Reconciling computer and hand: The case of author identity in design presentations

As computers were newly emerging in the field of architectural design, it was claimed that the impact of computers would change the way architects design and present. However, within the course of computer use in design, although the field of architectural practice might have been altered extremely, in architectural education there still seems to be a bond to conventional mind-hand-paper relation. One of the reasons for that bond is the fact that although being related to many technologies, architecture essentially positions itself around an artistic core that is still fed with conventional modes of creation. Architectural education aims at adopting and working on this very core. One of the major contributors in the formation of this core is the presence of author identity. This paper makes a critical approach to computers in terms of expressing author identity in design presentations especially during design education. We believe that the author identity is important in design education in terms of identifying the potential and skills of the student. Especially in design education the final step of design process turns out to be the presentation, unlike architectural practice where the presented design is actually built. Within this conception, two different studies were held in an educational environment with 160 design students and 20 design instructors. The results of both studies pointed at the fact that the digital opportunities that exist for design education should evolve around preserving and underlining the author identity in design presentations.