The Relationship Between College Student Critique Ability and Design Ability

Cameron Moon, Purdue University

Abstract

While industry is looking to graphic design education for the next top designers who have the knowledge and skills to be successful in their field (Bridges, King, Brown, & Luedeman, 2013), graphic design instructors often have a limited time to teach students the knowledge and skills they need to become successful designers (Landa, 2010; Kennedy et al., 2012; Liu, & Tourtellott, 2011). Most university-level graphic design courses, the traditional preparation pathway for future designers, focus on improving student’s design ability through hands-on projects that teach students how to use graphic design technology (Motley, 2017). In addition to hands-on graphic design experiences, many classrooms also use peer critique to allow students to critique and give feedback to peers while identifying the positive aspects of a design and suggesting improvements to be made (Motley, 2017). Students tend to improve their design when a classroom implements critique, including self and peer assessment, into the curriculum (Wanner, & Palmer, 2018). However, little is known about the relationship, if any exists, between a student’s ability to design and a student’s ability to critique. Therefore, this study will investigate the correlation between student critique and student design abilities with the intent of improving graphic design educational practices. Understanding this correlation may assist those involved with graphic design education to better prepare students for future employment by assisting instructors in using their limited teaching time most effectively. Specifically, a relationship between graphic design critique and graphic design skill may suggest that the limited time available for teaching should emphasize improving critique skills with the goal of also improving graphic design abilities. If no relationship between critique and design abilities exists, this may suggest that limited time should be spent engaging students in critique and other forms of teaching should be emphasized.

Degree

M.Sc.

Advisors

Bartholomew, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Design|Mathematics education|Pedagogy|Communication|Cognitive psychology|Computer science|Curriculum development|Education|Mathematics|Psychology

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