(Re) thinking the basics of design: Can fairytales be teaching tools?

Abstract

Discussing the basics of design can be considered as one of the main issues in trying to understand the fundamentals of the first year design studio. Particularly the first semester of basic design studio teaches basic design concepts such as types of relationships, types of organizations, frame of references and Gestalt principles. All of them are used to teach students to understand the essence of the problem and are utilized to create their own solutions and their design language. It is an impetus process in which exercises are based on basic design concepts and creativity. In general, the concept of creativity is used in the production of an artwork; however, assuming that creativity is a skill that can be improved in a design process, it can also be considered that creativity is a contributory teaching tool. From this perspective, this study aims to find out if basic design concepts affect design of the first year students in relation to creativity. For this purpose, as a final work, students were asked to design a given field in the light of a fairytale. Whether the use of basic design concepts gives an impulse to the creativity of the students and this creativity turns into a successful design are matters of analysis. The study was conducted with the first year students of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design from Atilim University, Ankara, Turkey. The experts evaluated the final works of the students within the framework of basic design concepts and creativity. Results of the study showed that creativity of the basic design work depends on the number of used basic design concepts, which can be concluded as creativity of the first year students can be improved by teaching basic design concepts in basic design education. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ayse Cakir Ilhan