FASHION ILLUSTRATION AS A VISUAL-COMMUNICATIVE TOOL FOR DEVELOPING DESIGN THINKING AND PROJECT-BASED COMPETENCE IN FUTURE DESIGNERS
Abstract
The article explores fashion illustration as an important visual communication tool for developing design thinking and project competencies among future designers in contemporary design education. The study analyses the role of fashion illustration in the professional training of design students, particularly in visualising creative ideas, conceptual exploration, and the development of design solutions. Special attention is paid to traditional artistic techniques, such as hand drawing and sketching, which foster visual perception, creative imagination, and artistic expression. The findings demonstrate that the systematic use of fashion illustration in the educational process enhances students’ creative and imaginative thinking, supports the development of project-based competencies, and improves visual communication skills essential for professional design practice. The study highlights the pedagogical potential of fashion illustration as an effective tool for developing creative competencies and supporting the professional training of future designers.
Author affiliations
- Alla Lisohor: State Institution «South-Ukrainian National Pedagogical University K.D. Ushinsky», Odesa, UKRAINE; ORCID
References
- An, H. (2026). AI tools and fashion design education: Instructor perspectives on integrating artificial intelligence into creative design learning. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-025-00452-9
- Baldrati, A., Morelli, D., Cornia, M., Bertini, M., & Cucchiara, R. (2024). Multimodal-conditioned latent diffusion models for fashion image editing. Computer Vision and Image Understanding. https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.14828
- Barrows, H. S. (1996). Problem-based learning in medicine and beyond: A brief overview. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 68, 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.37219966804
- Cao, S., Chai, W., Hao, S., Zhang, Y., Chen, H., & Wang, G. (2023). DiffFashion: Reference-based fashion design with structure-aware transfer by diffusion models. https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.06826
- Chabanna, M. V. (2023). Proektno-oriientovane navchannia yak sposib mizhdystsyplinarnoi intehratsii u vyshchii osviti. In F. Hadžić & G. F. Azarenkov (Eds.), Innovations in the education of the future: Integration of humanities, technical and natural sciences (pp. 131–140). FIT CTU. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10277355 [in Ukrainian].
- Cross, N. (2001). Designerly ways of knowing: Design discipline versus design science. Design Issues, 17(3), 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1162/074793601750357196
- Dym, C., Agogino, A., Eris, O., Frey, D., & Leifer, L. (2005). Engineering design thinking, teaching, and learning. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2168-9830.2005.tb00832.x
- Gardabkhadze, I. (2023). Evoliutsiia feshn-dyzainu v umovakh transformatsii ekosystemy industrii mody. Visnyk Kyivskoho natsionalnoho universytetu kultury i mystetstv. Seriia: Mystetstvoznavstvo, 48, 151–161. https://doi.org/10.31866/2410-1176.48.2023.282478 [in Ukrainian].
- Goldschmidt, G. (1991). The dialectics of sketching. Creativity Research Journal, 4(2), 123–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419109534381
- Goldschmidt, G., & Smolkov, M. (2006). Variances in the impact of visual stimuli on design problem solving performance. Design Studies, 27(5), 549–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2006.01.002
- Hur, S. (2025). A study on fashion illustration techniques for improving design expression ability of fashion majors. Journal of Korean Society of Design Culture, 19(2), 284–293. https://koreascience.kr/article/JAKO202521861205992.page
- Kim, H. (2014). Proposal of fashion design artwork education method to improve creativity of fashion designers. Archives of Design Research, 27(4), 75–87. https://aodr.org/xml/02742/02742.pdf
- Lisohor, A., Shtainer, T., & Sylenko, Yu. (2025). Zastosuvannia kompleksnoho dyzain-proiektuvannia v osvitnomu protsesi profesiinoi pidhotovky fakhivtsiv u sferi dyzainu. Aktualni pytannia humanitarnykh nauk, 86(2), 102–107. https://doi.org/10.24919/2308-4863/86-2-16 [in Ukrainian].
- Lutsenko, H., & Lutsenko, Hr. (2018). Proektno-oriientovane navchannia: Teoretychni ta orhanizatsiini aspekty. https://eprints.cdu.edu.ua/6947/1/Посібник_2018.pdf [in Ukrainian].
- Lysenko, T. A. (2024). Proiektno-oriientovane navchannia yak model mizhdystsyplinarnoi intehratsii u studentotsentrovanii osviti. Pedahohichna Akademiia: Naukovi zapysky, 13. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14574049 [in Ukrainian].
- Shpetnyi, O. (2024). Metody formuvannia khudozhno-proiektnoi kompetentnosti maibutnikh dyzaineriv-hrafikiv. Aktualni pytannia humanitarnykh nauk, 77(3), 303–308. https://doi.org/10.24919/2308-4863/77-3-41 [in Ukrainian].
- Tversky, B. (2011). Visualizing thought. Topics in Cognitive Science, 3(3), 499–535. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-8765.2010.01113.x
