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Faculty of Arts and Design

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    Effectiveness of digital technology in ideation : a case of Ghanaian graphic design students
    (2024-08) Ametordzi, Sylvanus; Olalere, Folasayo Enoch; Essel, Harry Barton
    This study explores how digital technology can be effectively utilized to enhance graphic design ideation among graphic design students in two selected Ghanaian universities. The study also seeks to create awareness about the need to integrate digital technologies into graphic design ideation and to develop a model for effective digital ideation. Areas explored by the research questions in the study include how graphic design ideas are generated by design students in Ghana; how digital technologies affect design output by examining the various technologies used by the design students in the design ideation process; and the perceptions of graphic design students about the use of digital technologies during ideation. The study assumes the constructivist and interpretivist paradigm on the premise that the use of digital technology in design ideation among students has to do with students with varying design experiences, backgrounds, and environments based on their interaction with design tools.  Phenomenology and case study approaches were used to interrogate students to have an indepth understanding of the effectiveness of digital technology utilization in the ideation process. Twenty-eight (28) participants, made up of twenty- four students and four lecturers were selected from the Graphic Design Departments of two Ghanaian universities for the study. Purposive and random sampling were adopted for the selection of the participants. Findings indicated that students from the selected universities predominantly used a combination of the pencil and paper approach and digital technology in design ideation. During ideation, they conducted research on design briefs they received; embarked on mind mapping; engaged in brainstorming; created ideas with pencil and paper; selected some of the pencil ideas and illustrated them digitally in computer software; and evaluated the ideas for final selection. The design students relied heavily on the internet during the ideation process. The digital devices used by the design students included laptops, smartphones, tablets and digital cameras. Despite the divergent views expressed by the participants about the use of digital technology for ideation, the majority of them believed that the integration of pencil and digital technology is the ideal approach for design ideation. They considered technology very relevant, especially in increasing idea counts (quantity of ideas generated) that lead to creative ideation outputs. Overall, the students had a positive attitude about the use of digital devices; however, quite a few of them did not have the necessary skills in using vector software needed for design idea creation simply because they were not taught how to use the software or were not compelled to use the software in design ideation. Based on these findings of the study, the Digital Design Ideation Model, which outlines the steps to follow for effectiveness in digital idea development, was developed. The development of the model was typically influenced by the findings in the study and was based on design practices discovered in the review of the literature related to this study.
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    An exploration of the applicability of graphic facilitation for ideation in tertiary institutions in South Africa : an action research study of second-year graphic design students at Durban University of Technology
    (2023-03-01) Chiwandamira, Tendai Rogers; Carey, Piers Christian; Chitanana, Lockias
    This study investigated how graphic facilitation could be applied in a tertiary graphic design setting to help students improve their ideation process. Graphic facilitation is a technique used to rapidly develop and capture innovative ideas or solve problems amongst groups in a workshop. The study aimed to develop and recommend a more successful ideation process that could be adopted by second-year graphic design students in order to reduce cases of plagiarism. The study drew on a theoretical framework that combined the Social Constructivism theory (Zone of Proximal Development, scaffolding), the Emmert and Donaghy communication model, Petty’s model of creativity and the associative theory of creativity. A qualitative action research methodology was employed within an interpretive paradigm. Data was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews and observation of graphic design students and lecturing staff at a graphic design department in a South African tertiary institution. The results of each cycle informed the following cycle. The initial cycle examined previous applications of graphic facilitation, with a pilot study simultaneously conducted on how students are currently ideating their projects, and pre-testing of the interview questions. Cycle 2 consisted of a graphic facilitation workshop informed by the findings of the initial cycle; and cycle 3 was an iteration of cycle 2, but refined based on the findings of that cycle. The inconclusive results highlight students' lack of comprehension of graphic design terminology, and hence non-development of critical thinking. Despite the research constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, some students improved their ideation process by enhancing their critical thinking. This suggests that graphic facilitation could be adopted to enable students to be less prone to plagiarism.
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    NSFW contextual influences on perception : representations of the nude in public and private spaces
    (2017) Knudsen, Dane; Roome, John; Wasserman, Marlene
    The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of context on the artistic exploration of the nude figure, in the work of selected artists. Qualitative research methods were used. The research is practice-led, as my art making plays an essential part in guiding my research. An outline detailing the various influences and changes to artistic practice surrounding the nude – from ancient Greece to the development of feminist ideas - provides an historic context to the study. I look at major sociocultural and technological advances to examine the relationship between artistic representations of nudity and context. This includes a look at the terminology, naked and the nude, and how these shape understanding. Contextual influences are narrowed down to how they have affected the work of selected artists’ whose work utilizes the nude as a communication tool. The selected artists that I investigate are Jenny Saville (1970-), Erin M. Riley (1985-), Vinz (1979-), and myself. In my own work, issues of public and private space are interrogated by looking at aspects of social networking and online behaviour. This exploration focuses on issues relating to the overlap of these two spaces that where once seen as dichotomous. Through this research I showed that contemporary artists still make use of the historic subject matter. By including symbolism taken from contemporary sociocultural surroundings the nude’s communicative value is continuously updated. This supports the idea that context effects the artistic exploration of the nude.
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    Fault lines : homophobic visual perceptions of masculinity
    (2017) Thomas, Nathan; Kethro, Philippa; Carey, Piers
    This study explores connections between masculinity and homophobia in a Faculty of Arts and Design at a South African university. Connections between masculinity and homophobia may have consequences for the visual representation of the male body in graphic design. Literature suggests that gender is socially constructed and performed, and that masculinity and homophobia are connected. As such understanding this connection might assist graphic designers who are often tasked with visually representing gendered bodies. The study uses critical theory as the research orientation for inquiry, which is then related to masculinity studies. Photo elicitation using context-free images of male body language in focus groups is the main data generation strategy. Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis with particular reference to participants’ personal stake and interest in masculinity are employed as analytical tools. Overall, the research data reveals four discursive ‘positions’ in relation to visual perceptions of body language: human or situational performance of masculinity, socially gendered performance of masculinity, effeminate or ‘gay’ performance of masculinity, and homosexual performance of masculinity. However, in the data these positions overlap and combine when participants manage their stake or interest in masculinity. The thesis of this study is therefore that homophobic visual perceptions of masculinity may permeate gender performance as ‘fault lines’. Although the study finds these homophobic fault lines in visual perceptions of masculinity, there is also evidence of acceptance of non-mainstream forms of masculinity.