Title: Collaboration between students and experts in a virtual design studio

Authors: Henna Lahti

Addresses: Department of Home Economics and Craft Science, PO Box 8, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

Abstract: The present study examined the design process as a socially and physically mediated activity. This activity was investigated in the context of design education, where students imported their design proposals into the virtual design studio; then, with external domain experts, they discussed and modified them. The study proposed a framework for constructing the horizontal and vertical development of design representations and for analysing expert participation through these representations within the virtual design studio. The results indicated that the design representations had an essential role in the process of continually improving design ideas. The conceptual and visual representations served as a basis for experts to evaluate and question students| design proposals or to create new ideas. In addition to the virtual collaboration, the feedback and ideas from the prototype-testing situation played a very substantial role in students| design decisions.

Keywords: collaboration; collaborative design; design education; design process; design representations; virtual design studio; students; experts; design proposals; design ideas; student design decisions.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2007.016851

Journal of Design Research, 2007 Vol.6 No.4, pp.403 - 421

Published online: 25 Jan 2008 *

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