A case study on learning design language by using design principles in the creation of compositions

Composition design is created by transforming the visual design knowledge, which includes design principles, into design knowledge that is developed cognitively and exploited. In addition, it is extremely important to investigate the process of exploiting the knowledge of visual design principles. The aim of the thesis study; (1) to investigate the difficulty levels during composition design of visual design principles that are thought to represent grammar rules in learning the design language, and (2) to examine the process of exploiting visual design principles knowledge. Within the scope of the research, two-stage design experiments are carried out with architecture students. The design performance levels of the students in the sample before they were introduced to the concepts related to visual design principles and the design performance levels after the theoretical knowledge acquisition are compared with the pairwise comparison method. Architecture students are assessed on their ability to exploit visual design principles before enrolling in the basic design course. It is possible that students have a conceptual knowledge of the principles of dominance, asymmetry, symmetry, contrast, movement, and emphasis that is equivalent to the theoretical knowledge they will exploit in the basic design course. On the other hand, the results; after gaining theoretical knowledge, it proves that the number of students with high composition design performance on the principles of repetition, rhythm, balance, unity, variety, and harmony is higher. However, the principles that are determined to be statistically significant in terms of restructuring students' cognitive patterns in terms of learning design language are unity and variety.