Pedagogy and Professional Development

The Visual and Abstract Minded: Exploring Spatial Visualization in Apparel Design and Product Development

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Abstract

In the age of modern technology, apparel designers are expected to adopt more knowledge and skillsets in the rapid advancement of digital tools. Currently, the 2D and 3D learnings for apparel design students mainly rely on hands-on product development training, including flat patternmaking and draping techniques. With a qualitative approach, this study collected data from a knit design project in an intermediate apparel design product development course at a southeastern US institution. The finding of the study suggests that apparel design students today are in need of effective and efficient spatial visualization techniques. The use of flat pattern sketching as a mental visualization tool helps to exercise design students’ 2D to 3D conversion skills, hence spatial visualization.

How to Cite:

Sun, L. & Starkey, S., (2018) “The Visual and Abstract Minded: Exploring Spatial Visualization in Apparel Design and Product Development”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 75(1).