Abstract
The world of materials for design is continually changing and evolving, not only thanks to technological advancements, but also thanks to the continuous original applications by designers, as well as the reinterpretation and the understanding by design researchers that reveals new ideas, suggestions and unconventional paths. It’s essential and fundamental for design educators to understand how to educate students and let them autonomous and be prepared for the choice or creation of materials and processes to complete their projects nowadays. The material is not only the object but also the tool or media around which most of the design education shapes: transferring the knowledge of materials’ technical properties or experiential qualities to design students is essential, and in the process on materializing the design projects students also being educated by their hands-on experiences. This paper provides a literature review to interpret the nature of material education in design and lists significant aspects. It is structured into four parts: the role of the material in design education, learning through practice with materials, considerations on material in design, and the highlighted aspects in material teaching and learning process. This paper lays the foundation for future material education research.
Keywords
material education, design, material experience, design education, material competences
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2019.17078
Citation
Zhou, Z.,and Rognoli, V.(2019) Material Education in Design: from Literature Review to rethinking, in Börekçi, N., Koçyıldırım, D., Korkut, F. and Jones, D. (eds.), Insider Knowledge, DRS Learn X Design Conference 2019, 9-12 July, Ankara, Turkey. https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2019.17078
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Material Education in Design: from Literature Review to rethinking
The world of materials for design is continually changing and evolving, not only thanks to technological advancements, but also thanks to the continuous original applications by designers, as well as the reinterpretation and the understanding by design researchers that reveals new ideas, suggestions and unconventional paths. It’s essential and fundamental for design educators to understand how to educate students and let them autonomous and be prepared for the choice or creation of materials and processes to complete their projects nowadays. The material is not only the object but also the tool or media around which most of the design education shapes: transferring the knowledge of materials’ technical properties or experiential qualities to design students is essential, and in the process on materializing the design projects students also being educated by their hands-on experiences. This paper provides a literature review to interpret the nature of material education in design and lists significant aspects. It is structured into four parts: the role of the material in design education, learning through practice with materials, considerations on material in design, and the highlighted aspects in material teaching and learning process. This paper lays the foundation for future material education research.