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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenting the Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenting the
master-apprentice model to inspire collaboration master-apprentice model to inspire collaboration
Karen Tamara Yevenes
Western Sydney University, Australia
Jean Payette
Western Sydney University, Australia
Sasha Alexander
Western Sydney University, Australia
James Henry Berry
Western Sydney University, Australia
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Citation Citation
Yevenes, K., Payette, J., Alexander, S., and Berry, J. (2020) Partnerships in an industrial design studio:
augmenting the master-apprentice model to inspire collaboration, in Boess, S., Cheung, M. and Cain, R.
(eds.),
Synergy - DRS International Conference 2020
, 11-14 August, Held online. https://doi.org/10.21606/
drs.2020.157
This Research Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Conference Proceedings at DRS Digital
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YEVENES, PAYETTE, ALEXANDER, BERRY
This work is licensed under a
Creave Commons Aribuon-NonCommercial 4.0 Internaonal License.
1. Introducon
This paper invesgates if a modicaon in teaching methods, that is, the modelling of
collaborave behaviour through a community of pracce (the design studio) facilitates an
understanding of professional pracce in student parcipants. Professional pracce in this
case, is resoluon of a project brief. There are several key quesons to be addressed, namely
what is the master-apprence model used in teaching design process at WSU, and how
is it augmented in the capstone studio? Further to this, there is a need to explore what is
meant by collaboraon in the design studio, and why is it important to oer students the
opportunity to collaborate. Finally, the paper indicates how the enhanced master-apprence
model impacts the ability for students to produce successful design outcomes.
Partnerships in an industrial design studio:
augmenng the master-apprence model to inspire
collaboraon
Karen Tamara YEVENES
a*
, Jean PAYETTE
a
, Sasha ALEXANDER
a
, James Henry BERRY
a
a
Western Sydney University, Australia
*
Corresponding author e-mail: k.yevenes@westernsydney.edu.au
doi: hps://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2020.157
Abstract: The industrial design studio presents opportunies for students to learn a
range of skills and knowledge that will equip them to enter professional pracce. This
paper presents the unfolding of a capstone studio where student teams undertake
project-based learning, and where the instructor is both the master and a team-
player. The queson that is invesgated is to what extent does an augmented master-
apprence teaching model impact student collaboraon in the design studio, and can
the model be used to drive posive learning outcomes. The study considers the design
process of 14 student-teams studying industrial design at Western Sydney University
(WSU) Australia, and the design process of an instructor-team comprised of four
industrial design academics. The paper is an experienal account of a lighng project
as undertaken by instructors and students and proposes a novel method for teaching
professional pracce through co-creaon, collecve cohesion and by behaviour-
modelling of collaboraon in acon.
Keywords: collaboraon; co-creaon; industrial design pedagogy; master-apprence
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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenng the master-apprence model to…
Denions for the terms used in this paper are provided so that the authors’ intenons are
clear. The vocabulary used in describing these acvies is important and should be used
regularly with students so that the language of communal design is learnt, adopted and
reinforced.
The term co-creaon in this paper assumes the denion as described by Sanders and
Stappers (2008) to describe any act of collecve creavity, that is, creavity that is shared by
two or more people (Sanders & Stappers, 2008 in Kvellestad, 2018). Sanders and Stappers
explain that it is an instance of co-creaon as it encapsulates many acvies that are broadly
used in design processes (Sanders & Stappers, 2008).
The term collaborave learning is dened by Emam, Taha and ElSayad (2019) as a teaching
strategy that is applied with small teams of students of dierent levels of ability, and where
all team members parcipate to deliver the assigned task (Emam et al., 2019, p. 164). This
explanaon of the concept applies well to the studio context explored in this paper as it
supports the goal to facilitate student-centred learning, also established by Maessich,
Murray-Close, and Monsey (Maessich et al., 2001 in Emam et al., 2019, p.164).
Cooperave design, parcipatory design and collecve creavity have similar meaning in
describing the acvies undertaken in the capstone studio. Sanders and Stappers (2008,
p.6) explain that these terms are interchangeable, and that parcipatory design has a long
history as it has been commonly referred to as collecve creavity. Sanders and Stappers cite
Bodker (1996), asserng that there is evidence of the acvity taking place in the 1970s in
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark as part of the Collecve Resource Approach, where workers
developed workplace systems to improve producvity (Bodker, 1996 in Sanders & Stappers,
2008, p. 7).
Finally, to dene capstones we will use the denion as presented by Lee and Loton (2015)
in the Oce of Learning and Teaching’s 2015 Report on capstone curriculum design. The
report refers to capstones as “substanal culminang learning experiences that take place
in the nal stage of an educaonal course, oering closure and a focus for the sense of
achievement that comes with compleon. From a quality assurance point of view, capstones
can also provide a means of demonstrang course-level learning outcomes” (Krause et al.,
2014; Rasul et al., 2009 in Lee & Loton, 2015).
This paper presents an overview of how the teaching method in the capstone studio
endeavours to achieve the terms thus dened and within a community of pracce (the
design studio). Evaluaons provided by students involved in the subject and product
outcomes are used to show the value of the teaching model. The authors furthermore
discuss ways to augment the master-apprence teaching model in order to enhance the
student experience in future iteraons of the capstone design studio.
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2. Background to the study
The movaon for this study stems from observaons and outcomes of industrial design
students progressing from their third to nal fourth year of an undergraduate degree.
Instructors in the program observed that students had a lack of understanding of how to
collaborate eecvely despite having group acvies during their studies suggesng studio
vocabularies are not standardised to promote recall and subsequent integraon. This was
exhibited by students that were not proacve in seeking advice on their projects, worked in
isolaon, and did not oer crique or guidance to their peers. Oen, academic feedback was
ignored, and it was thus considered that students may not have an adequate understanding
of how collaboraon should take place, what the benets of collaboraon could be, or how
to adequately respond to input from stakeholders. There may be many reasons for the lack
of engagement, however it was considered unviable to connue in this manner as students
could not achieve competencies that would see them progress successfully into industry.
Firstly, if students are reluctant to work with others, that is peers, instructors, potenal users,
technicians, and industry experts, then they remain novices with a naïve view of the world
and of the eld into which they will eventually enter. This sets them up to fail in a profession
that demands interacons with numerous stakeholders on any given project. In addion
to this, students that do not have adequate experience in giving and receiving construcve
feedback, will not be able to reach their full potenal as professional designers.
To counter the problem, the academic team iniated an enhanced version of the master-
apprence model to encompass behaviour modelling. The goal was to model the benets
of co-creaon to resolve design problems, through the design process, and with exemplary
outcomes. Henceforth, the enhanced teaching model involved the academic team
undertaking collecve creavity, communal problem-solving, and co-creaon of a lighng
design imbued with emoonal meaning, biomimec symbolism, funconal, and light
physics aributes. The academic team collaborated by drawing on the strengths of each
academic team member to create the design output. Students were able to observe how
the academics worked as a team and students were encouraged to construcvely cricise
the academic team’s biomimec lighng concept. The capstone studio was thus redesigned
to foster a stronger awareness of the value of synergisc partnerships to arrive at a robust
soluon.
3. The enhanced master-apprence model
The capstone studio employs the master-apprence model whereby students follow the
example provided by the instructor. Budge (2016) asserts that the modelling of professional
pracce is essenal and that students can learn behaviours, design literacy and cultural
pracce that cannot be learnt in another format (Budge, 2016, p245-248).
It is indisputable that the master-apprence model has merit in providing students with a
learning framework that facilitates cognive understanding. Collins, Newman and Brown
(1986) modelled much of their theories of cognive apprenceship on the master apprence
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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenng the master-apprence model to…
model (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1986). Their work will be used in this paper to discuss
the design studio processes and the relaonship between the instructors and students in the
capstone studio. The queson that emerges here, is exactly what acons, behaviours and
direcons are the students ‘following’.
In the case of design studios at WSU, students undertake a variety of tasks and processes of
learning to discover new knowledge. They may observe a demonstraon that provides step-
by-step methods of inquiry or they may follow a worksheet or notes provided by teachers. At
mes, students mimic the work of their peers to ensure that they are doing the task at hand
correctly. This study looks at whether students mimic or behave like their instructors in order
to achieve at a professional level? Learning through imitave behaviour may thus create
a new opportunity for instructors in the design studio to engage students in collaborave
behaviour. Budge (2016) indicates that there are not many examples of how students form
an identy of ‘being a designer’ (Flum & Kaplan, 2012 in Budge, 2016, p. 244). In contrast to
the transmissive model of teaching, the academic team in the capstone studio devised their
own product design object in order to demonstrate cohesion and professional cooperaon
between colleagues. This also presented the integrave nature of designers to imbed a
lifeme’s knowledge from many experiences toward the latest design iteraon, leading to
inspire the same evolving mindset of acons from the student cohort.
Leon de Bruin’s extensive study of the master-apprence model in pedagogy captures the
many structural variaons of the method as employed in design studios and other discipline
areas (de Bruin, 2019). In contemporary design educaon, the master-apprence model is
adopted from Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus, and later Laszlo Maholy-Nagy in the
New Bauhaus in Chicago (Findeli, 1990). Gropius’ construcvist manifesto was to inspire the
German naon to work in unison to produce art, architecture and objects to reinvigorate the
country aer Germany’s defeat in World War I (Trimingham, 2019). At the epicentre of all
acvity was a Master of Form (arst) and Master of Works (crasman). Eventually, the role
of arst was considered superior to the crasman, and teaching roles evolved accordingly
(Bürdek, 2015).
In order to ascertain how the master-apprence model applies to the capstone studio,
it is worthwhile considering its context in relaon to the design process. In the capstone
studio, project-based learning and collaboraon in the design process replicates the process
captured succinctly in Sanders and Stappers’ illustraon (Sanders & Stappers, 2008), shown
in Figure 1.
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YEVENES, PAYETTE, ALEXANDER, BERRY
Figure 1 The growth in the front end [of the design process] as designers move closer to the
future users of what they design. Reprinted from “Co-creaon and the new landscapes
of design” by Elizabeth B.-N. Sanders & Pieter Jan Stappers, Co-Design, 2008, 4:1, 5-18,
hps://nyurl.com/vacdgjh
The illustraon in Figure 1, is useful as it represents the journey of co-design as pursued in
the capstone studio and as facilitated by the master-apprence model of teaching which has
been extensively researched and established in the cognive apprenceship theory (CAT) of
Collins, Brown, and Newman (Collins et al., 1986; Bandura, 1997, in de Bruin, 2019, p. 264).
The design studio process delineated in the following secon provides a response to one
of the research quesons, that is how the master-apprence model teaching method is
augmented in the capstone studio at WSU.
4. Establishing the design criteria in the design studio
4.1 Design criteria for the student teams
Students were tasked to design a pendant light or table lamp in small groups comprised of
three students (represenng a 360-hour me pool including class me during the 12-week
semester). The design brief to be completed was a lighng object (3D model) that is:
1. Biomimec inspired with emphasis on iterave 3D processes
2. Involves ideaon and applicaon of addive manufacturing methods;
3. Emits adequate lux [lighng intensity] for a predened space/place;
4. Ergonomically designed and safe for consumers;
5. Is ed with a suitable technical package for opmal operaon and durability.
Students are oen apprehensive in undertaking group tasks as they fear discrepancies in
workload, in the perceived commitment of individual group members, and dierences
in personalies and skill levels (Chang & Brickman, 2018). These are all considered valid
concerns, however the role of the academic is to negoate some of these doubts by seng
the scene for collaboraon through more trusted relaonships. To alleviate some of the
reservaons, groups were self-assigned. Students were encouraged to imagine themselves
working in a collaborave studio business, developing a corporate identy to be used
throughout their task submissions also building designer and group identy. Student
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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenng the master-apprence model to…
alliances were reinforced by establishing a brand, thus providing a sense of ownership over
their projects.
4.2 Design criteria for the academic team
The academic team was comprised of four lecturers in industrial design, working on
equivalent parameters as those delineated in the student design brief. The academic team
adopted the corporate identy of Western Sydney University for all acvies, as their
movaon is to full the goals set by the university.
The workload associated with undertaking this model is an interesng point to consider. The
academic workload in the capstone studio is equivalent to four hours per week over a 12-
week semester. Face-to-face teaching is delivered using a exible lecture/studio/workshop
format, providing students with a variety of learning scenarios. In most cases, at least two
sta were always in aendance, rotang between either acvely “doing” the academic
project or helping students to achieve the learning objecves through their creave
individual and group endeavours.
Wherever possible, the academic team modelled behaviours within the prescribed studio
me and in front of the student cohort. When the academic’s light was completed outside
of class, this was considered equivalent to the workload me allowances provided for usual
tutorial preparaon acvies within an academic teaching workload. A nominal percentage
of project acvity was undertaken outside the workload; however, the team members
understood the benets of the interacon and were willing to parcipate, nonetheless.
4.3 Augmented master-apprence model (Design Criteria)
The design criteria imposed the same limitaons to students and academics alike.
Both groups needed to navigate barriers in group interacon with factors such as peer
commitment, me constraints, external pressures, diversity of knowledge, and skill levels
all playing a role in determining the success of a product. Collaborave endeavours are thus
inuenced by physical limitaons, technical understanding, and knowledge in the design
process.
In this early stage of design development, it is typical for instructors to dene the project
brief and then assist students in learning how to resolve the brief (Emam et al., 2019, p.164).
This is generally done by limited modelling, coaching and scaolding (Collins, 1989 in de
Bruin, 2019), yet there is lile evidence in the literature review undertaken by the authors
where the instructors resolve the same collaborave project as their students and in parallel
to the students. The augmented master-apprence model thus provides a new model
that encompasses, not only coaching, but acve and immersed parcipaon. Emam et al.
(2019), indicate that “during early stages of a collaborave model, the instructor must help
to develop the students’ teamwork skills” (Emam, Taha, & ElSayad, 2019, p. 164), which is
pivotal to the success of the capstone studio.
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5. Concept and idea development in the design studio project
5.1 Concept and idea development in the student teams
Informaon gathering was assumed through desk research and a self-directed eld trip to
local lighng showrooms or exhibions. This task was intended to encourage group-bonding
by sharing of contact informaon and idenfying availability to meet outside of class me.
Informed by the eld trip, the next stage was to ideate through drawing. Observaons found
that several student teams were perplexed with the brief; many of them had not designed
organic objects and did not understand the noon of ‘modularity’. During this arculaon
phase (Collins, 1989 in de Bruin, 2019) renement in the understanding of concepts and
procedures (de Bruin, 2019, p. 265) was necessary and some teams needed in-depth
consultaons with instructors to ascertain the meanings of these terms, hence groups
returned to research rather than moving forward with the drawing phase. The in-depth
consultaons were useful in this collaborave studio, as it presented scope for co-thinking.
Observaons furthermore indicated that student groups assigned the drawing role to
one group member that they perceived as having the greatest competency in drawing.
Drawing presents a method by which to communicate creavity though visualisaon. This
is an example of inclusivity and synergy, as abstract verbal ideas are translated into a two-
dimensional form of communicaon.
5.2 Concept and idea development in the academic team
In parallel to the students’ eld trip, academics also gathered sources of inspiraon by
undertaking desk research, eld trips and the collecon of physical lighng examples.
The academic team undertook a process of creang conceptual sketches for the lighng
design, delegang this task to the academic with experse in hand-drawing. The Master
augmented inputs were characterised by the shared in-class and summarised extra-curricular
class experiences outlined below (see also Table 1):
• The concepts were generated in front of students, so students could witness the
academics doing visual searches, preparing drawing equipment, and generang
thumbnail sketches and more resolved sketches.
• Students were encouraged to oer feedback and suggesons for improving the
designs. Beyond output standards, students were involved in decision making
as teams whereby unexpected, yet welcomed, thoughts, ideas and alternate
soluons could surface.
• The exhilaraon for students becoming masters rather than apprence even for a
moment was high during the Crique-of-Masters sessions and provided a sense of
arrival to the design profession where co-creave methods respect design career
experience yet reach out for new contribuons from all team members via a
dynamic hierarchy.
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• During this idea-generaon phase, the academic sta team also parcipated in
email exchange to share progress sketches and resolve product detailing issues for
manufacturing.
5.3 Augmented master-apprence model (concepts & idea development)
In some design studio learning scenarios, the learning is transmissive as academics direct
the ow of knowledge to students. In cognive apprenceship, students undertake acvies
in arculaon and reecon such as explaining their ndings to instructors and peers
(Collins, 1989 in de Bruin, 2019. p. 265). As an augmentaon to this process, the capstone
academic team also shared their eld trip experiences, exemplifying breadth of research
and smulang creave thinking. To model teamwork, lectures were undertaken in a
team-teaching format with two or more academics presenng content related to the topic.
Students were connually invited to oer insights, evaluaons, reecons and input during
lectures and studio me.
It is signicant to note that the email exchanges between academics that were shared
with the cohort included at mes, examples of negave feedback concerning aesthec
development, technical issues, and foreseeable manufacturing problems. The students
were surprised to read the academic team’s correspondence and of the willingness of the
academics to change the design many mes in order to connually improve the outcome.
This accelerated student condence and noceable change in some student team member’s
mindsets through engaged acvity and design progression.
6. Prototyping and product outcomes in the design studio project
6.1 Prototype and product outcome by the student teams
The student teams were encouraged to produce a lighng object that was of suitable quality
for display in the WSU 26th Annual graduate exhibion, Widevision. Inial prototyping was
undertaken by students by forming extruded polystyrene foam into three-dimensional form
studies or by producing scale models using 3D prinng methods.
Successful teams in the capstone studio were able to establish a strong group-work
ethic, producing models of a high resoluon to communicate the concept with members
contribung equally to the product design process and outcome. In some cases, teams
worked outside of the required class me, at one another’s homes, or in the university
makerspace/workshop to complete a quality product. In a few cases, student groups worked
beyond the scope of the teaching semester. This demonstrates the essence of social learning,
as espoused in Lave and Wenger’s communies of pracce (Lave & Wenger, 1989 in Cox,
2005) where parcipants are working alongside peers that have like-minded goals, or as a
“mutual parcipaon in pracce” (Cox, 2005, p. 529).
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6.2 Prototype, product outcomes and methodological inuence by the academic
team
The ulmate goal for the parcipang academics was to create a physical model of
the team’s lighng design and to model collaborave behaviour so that students could
understand how collaboraon occurs in a design studio, as students had not yet parcipated
in the 10-week design industry placement following this subject. The academic team’s inial
aim was to present a design soluon in an equivalent meline and using the same project
constraints given to students.
In producing the nal light, the academic team experienced some of the problems
encountered by students. Namely, nancial constraints and availability of 3D prinng
resources.
6.3 Augmented master-apprence model (Prototype and product outcome)
During tutorials, the academic team were working on the CAD model real-me, with shared-
screen projecon in the classroom to show design resoluon. The academics demonstrated
examples of design iteraon, manufacturing consideraons, and steps in creang 3D CAD
models for the academic light object. Once again, email exchanges between sta were
projected on screens as evidence of ongoing feedback and how the design is pushed to
ensure quality and manufacturability.
The role of master-apprence was enhanced in scope to demonstrate and exemplify
cooperaon, communal decision-making, strategies for overcoming barriers, group
negoaon skills, and aconing feedback. The intenon is that students observe the synergy
of working in teams and model the behaviour undertaken by sta to meet the design phase
milestones.
7. Meaning and relevance of ‘collaboraon’ in the design studio
The meaning of collaboraon in the design studio comprises many acvies as presented
in the above narrave and matches the denion established earlier in this paper. It as a
teaching strategy that is applied with small teams of students of dierent levels of ability,
and where all team members parcipate to deliver the assigned task (Emam et al., 2019, p.
164). If we return to the inial denion, we see that students and academic teams in the
capstone studio achieved all the elements prescribed, with the added non-tangible [but
present] acvity of modelling professional behaviour, that is, how to ‘be’ a designer.
Modelling of such behaviour by both students and academics reinforces the theories
of communies of pracce and situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991 in Cox, 2005,
p. 528) and may be used to culvate a rich learning experience through social learning
where individuals with common interests, skills and knowledge parcipate in achieving a
communal goal. The theory conceived by Lave and Wenger is explored in several studies of
organisaonal learning, and in higher educaon pedagogy (Artemeva, 2006; Cox, 2005), and
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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenng the master-apprence model to…
ngly applies to design studio teaching. The applicaon of communies of pracce for
industrial design studio learning is very useful as this capstone studio exemplies working in
teams to resolve a group design challenge and the co-created outcome is derived from the
combined eorts of all team members.
Table 1 below, is a summary of specic examples of behaviour modelling in the capstone
studio:
Table 1 Examples of academic behaviour modelling in the capstone studio
Design Process Opportunies for student observaon
Research phase
Acvity undertaken by academics during tutorials:
• Academics undertake visual searching (using search
engines such as Google) to inspire design concepts
• Visual searches are projected on screen so students can
see how the research process
• During the lecture, academics also share images of their
own site visits, exhibion visit and visual research ndings
Conceptual development
phase
Acvity undertaken by academics during tutorials:
• Academic sta are prepared with suitable equipment to
undertake the conceptual drawing phase
• Academics sit with students at student tables to draw
inial ideas; solicing feedback from colleagues and
students throughout the process
• Drawings are displayed on tables for feedback/crique,
demonstrang the range of work and quanty of work
that can be achieved in limited me frame
• Sta and students select the most viable lighng design to
pursue
• Academic emails (between sta) are shared with
students via screen projecons during tutorials to show
e-collaboraon process
3D CAD modelling phase
Acvity undertaken by academics during tutorials:
• The academics share CAD models with students via screen
projecons to show how the model is generated; CAD
model is updated in ‘live’ mode during the tutorials
• Academics provide ongoing feedback to each other to
suggest how the design can be improved.
• Academic emails (between sta) are shared with
students via screen projecons during tutorials to show
e-collaboraon process
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Technical package
resoluon
Acvity undertaken by academics during tutorials:
• The academics share screen projecons to show searches
for suitable technical package
• Academics provide ongoing feedback to each other to
suggest potenal technical packages
• Academic emails (between sta) are shared with
students via screen projecons during tutorials to show
e-collaboraon process
3D prinng phase
Acvity undertaken by academics during tutorials:
• The academics share screen projecons to show
development of nal lighng soluon
• The academics consulted with technical sta on 3D
prinng requirements during tutorial me; students could
observe these meengs. The costs of model-making were
shared with students.
Posive working relaonships is crucial to the learning environment to ensure students
are condent enough to seek advice and are proacve in responding to feedback. Where
students did not aend classes regularly or did not parcipate in criques, the projects did
not fully develop, and in some cases, groups were not able to achieve the milestones dened
in their own project melines.
In the self-evaluaons conducted by the student teams, groups were asked to reect on
their experience in the studio subject and to consider what they had discovered during their
journey through the project. A sample of comments was obtained from six student groups,
shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Student Groups-Self evaluaons
Student Groups Self-Evaluaons
Group A
What have we learnt in this unit:
• To create an aesthecally pleasing design
• We could see it in a bouque
• The piece is exible and could be mounted on the standing
frame and also to the ceiling with addional hooks that
could be placed on top of the frame
If we were to do the project again, how would our work change:
• We would choose a soer brightness bulb
• Make the modules longer
• Make more modules
• Hook the modules instead of threading through the frame
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Group B
We have learnt the following in this unit:
• The importance of keeping a process diary/porolio/
journal
• Teamwork and job distribuon
New skills that we have learnt:
• Vacuum forming
• CNC machining
• Laser Cung
• Soldering
Group C
There were many challenges faced during the project. Exploring the
parcular themes of organic and natural forms was a new experience
and a unique way to design. The process of simulang real world
producon was also a new challenge and required much more
consideraon and detail when designing the product.
While a challenging project throughout, overcoming these challenges
and producing a nal model brought great pracce and new skills
that can be ulized to advance our design careers. It granted us the
experience of designing products in real world scenarios and allowed
us to understand all the consideraons related to a producon.
Overall, the light design we created is unique and interesng in many
aspects and was not only a valuable experience to develop, but it is
a piece worth showcasing to future clients to present the skills we
possess. We have new insight into proper design projects and can
carry the skills we learnt into future endeavors and connue designing
and expanding our experse.
Group D
As part of our design problem, our main goal was to meet the
demands of the clients (our instructors). We were required to have a
modular component repeang throughout the design and we have
achieved this.
From the onset we knew that we wanted to appeal to budding young
entrepreneurs of ostentaous taste.
We wanted our light to be ulized as Interior Mood Lighng, High-
Scale Domesc Décor, Renewed Aesthecs for Oces, Hotels and
Restaurants, as a means of Intrigue; a conversaon-inducing piece at
social events, and for it to provide general illuminaon to venues.
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Group E
Good aspects of the project:
• Our module was redesigned several mes.
• Our group tested every module by 3D prinng 1 module
piece out.
• Reduced assembly part for 1 module. (From 3 pieces to 2)
• We had really good communicaon throughout the
semester.
• Good team eect. Everyone did the work equally.
Bad aspects of the project:
• Prinng took quite a bit of me, giving us less me to work
on our nal model.
• We made a mistake at rst by painng a module.
• One of our test-modules showed that it was too thin and
brile.
• Most people in our group had work causing less me for
meet ups.
What can be improved:
• Bigger overall scale
• Beer cable management
• Give 3D prinng a bigger priority.
• More meetups to nalize and work on our designs and
models.
• Beer hook aachment design.
Group F
What went well in our project?
• Good research technology
• Concept development
• For our project we went through various stages back and
forth with the clients and the manufacturing room to
produce our nal design.
What can we improve on in future?
• Tesng
• Beer prototypes
• More collaboraon with our client
Future possibilies?
• Using improved manufacturing techniques
• Various materials tesng which may beer suit our design
For six groups, their respecve eorts in the capstone studio was open to public scruny at
the annual Widevision exhibion, showcasing exemplary student work in the course. Visitors
to the exhibion could speak directly with students and guests provided many posive
comments on the nished models. The lighng works revealed a high level of care and
competency and were demonstrave of the excellence that can be achieved through robust
collaboraon. Whilst the total number of exhibing works is low, it is signicant to note, that
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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenng the master-apprence model to…
the objecve of the capstone is to engage students in collaboraon regardless of whether
they completed the light or not. Table 3 below, indicates the number of exhibion-ready
models.
Table 3 Number of Design Studio Teams and comments on exhibion-readiness.
Models/product output Student Groups Comments/Reecons
Total number of student
lighng groups
14
Each group comprised of either 2 or 3
students.
Total number of exhibion-
ready models, that is, models
are complete and of high
nished standard
6/14
These teams had excellent group
collaboraon; excellent channels of
communicaon with sta; lights were
completed to a high standard;
excellent aenon to detail; movated
group membership; excellent aendance in
studio.
Total number of incomplete
models with potenal for
exhibion upon compleon
6/14
These teams were unable to print sucient
modules due to nancial limitaons; groups
encountered model making problems; in
some cases, the groups were not able to
achieve milestones.
Total number of models
complete (submied for
marking) but not ready for
exhibion.
2/14
These teams submied objects that
were not resolved; technical package
not tested for safety; team member
aendance in classes was sporadic; limited
communicaon with instructors; modules
were not structurally sound; these two
groups experienced external interrupons
and could not meet milestone dates.
One of the quesons we must ask ourselves as educators is why is it important to oer
opportunies to collaborate in the design studio? In industrial design, the collaborave
capstone studio prepares students to enter an industry that relies on empathy with humans
from broad backgrounds, cultures and with diverse needs. As such, it is essenal to equip
students with the experiences where they must adapt to the dynamics of working in co-
operaon with peers and academics rather than relying on their own limited skills and
knowledge. A successful “real-world” studio relies on the synergy between workers in order
to drive the company’s mission and goals, and hence the modelling of an academic being a
designer brings many insights to the fore. If the instructor models professional pracce and
collaborave acvity to undergraduates, then students will have improved condence when
working on “real-world” problems and in “real-world” teams.
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YEVENES, PAYETTE, ALEXANDER, BERRY
8. Conclusions
There is much scope to further improve the student experience in the capstone studio. A
retrospecve survey of parcipants would help to further decipher methods for improving
the subject, although the insights presented in Table 2, are a good starng point. Changes
to the capstone studio could include co-design, where students and academics work on a
combined project, the academic team could work towards subming equivalent tasks with
similar budget constraints as students, as well as more concrete decision-making strategies
for negoang ideas, and building collaborave skill sets such as how criques unfold or
how to negoate compeng ideas. Students could also undertake a more formal review of
academic projects creang a sense of belonging to the profession, and ‘being’ designers.
This acvity elevates the student role to that of an emerging professional, where their
judgements are informed, jused and valued.
This paper thus argues that by being engaged, immersed, and acve in the design process,
and by ‘being’ a visible designer, that the path to achieving a common goal is enriched. This
synergy is paramount to success and encourages students to have pride in the output. This
augmented master-apprence model places the student-team at the epicentre of learning.
With six out of 14 groups exhibing their work, the model has shown measured success with
room for enhanced outcomes in the next delivery. No works were selected for exhibion
from the same capstone studio in previous years, hence the challenge is now to increase the
number of exhibits for subsequent exhibions.
The industrial design academics (instructors/clients) are acve parcipants in making
and negoang outcomes. It is of note that the academic team’s lighng design was not
completed for the exhibion. The academic team gave preference to all student endeavours
as a priority. The academics met to discuss the avenues for producing the light and it was
determined that the academic light may result in a sense of undesirable ‘compeveness’.
The academic team did not wish to draw aenon to their own eorts but rather to elevate
the works generated by the student teams.
What did the academic team learn in the process of undertaking this teaching approach?
Academic sta modelling designerly behaviour through professional pracce provided
students assurance that connual conceptual and detail iteraon informed by communal
research and construcve crique was essenal for successful project compleon. This was
quaned through aainment or non-aainment of exhibion ready status. The capstone
studio tasks are not intended to redene the roles of master and apprence, rather
the intenon is to moderate the disncons to maximise collaborave synergy through
professional pracce modelling. This resulted in heightened student condence that is
supported by informed design decision-making thus preparing students for employment and
co-creave pracce.
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Partnerships in an industrial design studio: augmenng the master-apprence model to…
Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank the Dean of Built Environment WSU,
Professor Kerry London for supporng the capstone studio concept and Dr Lynn Berry,
WSU Curriculum Advisor, for her guidance in re-invigorang the Industrial Design
curriculum and for undertaking a preliminary review of this paper.
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About the Authors:
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YEVENES, PAYETTE, ALEXANDER, BERRY
Ms Karen Yévenes is a Lecturer in Industrial Design at WSU with
publicaons in design educaon, patents in product innovaon, and
consultancy experience. She teaches 2D/3D visualisaon and studio
subjects and is currently undertaking a PhD in product design involving
parcipant codesign processes.
Mr Jean Payee is a Lecturer in Industrial Design and has vast
experience in academia and industry. His porolio includes furniture
design, lighng design, medical and biopharmaceucal equipment for
which he holds several patents.
Dr Sasha Alexander is the Director of Academic Program Industrial
Design at WSU. Previously an industrial designer in Europe and
Australia has parcipated in funded research projects in health, IoT,
forestry, industrial electrical and holds a PhD in Value Chains.
Mr James Berry is an awarded academic and industrial designer with
25 years of experience in design educaon in Australia and Japan; has
experse in eco-design, physical UX, entrepreneurship, and design for
manufacture. His furniture is held in permanent collecons including
the Naonal Gallery of Australia.
