Virtual Explorers

An Alternative Approach to Teaching Digital Rapid Visualization.

Dosun Shin, IDSA | Arizona State University

Introduction

The significance of digital technology in industrial design has been widely acknowledged for many years. As the scope and applications of design technology grow, designers are relying more and more on computers to aid in the design process. Ensuring that design practitioners and students understand the potentials of these new technologies and are adequately prepared to utilize them is the focus of this study.

This paper will present a pedagogical tool which introduces a methodology for using digital design technology. It will demonstrate how current design technologies can be used in a more effective manner to visualize new product concepts.

In winter 2008, the author led a three-week intensive course titled Digital Rapid Visualization for Industrial Design at Arizona State University in order to illustrate the significance of this methodology and its applications. The course objective was to introduce design students to the methodology and exploration of digital technologies in industrial design practice. A total of 17 students registered for the course; 4 industrial design (ID) graduate students, 1 graduate student in Human Factors, 8 ID undergraduate students, and 4 undergraduate students from Design Studies in the College of Design made up the class. Over the three-week winter session, there were 14 class sessions lasting three and half hours each from Monday to Friday in the college computer laboratory. The course was composed of class lectures, which were complemented by hands-on projects. The learning objectives for the course included introduction to and practice with 2D digital tablet sketching, 3D form sketching, 3D digital scanning, 3D surface and solid engineering modeling, 3D virtual rendering and animation, and 3D rapid prototyping. Students did a design project in which they explored the process of digital rapid visualization. This combination of presentation, demonstration, discussion and experimentation allowed the students to experience real world applications of these emerging technologies during the design process.

This paper offers an overview of some of the digital design technologies used in new product development, and uses the course as a case study to demonstrate the pedagogical value of learning by doing.

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