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Enacting Micro-Utopias: Situated Pedagogies Of Collective Imagination In Design-Based Education, Ricardo García Galiot Jun 2026

Enacting Micro-Utopias: Situated Pedagogies Of Collective Imagination In Design-Based Education, Ricardo García Galiot

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores a pedagogical intervention that leveraged speculative enactment as a portal to utopian futures. During a Blended Intensive Program, students were presented with a design challenge that addresses workplace inclusion by reimagining it as a “future otherwise.” The challenge was projected into a future temporality, allowing participants to respond to contemporary challenges with radical imagination. Drawing on Levitas’s (2013) utopia as method and Bloch’s (1986) notion of concrete utopias, this study investigates how engaging with these enacted visions as sensorial expression serves as a mechanism to unleash potentialities latent in the present. Situated at the intersection of Design …

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How To Observe Design Practices, Aurelien Catros Jun 2026

How To Observe Design Practices, Aurelien Catros

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Aside from design theories and design methods, the design research field has built numerous methods for observing design practices. Most of them can be classified into two categories: ethnographies, which consist of sharing the daily lives of designers, and experimental approaches, which reconstruct design situations in the controlled environment of a laboratory. This study retraces the history of these methods, that exist almost independently from one another creating silos within the design research field. Throughout their respective developments, both ethnographies and experimental approaches indicate the same blind spot: the study of material traces of processes that have already taken place. …

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Designing A Toolkit To Explore The Design Space Of Woven Textiles, Milou Voorwinden, Savanne Klop, Holly Mcquillan Jun 2026

Designing A Toolkit To Explore The Design Space Of Woven Textiles, Milou Voorwinden, Savanne Klop, Holly Mcquillan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Driven by the potential of smart textiles, shape-changing structures, living textiles, and sustainable manufacturing methods, designers seek to push the boundaries of weaving. However, most existing industrial technologies are designed for mass-producing simple, flat fabrics. This has narrowed the collective understanding of the design potential of woven textiles, thereby restricting the development of complex, three-dimensional, and animated textiles. We present a toolkit, developed through an exploratory workshop and focus group discussions with academic and industry-based designers, that enables exploration and expansion of the design space for woven textiles. The card deck and canvas provide a shared language to externalise and …

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From Values To Metrics: A Methodological Framework For Early-Stage Design Of Rural Cultural Project, Rosana Sanz Segura, Giordana Gallina, Eduardo Manchado Pérez, Ignacio López Forniés Jun 2026

From Values To Metrics: A Methodological Framework For Early-Stage Design Of Rural Cultural Project, Rosana Sanz Segura, Giordana Gallina, Eduardo Manchado Pérez, Ignacio López Forniés

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper presents the methodological framework of an ongoing design research project focused on cultural creation in rural contexts. It structures the design work that precede co-creation workshops, including the design of tools, participant criteria, session formats and preliminary analyses to understand community needs. Based on design research in rural regions of Aragón (Spain), the study integrates human-centred and community-based design to adapt participatory processes to low-density territories. Initial results include a mapping of key actors, a first set of metrics for evaluating participation and collaboration, and the identification of gaps that justify a specific methodological guide for rural cultural …

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Degree Of Anisotropy: A Textile Epistemology Of Making, Sheetal Agrawal, Joy Ko Jun 2026

Degree Of Anisotropy: A Textile Epistemology Of Making, Sheetal Agrawal, Joy Ko

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This research demonstrates textiles as an analytical framework to encode forms of distributed intelligence inaccessible to computational modeling alone, challenging contemporary design's reliance on material homogeneity. Using 3D-printed Voronoi lattices on pre-stretched tulle substrates, we reconceptualize anisotropy (directional variation in material behavior) from engineering liability to design theory cornerstone. While conventional design favors isotropy for predictability, it has been long observed that biological textiles (skin, muscle tissue, tendons, spider silk, etc) have achieved adaptive functionality through engineered heterogeneity. By systematically varying infill patterns within Voronoi structures, we establish a methodology enabling textiles to hold contradictory mechanical states simultaneously and respond …

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"That's Fine..." Uncovering Ambiguity Through Emotional Labelling In Scottish Design Students’ Design Process, Hazar Taissier Marji, Paul A. Rodgers, Ross Brisco Jun 2026

"That's Fine..." Uncovering Ambiguity Through Emotional Labelling In Scottish Design Students’ Design Process, Hazar Taissier Marji, Paul A. Rodgers, Ross Brisco

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Putting emotions into words is a natural human strategy for reinterpreting situations, even when done unintentionally. Evidence shows that this process, known as affective labelling, can reduce distress compared to non- affective verbalisation. Given that, the word 'fine' is widely used as a self-report label for emotional states, yet its meaning remains strikingly ambiguous. Limited research has explored such neutral or mid-spectrum emotional terms that are neither overtly positive nor negative but still shape the design process. This study examines how Scottish design students use 'fine' to describe their emotional experiences during their final design projects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted …

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Plundergeist: Exploring Generative Ai Through Vibe Coding As Reflective Design Practice, Christian Nold Jun 2026

Plundergeist: Exploring Generative Ai Through Vibe Coding As Reflective Design Practice, Christian Nold

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Generative AI (GenAI) has sparked intense media debate, yet design research has often echoed these narratives rather than examining how GenAI reshapes everyday design practices. This paper presents a year-long auto-ethnographic study involving 34 games and apps created through vibe coding, a GenAI-native approach that uses natural-language prompts to generate code. The study reveals distinct qualities that unsettle design processes: playful intervention, creative forgetting, spectral echoes, inventive excess, and fragile limits. Two key insights emerge: designing with GenAI requires deliberate engagement with cultural archetypes and treating AI as an unruly collaborator. Drawing on John Oswald’s 1985 concept of ‘plunderphonics’, the …

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Forking Futures: Fidelity And Resolution In Responsive Prototyping, Ricardo Sosa, Clare Mary Cooper Jun 2026

Forking Futures: Fidelity And Resolution In Responsive Prototyping, Ricardo Sosa, Clare Mary Cooper

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Prototyping offers ways to anticipate futures by supporting people to inhabit futures through hands-on experiences. Prototypes offer “invitations” to suspend disbelief and make believe. A canonical distinction is made between levels of fidelity in prototyping. Here, we critically re-examine “fidelity” by asking: How may fidelity inform prototyping practices and pedagogies? How may prototyping practices be more responsive, generative and ethical? How can fidelity in prototyping contribute to engagements with futures? Building on foundational ideas in prototyping and futuring, we put forward the FIRE (Fidelity/Resolution) map, a framework for distinguishing between fidelity and resolution and for navigating their spread and interplay …

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Función-Nepantla: The “Other” Functionality Inspired By Mexican Philosophy For Rethinking Industrial Design In Mexico, José De La O Jun 2026

Función-Nepantla: The “Other” Functionality Inspired By Mexican Philosophy For Rethinking Industrial Design In Mexico, José De La O

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Design in Mexico, often disconnected from the local industry value chain, has long relied on arte popular as a self-referential cultural narrative to add value, establish identity, and find its “substance.” While this practice stems from a genuine search for rootedness and authenticity, it frequently leads to stagnation, raises concerns about cultural appropriation, neo-colonial dynamics between designers and craftspeople, neglect of functionality, and lack of innovation. This paper critiques this and proposes a framework for defining functionality, rooted in Mexican philosophy as an alternative value system. Drawing on thinkers such as Emilio Uranga and Grupo Hiperión’s work, it identifies parallels …

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Dynamics In Relating Craft Practices, Distinguishing Shifting Emotional States To Expand Tacit Knowledge Transfer, Catherine Schwarz, Nicola Sofia Rohsig Lopez, Yassamine Zmir, Jean-François Bassereau, Jenny Faucheu Jun 2026

Dynamics In Relating Craft Practices, Distinguishing Shifting Emotional States To Expand Tacit Knowledge Transfer, Catherine Schwarz, Nicola Sofia Rohsig Lopez, Yassamine Zmir, Jean-François Bassereau, Jenny Faucheu

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Disappearing tacit knowledge in high-end craft industries and expert industries, stresses the need to examine the workings of crafting to maintain and gain competitive advantage. To pursue this study, we have been conducting interviews with craft professionals and apprentices to gather insight into their rapport with their practices. Using quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods, we have identified specific moments of a craftsperson’s discourse when relating to their practice, revealing distinct emotional states during the interaction with the material. These findings support enquiry into the craftsperson’s emotional states during the craft practice, to expand knowledge transfer.

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More-Than-Human Perspectives In Teaching Technology Design: From Research To Classroom, To The Real World?, Elisabet M. Nilsson, Rikke Hagensby Jensen, Wolmet Barendregt, Daisy Yoo, Anne-Marie Hansen, Eva Eriksson Jun 2026

More-Than-Human Perspectives In Teaching Technology Design: From Research To Classroom, To The Real World?, Elisabet M. Nilsson, Rikke Hagensby Jensen, Wolmet Barendregt, Daisy Yoo, Anne-Marie Hansen, Eva Eriksson

DRS Biennial Conference Series

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of considering more-than-human (MtH) perspectives in the design of technology, especially in academia. However, to cause real-world impact, it is essential that such awareness is translated into practical action. One way to do so is by educating new designers to apply MtH perspectives. Teaching MtH to design students requires teachers to develop educational materials on the role that MtH perspectives play in design. Currently, there are not many examples of educational materials that teachers can take inspiration from. This paper therefore presents a collection of practical teaching activities to introduce students to …

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Projects As Actors In Design Education, Barak Pelman, Edith Bouton Jun 2026

Projects As Actors In Design Education, Barak Pelman, Edith Bouton

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This study examines how design projects function as actors within studio-based pedagogy, drawing on Actor-Network Theory. Data were collected over a nine-month fieldwork at a higher education institution, covering courses in architecture, industrial design, and ceramics design. The study was conducted as a Research-Practice Partnership, uniting education researchers and design practitioners to shift the focus away from practitioners' specialized knowledge and experiences by positioning them alongside critical perspectives from K-12 educational research. Our findings demonstrate how students and instructors view projects as active actors in the design process across three main dimensions: 1) Through language: instructors and students personify projects, …

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Disrupting Gender Binaries In Product Language: A Workshop On Gender Awareness, Martina Labarta Labrador, Francesca Mattioli, Silvia D. Ferraris Jun 2026

Disrupting Gender Binaries In Product Language: A Workshop On Gender Awareness, Martina Labarta Labrador, Francesca Mattioli, Silvia D. Ferraris

DRS Biennial Conference Series

When introduced to product language—the interplay between aesthetic qualities and conveyed meanings—design students often learn that objects embody gender. Soft, curved, and organic shapes are typically framed as feminine, while monolithic and sturdy shapes are most likely labelled as masculine. Although this vocabulary bridges human communication and aesthetics, it also risks reinforcing stereotypes. Building on ongoing doctoral research investigating how product language can reproduce or challenge discrimination, a five-day workshop with 23 bachelor's design students was developed. Through reflective and analytical activities, participants examined gender beyond the binary, exploring how products convey gender norms and how aesthetic qualities embed narratives …

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Reimagining Body–Instrument Relations Through Feminist Design Practice: Reflections On An E-Textile Musical Interface, Qiaosheng Lyu, Ryo Ikeshiro Jun 2026

Reimagining Body–Instrument Relations Through Feminist Design Practice: Reflections On An E-Textile Musical Interface, Qiaosheng Lyu, Ryo Ikeshiro

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores how e-textile musical interface can reimagine the relationship between body and instrument from a feminist perspective. Drawing on a practice-based research project, the study examines how soft, deformable materials and embodied interaction can challenge the masculine-coded logic of control that dominates digital musical instrument (DMI) design. Constructed from knitted conductive textiles, the interface functions both as musical controller and prostheses that redistributes agency between performer and instrument. Through design practice, reflective performance, and a somatic experiment with another performer, the research investigates the entangled relationship between performer and instrument from a feminist perspective. The findings suggest that …

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Design Methods As Cognitive Tools: Understanding Method Usage Through Cognitive Theories, Jakob Clemen Lavrsen Jun 2026

Design Methods As Cognitive Tools: Understanding Method Usage Through Cognitive Theories, Jakob Clemen Lavrsen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

While design methods are a crucial aspect of design research, education, and practice, our understanding of how they work and what shapes their performance remains limited. To address this, this paper reports on a theory-building effort, outlining core aspects of the phenomenon of method usage in design. Following recent calls for grounding design research in cognitive science, it frames method usage as a cognitive process and integrates cognitive load theory and dual-process theory to describe central relationships between the design method, the method user, and the context of usage. The paper concludes by highlighting that method performance emerges from these …

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Situating Textile Design: Practice Research In Interdisciplinary Material Science Projects, Rebecca Earley, Laetitia Forst Jun 2026

Situating Textile Design: Practice Research In Interdisciplinary Material Science Projects, Rebecca Earley, Laetitia Forst

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Textile design practice research (TDPR) has recently been used in the delivery of multiple largescale material science-based projects. This paper considers the role TDPR played in the EU-funded HEREWEAR project and how has it contributed to theories of design practice research. The full range of textile experimentation - including engineering and design-led sampling - is mapped; then three TDPR interventions are explored using annotated portfolio approaches (Gaver & Bowers, 2012) framed by ‘sited’, ’situated’ and ‘situating’ conditions (Kaszynska & Kimbell, 2024). The authors examine the results from the TDPR within the context of various communities of validation, presenting how TDPR …

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The Future Of Architectural Design Research: An Emerging Niche In Digital Transition, Angela Rout, Michael Tjia, Marija Mateljan Jun 2026

The Future Of Architectural Design Research: An Emerging Niche In Digital Transition, Angela Rout, Michael Tjia, Marija Mateljan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

To remain effective in an era of technological flux and AI-driven tools, architects must continuously expand their knowledge base. Architectural research and education must evolve alongside these digital transitions to secure legitimacy and funding within academic institutions. This paper asks how the architectural design research community can self-manage in response to these changes. Using the lens of Strategic Niche Management (SNM), we examine how design research behaves as an emerging niche seeking to participate in broader academic regimes. We conducted a multi-stage review of the Design Research Society (DRS) Conference Biennale Series (2002–2024), involving a quantitative analysis of over 2,000 …

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Promoting The Development Of Critical Thinking Among Design Novices In Aigc-Aided Design Processes, Peiyuan Ge, Fei Fan* Jun 2026

Promoting The Development Of Critical Thinking Among Design Novices In Aigc-Aided Design Processes, Peiyuan Ge, Fei Fan*

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The use of AIGC to assist in design is increasingly common in industry and classrooms. Designers delegate critical thinking, creativity, and decision-making to AI, leading to mental inertia and blind obedience, making learners’ critical thinking crucial. This study explores how AIGC-aided E6 design thinking affects beginner designers’ critical thinking via controlled experiments. Beginners conducted "future travel products" concept design, generating sketches on LiblibAI, with the E6 design thinking scale as an intervention. Data were collected via repeated generation, retesting, and interviews. Results: 58.82% of the scale items showed improved critical thinking, 71.43% of the works were rated better by experts, …

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Reciprocal Value Between Learning And Circular Practices, Franchesca Michaela De Moura, Nonkululeko Grootboom, Christina Breed Jun 2026

Reciprocal Value Between Learning And Circular Practices, Franchesca Michaela De Moura, Nonkululeko Grootboom, Christina Breed

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This study investigates how adaptive reuse servicescapes may contribute to sustainable transformation through learning, by leveraging circular practices as experiential learning tools. Research on circular economy rarely adopts a human-centred lens or explores its links to learning, especially in the Global South, where the value of alternative epistemologies and informal economies often remains unrecognised. To address this gap, a qualitative case study approach was employed, combining participant observation and semi-structured interviews at educational initiatives in an adaptive reuse precinct in inner-city Johannesburg, South Africa. The findings reveal a reciprocal relationship between education and circular practices in generating value for sustainable …

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Tracing Oppression Through Things: Facilitating A Slow Critique In Post-Anthropocene Design, Thanussayan Karunakaran, Dilina Nawarathne Jun 2026

Tracing Oppression Through Things: Facilitating A Slow Critique In Post-Anthropocene Design, Thanussayan Karunakaran, Dilina Nawarathne

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper reconsiders what it means to be critical in design studies under Post-Anthropocene conditions. It proposes slow relational critique as an orientation. In doing so, it stays with the fragile entanglements through which oppression is enacted by both human and more-than-human entities. Drawing on Actor–Network Theory, the paper revisits a case of a cradle in a caste-oppressed community in Sri Lanka to show how power and inequality are relationally produced through mundane associations of “things.” The analysis demonstrates how critique can remain empirical and attentive to objects while resisting the purification of problems into grand Anthropocene social explanations. Rather …

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Reciprocal Sensing: Expanding Body Mapping Through Lenca And Mestizo Ontologies Of Relational Embodiment, Thaís Alvarenga Medina, Michael Nitsche Jun 2026

Reciprocal Sensing: Expanding Body Mapping Through Lenca And Mestizo Ontologies Of Relational Embodiment, Thaís Alvarenga Medina, Michael Nitsche

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Reciprocal Sensing is an alternative way of body mapping that draws from Indigenous Lenca ontologies, which understand matter as animate and relational. It expands body mapping to account for culturally specific contexts and ways of knowing. The proposed method invites participants to (1) link each felt experience to a worldly source (the non-human agent or co-actor) and (2) visualize the direction of these sensory flows. Using an autoethnographic approach, iterative body mapping sessions revealed recurring patterns of exchange between the body and its material environment. This informed the development of Reciprocal Sensing as a culturally situated, more-than-human perspective to soma …

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Designing The Service Exposome: Applying The D4l Unclock Framework To Longevity Challenges, Sheng-Hung Lee Jun 2026

Designing The Service Exposome: Applying The D4l Unclock Framework To Longevity Challenges, Sheng-Hung Lee

DRS Biennial Conference Series

In an emerging longevity society, reimagining social infrastructure has become increasingly essential. The World Health Organization (2025) projects that the global population aged 60 and over will nearly double from 12% in 2015 to 22% by 2050, raising urgent questions about how people live and interact with services over time. This study introduces the service exposome, extending Wild’s (2005, 2012) exposome concept to consider the cumulative service-related exposures that shape well-being across the lifespan. Using the Design for Longevity (D4L) Unclock Framework—a tool that helps designers explore intersections across longevity, service, system, design, technology, and society—the research examines how early-stage …

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A Design Continuum For Autographic Sonification, Kajetan Enge, Dietmar Offenhuber, Sara Lenzi Jun 2026

A Design Continuum For Autographic Sonification, Kajetan Enge, Dietmar Offenhuber, Sara Lenzi

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Sonification and visualization practices usually take "data" as a given, without considering the complex ways in which data is collected or the complexity of the phenomena that data represents. Autographic design is an emerging field approaching this issue by starting the design process before data collection with the phenomenon itself, treating data as a material trace rather than an abstract reference. An autographic display uses a phenomenon's self-inscription, rather than its mediation and representation in symbolic encodings. While the existing framework of autographic design has a strong relation to the visual domain, a phenomenon may also reveal itself through its …

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From Citizen Innovation Labs To Social Transformation: Analysing The Conectando Cozinhas Case Through The Lens Of Infrastructuring, Laryssa Tarachucky, Diego Hernando Florez Ayala, Aksel Ersoy Jun 2026

From Citizen Innovation Labs To Social Transformation: Analysing The Conectando Cozinhas Case Through The Lens Of Infrastructuring, Laryssa Tarachucky, Diego Hernando Florez Ayala, Aksel Ersoy

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Citizen Innovation Labs (LabICs) have emerged as experimental infrastructures for collective design and civic transformation. Operating in close partnership with public institutions, these laboratories create collaborative spaces where urban publics co-design responses to issues of shared concern. Yet, little is known about how these laboratories operate as long-term supports for community-driven initiatives beyond their initial phases of experimentation or incubation. This paper investigates how LabICs mobilise processes of infrastructuring to support broader cycles of social transformation by analysing the case of Conectando Cozinhas, a citizen-led initiative developed within LabIC Novale (Brazil). Using a retrospective qualitative case study, the research reconstructs …

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Cultivating A Teaching Mindset: Persuasive Strategies For Developing Design Thinking Skills, Min-Yuan Ma, Eric Chen-F Hsieh, Pin-He Huang, Jia-Chi Chih Jun 2026

Cultivating A Teaching Mindset: Persuasive Strategies For Developing Design Thinking Skills, Min-Yuan Ma, Eric Chen-F Hsieh, Pin-He Huang, Jia-Chi Chih

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This study proposes a cognitive framework for design thinking education that translates expert-derived strategies into systematic, classroom-ready moves. Drawing on in-depth interviews with experienced design thinking educators in higher education, a reflective thematic analysis surfaced seven themes and sixteen persuasive strategies from teaching practices developed through university-level design thinking workshops and courses: simplifying processes, bridging gaps, constructing repetitive experiences, providing contextual empowerment, adding evaluation criteria, changing perspectives, and introducing breakthroughs. Three teaching mindsets anchor these strategies: lowering the entry threshold, expanding engagement with complex, public-facing issues, and foregrounding authentic, first-hand experience. Integrating these strategies with pedagogical content knowledge supports plural …

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Make It So(Und): Speculative Sonic Metaphors As Boundary Objects For Design Research, Kc Collins Jun 2026

Make It So(Und): Speculative Sonic Metaphors As Boundary Objects For Design Research, Kc Collins

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper investigates how speculative sound design can employ metaphors as boundary objects to mediate shared understanding across users and designers. Because sound is ephemeral and difficult to describe, participants often rely on metaphor, drawing on nature, human behaviour, or emotion. We surveyed 72 people online to respond to textual prompts with descriptions of futuristic sound objects, and analysed their responses using several methods. We present results and outline suggestions for re-deploying sonic metaphors as design prompts, and discuss their potential to support sound design.

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Cooking Rush: Designing And Evaluating A Cross-Cultural Dietary Board Game For Chinese International Students Through Research Through Design, Yuan Qin Jun 2026

Cooking Rush: Designing And Evaluating A Cross-Cultural Dietary Board Game For Chinese International Students Through Research Through Design, Yuan Qin

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This study addresses the dietary challenges faced by Chinese international students by developing Cooking Rush, a serious card-based board game. Using a Research through Design paradigm and Social Practice Theory, the project integrates Western nutrition with Traditional Chinese Medicine energetics. The game translates cultural beliefs into a quantified Balance of Thermal Intake (BTI) mechanism. Evaluation results from 14 participants show improved confidence in resource management and internalised dietary knowledge. Furthermore, the intervention shifts the perception of cooking from a burden to a practice of self-care. This research provides a scalable framework for cross-cultural health interventions by aligning local food logics …

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Designing For Generativity And Wellbeing: Insights From Visitors At The Hong Kong Space Museum, Cerella Yueru Chen, Amy Law, Jiarui Cao, Xun Li Jun 2026

Designing For Generativity And Wellbeing: Insights From Visitors At The Hong Kong Space Museum, Cerella Yueru Chen, Amy Law, Jiarui Cao, Xun Li

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper investigates how generativity, understood as showing care and contributing to the next generation's lives, shapes visitors’ engagement, experience, and psychological wellbeing in the Hong Kong Space Museum. We conducted fifteen semi-structured interviews to explore how generativity unfolds in museum interactions. Building on Fan and Luo (2022), we extend the generativity model by introducing bidirectional and recursive relationships among generativity, engagement, and experience. Our findings show that generativity can be understood as a designable, relational and temporal pathway to wellbeing. Thematic analysis further reveals that different types of installations scaffold generativity and wellbeing through distinct design features such as …

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Evaluating Visual Accessibility Of Ai-Generated Interfaces, Mutong Rao, Jody Watts Jun 2026

Evaluating Visual Accessibility Of Ai-Generated Interfaces, Mutong Rao, Jody Watts

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Large Language Models are increasingly integrated into UX design. However, their effectiveness in meeting visual accessibility requirements is under-explored. This research evaluates ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot to generate visually accessible interfaces using a Research through Design methodology. First, an accessibility scoring system was created from the Apple, WCAG 2.2, and Microsoft accessibility guidelines. Second, design experiments were conducted using ChatGPT and Copilot, and the outputs were evaluated using the new scoring system. Findings indicate ChatGPT and Copilot can respond effectively to well-structured prompts, but they demonstrate low competence in executing visually accessible interfaces. This research makes two valuable contributions to …

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Friend And Foe: Characterising (Counter)Productive Prompting Of Generative Ai To Supplement Exploratory Sketching, Charlie Ranscombe, Linus Tan, Wendy Zhang, Nabila Afif Jun 2026

Friend And Foe: Characterising (Counter)Productive Prompting Of Generative Ai To Supplement Exploratory Sketching, Charlie Ranscombe, Linus Tan, Wendy Zhang, Nabila Afif

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Text-to-image Generative AI (T2I GenAI) tools have become commonplace in design practice and education, raising important questions about their role alongside exploratory sketching. This article explores T2I GenAI as an emerging visualisation modality that alters how designers create and explore ideas. Specifically, we examine the acute tensions between GenAI’s near-instantaneous, high-fidelity, text-driven outputs versus the ambiguous, iterative, and reflective act of traditional sketching. We report on a one-day ideation activity by 13 student designers, in which we analysed 1292 prompts, generated imagery, alongside reflective survey data to uncover patterns of productive and counterproductive T2I GenAI use. We outline prompting behaviours …

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