Abstract

The studio is an educational proving ground for early designers. Studio pedagogy often employs the use of complex design problems with supplemental instructional aids to help guide students through the design process. However, the design process taught in many interior design programs is not a mechanism of cognitive reasoning as much as it is a trajectory for project completion. A paradox exists whereby the ambiguous and complex nature of wicked problems within project scenarios do not result in definitive “right” or “wrong” solutions, nor a precise formula that will accommodate resolution. Creatively and innovatively, students find their own methods to address these types of wicked-problem scenarios. More often than not, they use intuitive shortcuts that alter a prescriptive linear process. By utilizing an in-depth qualitative approach, this study uncovered five emerging problem-solving patterns or “process profiles” intuitively developed by students. Understanding these organically derived processes may help educators generate greater flexibility in studio teaching, learning, and assessment