Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rfdj20
Download by: [Izmir Yuksek Teknologi Enstitusu] Date: 14 December 2016, At: 05:25
The Design Journal
An International Journal for All Aspects of Design
ISSN: 1460-6925 (Print) 1756-3062 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rfdj20
Conceptualization by Visual and Verbal
Representations: An Experience in an Architectural
Design Studio
Seniz Cikis & Fatma Ipek Ek
To cite this article: Seniz Cikis & Fatma Ipek Ek (2010) Conceptualization by Visual and Verbal
Representations: An Experience in an Architectural Design Studio, The Design Journal, 13:3,
329-354
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/146069210X12766130824975
Published online: 28 Apr 2015.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 30
View related articles
329
REPRINTS AVAILABLE
DIRECTLY FROM THE
PUBLISHERS
PHOTOCOPYING
PERMITTED BY
LICENSE ONLY
© BERG 2010
PRINTED IN THE UK
The Design Journal VOLUME 13, ISSUE 3
PP 329–354
The Design Journal DOI: 10.2752/146069210X12766130824975
Conceptualization
by Visual and Verbal
Representations:
An Experience in an
Architectural Design
Studio
Seniz Cikis and Fatma Ipek Ek
Izmir Institute of Technology, Turkey
ABSTRACT In current educational
practices within the discipline of
architecture, the systematic use of
conceptualization within the design
process has not yet been extensively
developed and applied. Though utilizing
concepts within the design process has
been discussed hitherto by educators
and scholars, the conventional education
system in architectural design may prevent
its proper application in the studio process.
Furthermore, because conceptualization
describes an activity that has peculiarly
visual and verbal dimensions, the
coordinated use of drawing and language
The Design Journal330
Seniz Cikis and Fatma Ipek Ek
+
as the representation systems also refers to the
main character of the design process. In these
respects, by offering a systematic alternative
for conceptualization within the design process,
this study presents a new educational pattern.
The study was implemented during the sixth
semester of the architectural design studio and
includes an examination of the relationships and
functions of drawing and language as the very
media of conceptualization within the discipline of
architecture.
KEYWORDS: architectural design education, architectural drawing,
visual and verbal representations
Introduction
Visual representation is of great importance for all fields of
design practice and design education. Drawing technique,
as a two-dimensional medium, is the principal method of
visual representation utilized in education within the fields of archi-
tecture, graphic design, industrial product design, urban design
and fashion design. Drawing also provides students the op port-
unity to display their aptitude for design, for learning and also for
com mun icating their designs with other members of the studio.
Nevertheless, the drawing representation, which is generally ac-
cepted as an end product of education, is also a medium for both
think ing and communication. Therefore, as an integral part of design
education, it also refers to a medium that is utilized during all stages
of studio work. It is impossible to produce and share information
relevant to that production process without utilizing two-dimensional
representation techniques, such as sketches, technical drawings,
perspective drawings and collages. It is also the case that visual
representation techniques, including drawing, neither constitute the
unique medium of communication and reflection, nor are sufficient
in all respects for the refinement and communication of ideas. The
meanings and values produced by the process of drawing are also
limited by its inherent potential and constrains. In other words, ‘not
everything that can be realized in language can also be realized by
means of images [or visual representation], or vice versa . . . The
two sets of meanings [or representations] are therefore neither
fully conflated, nor entirely opposed’ (Kress and Leeuwen, 1996).
Since not all the features of design can be conveyed via drawing,
we inevitably incorporate another medium, namely language. On
the other hand, both language and drawing, as semiotic systems,
depend upon conceptualization. The design, processed by means
of language and drawing, reaches its final form synergistically, both
in the designer’s mind and on the drawing sheet. The design thinking
The Design Journal331
Visual and Verbal Conceptualization in Design
– which is progressed by reflective moves, such as abstraction,
implication, causality and generalization – is based on the methods
of conceptualization and reflection by utilizing concepts.
This study presents an alternative studio experience, based upon
systematic use of verbal and visual representation techniques in the
design process. This studio experience is based on a theoret ical
framework, described in the next section, in which the influ ences
of language and visual representation in design experience are
examined. The functions and forms of interaction of both media
in a design process composed of conceptualization moves are
also described in the next section. The final section includes the
descrip tion and formation of the proposed studio experience, which
depends on a new education pattern, planned around a new central
approach. Each of the phases, the content and format of which were
announced at the beginning of the studio process, were designed
to support the coordinated use of both drawing and language.
The studio experience examined in this study was developed and
designed over two years preceding its application in the Spring
semester of 2007, at the Department of Architecture at Izmir Institute
of Technology.
1
The design study was performed with sixth-semester
students (in an eight-semester education period) in the architecture
studio. The following section describes the theoretical background
to this design experience.
Background
What Is Design? What Are the Representation Media
Used in Design?
Designing is an activity peculiar to humans, thus it corresponds to
an ability to make choices by considering the context (Kress, 2003).
This activity area, based on creativity and intellect, is composed
of systematic and inventory processes, executed according to a
specific goal. These processes are formed primarily with respect
to individual perceptions, interpretations and style of expression.
Therefore, it can be claimed that design is directly related to the
ability and capacity of the human brain. Hence, due to the definite
ability of the human brain and complexity of data, representations
become necessary in order to produce a design. Consequently,
design representations can be described as instruments, media
and methods which are developed to be used in the production
processes of all types of artefacts, and which direct the cognitive
processes of the designer and convey product information.
What Is Drawing?
According to Gabriela Goldschmidt (2004), ‘the ultimate design goal
is to arrive at a satisfying representation of the designed entity’, and
thus, ‘design is to represent, and in no case is there design without
representation’. Design representations are, furthermore, prepared
The Design Journal332
Seniz Cikis and Fatma Ipek Ek
by diverse techniques with regard to their purposes, modes, media
and levels of abstraction (Grignon, 2000). This includes conventional
drawing techniques or computational drawings, sketches, models,
films, photographs, collages and modelling. Nevertheless, drawing
is one of the most widely used representation techniques. Draw-
ing constitutes different levels of expression, such as preliminary
sketches, hard line drawings, presentation drawings, and technical
or manufacturing drawings (Goldschmidt, 2004). Drawing is one
of an extensive range of communication tools that display the
designer’s intention behind his/her representation (Lindström, 2006).
Therefore, it is an end product of the abstract creation of design, a
com munication medium for architects and a conceptual medium
that invites the architect into different and ideal worlds of imagina-
tion. As a result, just as the term architecture can be applied within
different fields,
2
the phrase architectural drawing can also have
several meanings. Thomas Schaller summarizes these meanings as
follows:
Visual representation of architecture can be used to envision
and design a specific building, and to document and
clarify the construction specifics of a structure to be built.
In ad dition, architectural drawings may be used to portray
or inter pret the essence of particular structures for design
pro posals, competitions or marketing purposes. Finally, arch-
itectural artwork can be used to record or dream of ideas
about buildings or architecture and its influence. The field of
architectural drawing is, as a whole, too often seen simply as
an adjunct, a by-product, of architectural design – an art about
an art. (Schaller, 1997)
In addition, James Ackerman considers drawing as an individual
expression style, and claims that:
Architectural drawing is not just a document containing the
required data, but inescapably bears the stamp of the author’s
personal style and that of the time and place. Further, a drawing
may be a graphic form of architectural theory, conceived not
only to illustrate the designer’s principles but to persuade the
viewer of the validity of his or her point of view. (Ackerman,
2002)
Similarly, drawing (or representation) is an individual style of ex-
pression and the most dominant medium through the architectural
design process; it also covers the pre- and post-processes of
the very activity of designing, in respect of sharing the designer’s
reflections with the public. Again, according to Goldschmidt (2004),
‘designers represent – and design representations are made – before,
during, and after the process of designing any entity, regardless of
