Synthesizing critical thinking, theory, creativity, and process in a design studio: A need for a new computer-learning tool for interior design

Design students may be obtaining a broad range of knowledge in their university experience, but there needs to be a more explicit integration of their growing knowledge base with a systematic method of thinking, understanding, exploring and applying in the interior design studio. Thus, the design studio provides a venue and an instructional technology tool provides the means of integrating these activities. The purpose of this presentation is threefold. First, to lay the foundation for this hypothesis and provide guidance for developing an instructional tool, a brief overview of interior design trends, systems thinking and design process paradigms are outlined. From this investigation a list of objectives for a proposed computer tool is presented. Second, examples of instructional technology and business information systems pertinent to the design studio tool are discussed. The third purpose is to discuss how these computer tools could be translated to the interior design education setting. The issues to explore are 1) is there a need for a new computer, learning program for the interior design environment, and 2) what might be the hurdles to overcome or the points to address in development?