Feedback and Creativity in Interior Design Studio: A Case study-mixed methods of a Junior Level Light Fixture Project

Abstract

Feedback plays a critical role in nurturing creativity. Current literature, however, indicates that feedback can enhance or impede students’ creativity depending on its practices. Furthermore, theoretical framework and empirical evidence for effective feedback practices in interior design studios are insufficient. The present study, thus, built upon intensive reviews from the field of educational psychology on the relationship between feedback and creativity plus mediators such as feedback preferences and levels of interest. Via a case study-mixed methods approach, the study then explored effective feedback practices for students’ creativity in an interior design studio at the University of Minnesota in fall 2020. Data were collected from junior students (n=30) in a five-week light fixture design project in a studio. Feedback sources included the studio instructor and the CEO of a lighting design organization. Two independent judges rated students’ creativity using the Creative Product Semantic Scale (CPSS). Paired t-tests of CPSS ratings during the design process detected significant increases in Novelty of students. Pre-and post-surveys showed that students perceived the instructor’s feedback as positive while they expected more from the CEO’s feedback. No change was detected in students’ levels of interest. Follow-up interviews with students of high creativity (n=10) revealed that effective feedback practices came (a) in abundant quantity, (b) at the right timing, and (c) met students’ expectations. Future research needs to explore the correlation between feedback experiences and students’ creativity in multiple studio years, especially in terms of Resolution and Style, two other criteria of CPSS.