Contents

The source and the imagination: The role of the visual stimuli on potential discoveries in design

Author(s): Pinar Koç-Tuztaşi1, Uğur Tuztaşi1
1Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design, Sivas, Turkey
Pinar Koç-Tuztaşi
Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design, Sivas, Turkey
Uğur Tuztaşi
Cumhuriyet University, Faculty of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design, Sivas, Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the process of knowledge production and visual thinking between visual stimuli and potential discoveries in architectural design education. In the studio environment, the physical model was presented as a visual stimulus and a design task related to the model was given. While the elements that make up the physical model were used as a melting pot of information by the students, the design task revealed the students’ method of using design knowledge and their approach to generating ideas. As a result, the study was completed in terms of producing close variants, making reinterpretations and producing designs at the intersection of close variant and reinterpretation, making reinterpretations and producing designs at the intersection of reinterpretation and close variant, producing designs at the intersection of reinterpretation and a completely different idea, and the production of completely different ideas.

Keywords: design knowledge, design thinking, form, physical model, visual stimuli

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Copyright © 2026 Pinar Koç-Tuztaşi, Uğur Tuztaşi. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.