Abstract

First-year design studio courses should be process-driven in order to promote the development of multiple ideas, risk taking, exploration, and iteration. In order to demonstrate the importance of creative processes they need to be documented and assessed throughout the duration of an assignment. This article discusses observations from a pilot project studying two core, studio-based, first-year graphic design courses which engage assignments that require students to compile weekly Progress Books that are a record of the creative processes undergone during that stage—observational and theoretical research, trials and errors, feedback, writing components, exploration, etc. The Progress Book becomes a documentation of student decisions in terms of what to focus on and what to leave behind. These can be decisions based on the qualities of form, craftsmanship, communicative intent, audience, mode, etc. Much of this information cannot be culled from the instructor’s interpretation of visuals alone. Recognizing student intent is critical in order for faculty to provide more objective and targeted feedback that is fashioned so as to coach students to reach their goals. Therefore, students are asked to augment their visual work with reflective, analytical, or descriptive writing. The writing gives the instructor access to a perspective that cannot be seen through the observation of the work alone. This article focuses on: 1) context: why the development of unique creative processes is integral to student learning and imaginative outcomes in first-year studio courses; 2) method: documentation of creative processes into a digital Progress Book; 3) assessment: developing targeted grading rubrics to help interpret, grade, and provide appropriate feedback on students’ process; and 4) reflection: the limitations and challenges encountered during this pilot study.