Investigating the Experiential Impact of Sensory Affect in Contemporary Communication Design Studio Education

Abstract

The studio is the primary site for learning in specialist Communication Design education worldwide. Differing higher education institutions, including art schools and university campuses, have developed a varied range of studio environments. These diverse learning spaces inherently create a complex fabric of affects. In addition, Communication Design studio education produces learning processes and methods of practice which provide affective sensory experiences for the students. Students may be sensitive to these sensory affects, yet the impact of these experiences may go unnoticed or unequivocally tolerated in the studio environment. This article examines the experiential impact of sensory affect occurring in contemporary Communication Design studio education: investigating the learning processes, within a specialist practice‐led discipline in the context of a studio environment. A preliminary study generated the question: ‘How might Communication Design learning address and exploit the sensory experiences occurring in studio education?’. Therefore this article contextualises how students might benefit from being aware of the affective experiences occurring inside studio education in future research studies. This research is grounded in collaborative practice with students in the field of Communication Design.

Arts‐Based Educational Research: The Challenges of Social Media and Video‐Based Research Methods in Communication Design Education

“…Case Study 2 student Valerie said, ‘I like the fact that they've got their own station, that's what I would really like. To have your own section where you could actually have your stuff, you can stick stuff up, and leave your work there to come back to’ (Marshalsey , 294). The participants from Case Study 2 also liked the idea that all classes and critiques in Case Study 1 are held within the one working studio.…”

“…Instead, within Case Study 2, the Australian students are familiar with a modular, fixed timetable delivered in multiple learning spaces. Realising that the Case Study 1 participants had all their lectures, classes and project work in one fluid space, Rose from Case Study 2 said, ‘if you were talking about something [and] you could really be working on that something while … that's kind of cool, I like that’ (Marshalsey , 287). However, her fellow student Charlie was more critical of this pedagogical practice, as he said that ‘having lectures … in different rooms it makes people get up, be on the move … and that kind of keeps you going’ (Marshalsey , 287).…”

“…In this dialogue, the Australian participants in Case Study 2 identified the need to duplicate real‐life industry environments, including sofas and coffee tables within their educational environments as a means to aid the transition out of education and into industry. Rose said, ‘Most clients … you sit down at a coffee table and you have a conversation … rather than sitting at a formal desk … So maybe it … mimics it’ (Marshalsey , 286). Nonetheless, Rose also remarked that the cramped environment she observed within the images of studio in Case Study 1 might cause problems: ‘in a space like this you probably have to really focus on the person who's talking … It's hard to be creative when you're sitting on top of each other’ (Marshalsey , 287).…”

“…In this study, PAR facilitated the adoption of a methodology that was progressively open‐ended, allowing the research activities to be developed in a collaborative partnership with the participants (Kemmis et al . ; Marshalsey ). For example, participants interacted and identified patterns and variations in their behaviours and practices – they were invited to intentionally reflect upon sections of the collated data as the study progressed.…”

“…The purpose of this study was therefore to systematically examine the relationship between student learning and engagement within the rapidly changing landscape of learning spaces in higher education within two international case studies. One of the research aims was to consider how contemporary Communication Design pedagogy can be adapted in order to enable students and teachers to engage better with this evolution of learning spaces (Marshalsey ; Marshalsey & Sclater ).…”