Studio pedagogy

Methods

How we learn here: practice-oriented cycles — projects, problems, critique, and process notes. Not a catalogue of named research programmes.

Project-based learning

Learn by delivering a complete brief under constraints — not by collecting named techniques in isolation. The project is the unit of meaning; techniques serve the brief.

  1. Receive or co-frame a design brief with criteria and deadline.
  2. Plan milestones (research, diverge, select, develop, deliver).
  3. Submit artefact + process note that explains decisions.

Problem-solving studio

Treat creativity as situated problem work — frame the issue, explore options, test fitness, and defend the choice. Wicked briefs need framing before tools.

  1. Name the problem and what would count as a good-enough answer.
  2. Generate options without early judgment.
  3. Select with explicit criteria and test against the brief.

Diverge–converge workshop

Time-boxed sessions that separate opening (many options) from closing (selection). Fluency without flexibility is one idea in many costumes.

  1. Protect a diverge window (quantity + variety).
  2. Switch modes deliberately into converge (criteria + pick).
  3. Record what was discarded and why.

Critique cycle

Peer and tutor critique as a learning method — give/receive feedback that improves the next iteration, not vanity praise. Process over polish alone.

  1. Present the brief, constraints, and current state briefly.
  2. Ask for specific feedback (criteria, gaps, next test).
  3. Log one change you will make before the next checkpoint.

Iterative prototyping

Make rough, early versions so reaction teaches faster than speculation. Defer final polish until the idea has survived contact with users or peers.

  1. Prototype the riskiest assumption first.
  2. Show it to someone who can react honestly.
  3. Revise once; decide when the brief is answered.

Process portfolio

Evidence of learning is the trail — sketches, discarded options, criteria, and reflections — not only the final image. Authorship includes how meaning was put into circulation and revised.

  1. Keep a dated process folder for every project.
  2. Include at least one discarded path with a one-line reason.
  3. Disclose tools (including AI) and what you still own as judgment.