Diagnostic study on shape perception errors within 3D-modeling courses

Abstract

Form has always been a central concern for design -- Several tools and strategies have been developed aiming to support form generation from different perspectives -- And these issues are also a matter of study for design education -- Under this view, it is relevant to explore how technology and new interactions can aid design students to better understand form generation -- The present study, therefore, is centered on the 3D-modeling courses (ID0245-Modelación 3D1 and ID0267- Modelación 3D2) and tools (PTC® Creo 3.0™) provided inside the Product Design Engineering syllabus at EAFIT University -- In the ever changing academic world, new generations of students will be always in need of new methodological approaches from educators, in order to better understand the knowledge they are being given -- Curriculum adaptations will be always necessary to achieve this goal -- Therefore, the scope of the present study aims to set the ground for new teaching strategies around the 3D-modeling courses, based on the most commonly identified errors and difficulties found in 3D-modeling students -- These errors or difficulties might not be isolated factors, only present in the named courses -- They can be intrinsically connected with the acquired skills from other form generation-related courses, such as Drawing and Projects (where physical model are built and techniques are introduced by guidance) -- However, since the project is framed by the mentioned 3D-modeling tools and courses, it is necessary to understand how form is being generated inside 3D digital environments as a starting point for future work -- Nowadays, individual software provide increasing capabilities to help achieving specific modeling tasks -- This segmentation and specialization demands high expertize from users to become accustomed and keep up with the ever demanding industry standards -- Nonetheless, speed and quality cannot be compromised -- Hence, the main target around the study will be design students that take their first steps towards product embodiment -- The project, therefore, aims to understand how students approach styling activities and to report on their most common mistakes -- It is based on how they perceive 2D representations of products and how accurate their 3D-models are, based on selected shape properties -- This will serve as an essential input for new teaching strategies towards students’ self-awareness when performing in 3D form-giving environments