e.g., drawing tools, techniques and media) addressed in the classroom are effected by their support of the design process. Design students might be taught to begin exploring design concepts through preliminary sketches using simple drawing tools, and then to utilize more complex manual drafting and computer-aided design techniques as the design process evolves based on the selected concept.

In the past, students of interior design typically became involved with the generation of advanced three-dimensional drawings in the classroom before developing design concepts. This practice brings to light the critical reinforcement of design concept development and visual communication. Arriving at a conclusion (in this case represented by drawings) before developing a design concept often results in poor design, or places focus on the product as opposed to the process. Concepts comprise the foundations of most other fields of study as well, and must be considered before students can accurately develop models, computer programs or scenarios.

As stated by Goldschmidt and Weil (1998), design is best understood as an outcome of thinking processes. Eggink and Laseau (1996) described the importance of what they referred to as intra-personal communication in conjunction with a freehand sketching approach. This form of communication might also be termed self-conferencing, suggesting that in the initial stages of design it is not necessary to have others involved. Experiences in eye-hand interaction that occur in free-hand sketching provide support for the interaction of thought and visual representation, allowing the student to formulate and test design ideas before presenting them to appropriate recipients. The design student must recognize that self-conferencing is an integral component of design concept development, proceeding from free-hand sketching to more specific manual drafting or computer-generated graphic representations.