Evaluation of the design brief in terms of new millenium learners in industrial design undergraduate education and a new model proposal

In this study, practical use of Design Brief has been put forward at industrial design departments in Turkey and also a new design proposal was developed for design briefs in the framework of new learning features of new generation students. In the existing Design Studio system, where briefs are shared with students in inscriptive print format, it is observed that interrelation with Design Brief as a learning tool is getting gradually weaken and not used as instructed by the academicians. In industrial product design education, design briefs can be expected to have difficulty in meeting expectations depending on the current structure while undertaking the role of transferring design problems to the students also with the management of the design process. With this study, the priority criteria for the design of a learning tool (Design Brief) within the context of new learning approaches and features have been set forth in industrial product design education, which has faced a new generation that experienced information and communication technologies from an early ages. Design Studio has been considered as a special learning environment within the scope of the thesis so mixed researh design that is a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods and tools have been utilized in order to put forward a holistic approach to reconsidering a tool to be used in this learning environment. Qualitative and quantitative methods have been used systematically to answer different research questions that the thesis study aims to answer. Accordingly, more than one data collection method and tool has been used. These are; Semi-structured interviews (Qualitative), Online survey studies (Quantitative) and Workshops (Qualitative). Since this thesis study focuses on the design problems to be determined by the students for a new learning tool (Design Brief) to be used in the design studio, the weight has been given to qualitative data collection tools and methods through workshops. The Mixed research process was carried out with the Participatory Design approach to reveal critical design principles of a new learning tool for new generation industrial product design students to be used in design studio courses with a learning-centered view. The importance of Participatory Design approach in this thesis study, is allowing the researcher to use special methods and tools in his / her research focusing on design problems related to learning environments. One of the greatest contributions of the participatory design approach to the mixed research process is that the visual materials produced by the students together with the views and evaluations of the students are obtained in the same environment through the Participatory Design workshops. The mixed research process is basically divided into two parts. The first part is the studies carried out in order to provide a general understanding of the subject. The experiences and perspectives of academicians and students, who are two main users of the learning tool expected to be developed within the scope of the thesis work, were tried to be revealed with the face-to-face interviews and the online survey studies. Following this step, the first Participatory Design workshop was held. With this workshop, basic expectations and needs regarding the new generation students were determined, and a list of criteria related to the ones seen as priority and the tools and models to be used was established. The findings from the qualitative and quantitative stages of the research according to the mixed research model were analyzed and evaluated separately and used as different design criteria contributing to the design of the functional prototype to be used in the implementation phase of the research. Following the implementation of the digital Design Brief in the design studio course, a second Participatory Design workshop was organized. Through this workshop, final themes have been achieved according to the expectations of the students. The revised online Design Brief proposal(template) based on the criteria shared in the final section of the thesis was shared with an online link A special tool kit has been developed for participatory design workshops held in the qualitative part of the mixed research process. The key features of the new generation of students have been taken into consideration in the design of the tool kit. Gamification approach has been used as a tool to bring out and also to help express the expectations, needs, and recommendations of new generation industrial product design them. In order to determine the priority criteria of a new generation learning tool suitable for the interactive and dynamic structure of the design process, the game mechanics and components experienced by the students from early ages have been used. Suggestions for the design of a tool that students will use were presented with the help of basic concepts and items used in gamified applications. In the research process, it was seen that the new generation had highly detailed suggestions and opinions on a learning tool that they would use. It is also seen that the participatory design workshops used to expose the opinions and suggestions of the students should be considered as a very rich source/tool to determine the expectations and needs of the new generation. The Design Brief has been found to have some advantages and new features in addition to being digitally placed in an online medium. One of the key expectations of students for a new Design Brief is the personalization feature that comes with the availability of this tool in the digital medium. Design Brief's presence in a digital and online medium has made it possible for students to access personal archives, up-to-date information about the project anytime and anywhere. Unlike the inscriptive Design Brief, the proposal of this sharing platform can be thought of as an online platform where both parties can contribute to sharing resources and proposals. A result of being in a digital medium; modified, customizable and interactive images have been proposed. Especially during the project process, visual items such as Avatar, which can change or transform depending on private inputs such as received critics on project proposals or shared resources, have been evaluated as important design proposals that can accompany the dynamic structure of the process. A visual interface proposal that can provide a quick overview of students' learning situations and transitions between stages within the design process including a visual progress system based on the dynamic and cyclical structure of students' design processes is seen very important for both academicians and students in terms of the advantages provided in the process. Another important result of the study is that the work schedule, which is frequently used in Design Briefs, has been revisited as a personalized learning management interface that is open to the common use of, students and academicians through the participatory design workshops. This study has identified the current expectations and needs for an existing tool used in industrial product design higher education. A process and model proposal for future studies, which sets the criteria for the tools and methods to be used for integrating the transformation in information and communication technologies into design education, has been established. In parallel, the process of using the participatory design approach, which has focused on users in design research area, has been shared as a detailed and rich data collection tool. In this respect, this study includes important conclusions regarding future researchers for both design research literature and who will work in the field of design education