Experiences of embedding blended physical and digital making into design education

This paper considers modern concerns that a new generation of designers are rejecting traditional methods in favour of purely digital ways of designing. The study is contextualized in some of the relevant theory, and describes a selection of projects across academic levels from the design curriculum at the authors’ institution that illustrate a blended approach to digital and physical design pedagogy. Results are presented from a survey of final year students who have experienced this approach, exploring the extent to which these methods are now embedded within their practice. The results suggest that although CAD use is prevalent in their natural practice, and some of the recognized problems associated with it are more evident than in professional CAD users, the students have adopted our approach of designing across digital and physical platforms.