Perception over the Use of Traditional and Digital Mediums Within the Design Process - A Questionnaire Study on Design Students

Oct 15, 2026

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The study explores design students’ perceptions of traditional versus digital mediums in the design process. Data were collected through a questionnaire from convenient samples of design students at two universities across Latin America and North America, focusing on design steps and the tools used. Prior research is reviewed on how traditional media supports reinterpretation and emergence, while digital tools influence patterns and epistemic actions. The results aim to inform design educators’ curriculum development and help software developers align tools with students’ needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Key Words

Introduction

Literature Review

Design Mediums: Between Traditional and Digital

Perception over the use of traditional and digital mediums within the design process: A questionnaire study on design students Luis Alfonso Mejia-Puig, University of Florida, USA Hugo Dario Arango, Universidad Icesi, Columbia Tilanka Chandrasekera Oklahoma State University, USA Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore design student's perceptions over traditional and digital mediums within the design process. In this research, a convenient sample of design students was selected from two universities between Latin America and North America to respond a questionnaire which inquired for the design steps and the type of tools they used. The importance of traditional medium in the design process has been widely researched (e.g. Goldschmidt, 1991; Suwa et al., 1998; Tang & Gero, 2002) . In a similar manner, digital medium has evolved in the design practice and researchers have looked at how the use of digital tools affect the design process (Salman, et al. 2014) . Multiple studies have argued that some stages of this process cannot be supported by digital medium tools (e.g. Bilda & Demirkan, 2003; Kwon, et al., 2005; Meniru, et al., 2003; Stones & Cassidy, 2007) . In contrast, digital medium stimulates the occurrence of design patterns and epistemic actions (Yu, et al. 2015: Chandrasekera, 2014) . Digital medium will require the development of new knowledge which may affect the designer's role and the education practices of new designers. The outcomes of this study will help design educators to understand design students' preferences in using digital tools and develop curriculums accordingly. In addition, it will aid software developers to better understand, cater to design students' needs and take advantage in the growing shift from traditional to digital medium. Key Words design process, design pedagogy, design method, design medium, digital tools, sketching Introduction Research on how the design process can be explained and documented began with Archer (1963) moving forward into multiple studies to better understand how designers think, develop their ideas and generate design solutions (e.g. Darke, 1979; Cross, 1982; Goldschmidt, 1991; Suwa, et al., 1998; Tang & Gero, 2002) . However, better understanding how the design process unfolds and how multiple design mediums affect this process remains an ongoing area of exploration. Design mediums are defined by the type of design tools that are used in the design process. This study focused on two design mediums. First, the traditional medium constituted of non-digital design tools, such as pen and paper, sculpting and modeling materials, etc., and second, digital medium structured by digital tools such as vectorial software, modelling software, photo editing software, etc. The importance and relevance of both design mediums within the design process has been acknowledged in previous research. For Rittel and Weber (1973), the design process is a solution testing method which tackles wicked problems. Such problems will never have a final solution and must be revisited over and over again. When facing wicked problems designers analyze the problem re-examining ideas (Cross, 1990) . In this re-examination process, traditional media has been found crucial for idea's reinterpretation and evolution (Goldschmidt, 1991; Suwa, et al., 1998; Tang & Gero, 2002) . One of the main reinterpretation attributes in traditional media is emergence (Oxman. 2002) . In contrast, digital media has been found restrictive to generate and support such attribute (Purcell & Gero, 1998; Oxman, 2002) . Nonetheless, digital media can enhance the design process differently. In the study conducted by Yu, et al. (2015), digital tools evidenced the occurrence of design patterns. Design patterns are defined as core solutions to problems which can be repeated over and over again, always generating different outcomes. Furthermore, digital media permits the manifestation of epistemic actions. Ep

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the questionnaire study?

To explore design students’ perceptions of traditional and digital mediums within the design process, including which tools they use across design steps.

How does the study distinguish traditional vs digital design mediums?

Traditional mediums are described as non-digital tools such as pen and paper and physical modeling materials, while digital mediums rely on digital tools like vector, modeling, and photo-editing software.

What outcomes does the study aim to support?

It is intended to help design educators understand students’ preferences for digital tools and develop curricula, and to help software developers better meet design students’ needs during the shift from traditional to digital media.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆