New Foundations: Craft, Design, Education and Vr in the 21st Century

Abstract

21 st Century education and professional practice require novel engagement with ideas, technologies and toolsets. Virtual Reality (VR) and similar technologies are advancing rapidly, and protocols to understand, implement and measure the new values for design education which need to be further elaborated on. This paper discusses the impact of VR on craft and design in a university design class. A pilot was conducted to study students' experiences and opinions around VR in craft and design in an advanced CAD design course. The findings indicate improvement in design and communication from the students' perspective. This study suggests that VR can be an effective design tool integrated into design education.