Can AI Function as a New Mode of Sketching: A Teaching Experiment with Freshman

This study investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated into first-year design education. The goal of the study is to examine how students combine orthographic projections with AI-generated images. To answer this question, a design representation course called Visual Communication I (VC-I), taught at Istanbul Technical University’s Faculty of Architecture, was selected. A three-step assignment called “ISO-meets-AI” was planned and implemented in the VC-I. The steps of the assignment were as follows: (i) producing orthographic projections of created physical compositions; (ii) generating image output from text input using an AI program (Midjourney); and (iii) combining the AI-generated images with the orthographic projections. The assignment was completed by 50 students from the departments of architecture, interior architecture, and industrial design. Tutors defined the evaluation categories and sub-criteria based on an initial analysis. While tutors evaluated every submission based on the established categories and sub-criteria, students only assessed their own work through a survey. Lastly, a second survey was given to the students in order to better understand their willingness to employ AI in their future studies. The first survey’s comparative evaluation results of the tutors and students, as well as the results of the second survey, are presented.