Designing Clarity: The Rationale Behind Digital Journeys
Action Research Cycle & Iterative Processes
Art and Education, together
Author: Andrada Bodea
Categories
AI Log
Use of Generative AI
I used generative AI in a limited and supportive way during this project:
- To get suggestions for relevant readings related to art and design education and digital learning. Any sources used were checked and selected by me and cited where appropriate.
- To help format my bibliography, including arranging entries in Harvard style and putting them into alphabetical order.
Reference
Google (2025) Gemini [Large language model]. Available at: https://gemini.google.com/ (Accessed: 2025/2026).
1. Clarifying Digital Goals through Visual Structure
Digital Journeys is informed by goal-setting theory, which emphasises the role of clarity in supporting effective learning. Locke and Latham argue that goals are most effective when they are specific rather than vague, as they direct attention and support persistence (2002).
Within Digital Journeys, this theory is operationalised through visual structure:
- Digital expectations are made explicit at each project stage
- Tasks are clearly linked to appropriate software
- Progression is visualised through a structured roadmap
By translating abstract assessment briefs into visible, sequenced actions, Digital Journeys functions as a goal-clarification tool, reducing uncertainty and helping students decide how to begin their work.
2. Supporting Confidence through Mastery-Oriented Learning
The project also draws on goal orientation theory, particularly the distinction between mastery and performance orientations. Dweck describes mastery-oriented learning as focused on developing competence through process and understanding, rather than demonstrating ability or correctness (1986).
Digital Journeys supports a mastery orientation by:
- Emphasising process over outcome
- Normalising iteration and experimentation
- Framing software learning as developmental rather than evaluative
By shifting attention away from “getting it right” and towards understanding workflows, the resource supports confidence, resilience, and risk-taking, aligning with later work by Dweck on growth-oriented learning environments (2006).
3. Learning through Experience, Reflection and Scaffolding
This process-led approach aligns with experiential learning theory. Kolb defines learning as knowledge created through the transformation of experience (1984), a model that closely reflects how fashion students engage with creative software through project work.
Within Digital Journeys:
- Interaction with software constitutes concrete experience
- The visual roadmap supports reflection by making workflows visible
- Clear explanations of when and why tools are used support abstract conceptualisation
This experiential cycle is reinforced through scaffolding. Wood, Bruner and Ross describe scaffolding as enabling learners to achieve tasks they could not complete independently (1976). Digital Journeys provides:
- Step-by-step visual guidance
- Task-specific software recommendations
- Graduated support that reduces cognitive overload
Together, these features support increasing independence, confidence, and autonomy in digital workflows.
4. Visual and Emotional Design as a Pedagogical Strategy
Beyond functionality, Digital Journeys deliberately foregrounds visual and aesthetic design as a pedagogical strategy. Research in multimedia learning suggests that emotionally engaging and visually considered materials can enhance motivation and comprehension when aligned with learning goals (Mayer and Estrella, 2014; Um et al., 2012).
This aligns with CAST’s assertion that barriers to learning are located in curriculum design rather than in learners themselves (2018), and with UAL guidance that frames inclusive design as central to student engagement.
As a result, Digital Journeys is designed to be:
- Visually clear and intuitive
- Interactive rather than text-heavy
- Engaging without being distracting
Design is treated not as decoration, but as a tool for supporting understanding and motivation.
5. Accessibility, Inclusion and Transparent Learning Pathways
The project is grounded in principles of accessibility and inclusion, recognising that digital literacy is unevenly distributed. Research shows that implicit expectations around digital competence can disadvantage students without prior access to specialist tools (Selwyn, 2010; Helsper and Eynon, 2013; Beetham, 2017).
In line with the Social Model of Disability embedded in the UAL Inclusive Teaching and Learning Framework, this project understands barriers as produced by educational design rather than by individual students.
Digital Journeys responds by:
- Reducing reliance on dense, text-heavy instruction
- Providing visual scaffolding and structured pathways
- Making software expectations transparent and explicit
Text-heavy instructional design is widely recognised as a barrier for diverse learners, including disabled and neurodivergent students, students from non-design backgrounds, and students with English as an additional language (CAST, 2018; University of the Arts London, n.d.).
By making workflows visible and navigable, Digital Journeys aims to reduce cognitive overload, support equitable access to digital knowledge, and enable students to engage more confidently with creative software.
A more detailed discussion of the theoretical and pedagogical foundations underpinning Digital Journeys is explored in a separate blog post. (click here)
Bibliography
Beetham, H. (2017) Developing digital literacies. London: Jisc.
CAST (2018) Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Wakefield, MA: CAST.
Dweck, C.S. (1986) ‘Motivational processes affecting learning’, American Psychologist, 41(10), pp. 1040–1048.
Dweck, C.S. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Helsper, E.J. and Eynon, R. (2013) ‘Distinct skill pathways to digital engagement’, European Journal of Communication, 28(6), pp. 696–713.
Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2002) ‘Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation’, American Psychologist, 57(9), pp. 705–717.
Mayer, R.E. and Estrella, G. (2014) ‘Benefits of emotional design in multimedia instruction’, Learning and Instruction, 33, pp. 12–18.
Selwyn, N. (2010) ‘Degrees of digital division’, Learning, Media and Technology, 35(4), pp. 491–507.
Um, E., Plass, J.L., Hayward, E.O. and Homer, B.D. (2012) ‘Emotional design in multimedia learning’, Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), pp. 485–498.
University of the Arts London (n.d.) Inclusive Teaching and Learning Framework. London: University of the Arts London.
Wood, D., Bruner, J.S. and Ross, G. (1976) ‘The role of tutoring in problem solving’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), pp. 89–100.
Categories
Presentation
Categories
Bibliography
Beetham, H. (2017) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Bell, J., Bryman, A. and Harley, B. (2018) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers. 7th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2021) Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. London: SAGE.
Color Oracle (n.d.) Color Oracle: A free colour blindness simulator for Windows, Mac and Linux. Available at: https://colororacle.org (Accessed: 1 November).
Dweck, C.S. (1986) ‘Motivational processes affecting learning’, American Psychologist, 41(10), pp. 1040–1048.
Dweck, C.S. (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.
Exploding Topics (2024) Graphic design software statistics. Available at: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/graphic-design-stats (Accessed: 12 December 2025).
Gray, C. and Malins, J. (2004) Visualizing Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Helsper, E.J. and Eynon, R. (2013) ‘Distinct skill pathways to digital engagement’, European Journal of Communication, 28(6), pp. 696–713.
hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.
Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2002) ‘Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation’, American Psychologist, 57(9), pp. 705–717.
Lupton, E. (2017) Graphic Design: The New Basics. 2nd edn. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Mayer, R.E. and Estrella, G. (2014) ‘Benefits of emotional design in multimedia instruction’, Learning and Instruction, 33, pp. 12–18.
McNiff, J. and Whitehead, J. (2011) All You Need to Know About Action Research. 2nd edn. London: SAGE.
McNiff, J. and Whitehead, J. (2011) You and Your Action Research Project. 3rd edn. London: Routledge.
Norman, D.A. (2013) The Design of Everyday Things. Revised and expanded edn. New York: Basic Books.
Selwyn, N. (2010) ‘Degrees of digital division: Reconsidering digital inequalities and contemporary higher education’, in Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age. London: Routledge, pp. 67–82.
Statista (2024) Worldwide graphics software market share. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1369176/worldwide-graphics-market-share/ (Accessed: 5 January 2026).
Straits Research (2025) Creative software market report. Available at: https://straitsresearch.com/report/creative-software-market (Accessed: 12 December 2025).
Um, E., Plass, J.L., Hayward, E.O. and Homer, B.D. (2012) ‘Emotional design in multimedia learning’, Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), pp. 485–498.
University of the Arts London (n.d.) Inclusive Teaching and Learning Framework. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/learning-and-teaching/teaching-and-learning-exchange/inclusive-teaching-and-learning (Accessed: 12 December 2025).
Wood, D., Bruner, J.S. and Ross, G. (1976) ‘The role of tutoring in problem solving’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), pp. 89–100.
Visual and Media Bibliography
Bodea, A. (2026) Demographic Profile of Student Survey Participants.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys 1.2 – QUICK SEARCH & ROADMAP (Dark Mode): Working Prototype with Interactive Elements.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys 1.2 – QUICK SEARCH: Working Prototype with Interactive Elements.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys 1.2 – ROADMAP: Working Prototype with Interactive Elements.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ARP Cycle. Original visual composition developed by the author, based on an adapted Adobe Stock infographic template: Infographic design template with place for your data (Adobe Stock ID: 438815703). Available at: https://stock.adobe.com/uk/images/infographic-design-template-with-place-for-your-data-vector-illustration/438815703 (Accessed: 2025).
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys Introduction Video (04:45).
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys QUICK SEARCH 1.0 – Mock-up.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ROADMAP – Original Colour Version.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ROADMAP – Simulated View for Red–Green Colour Vision Deficiency (Protanopia). Simulated using Color Oracle.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ROADMAP 1.0 – Mock-up.
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys: Design and Interaction Assets Plan.
Bodea, A. (2026) Distribution of Staff Digital Expertise and Roles.
Bodea, A. (2026) Staff Perceptions of Digital Journeys (Likert-Scale Findings).
Bodea, A. (2026) Staff Word Cloud: Language Patterns in Open-Ended Responses.
Bodea, A. (2026) Student Confidence, Perceived Usefulness, and Intended Use of Digital Journeys.
Bodea, A. (2026) Student Word Cloud: Language Patterns in Open-Ended Responses.
Bodea, A. (2026) Thematic Analysis Heatmap: Comparative Theme Prominence Across Student and Staff Data.
This section discusses the key patterns identified across the student and staff survey data, drawing connections between quantitative trends, qualitative themes, and visual analysis. Both students and staff received a video demonstration of Digital Journeys (which can be watched here) and were asked to complete a survey (which can be viewed here – student – staff)
Student nr: 16
Staff nr: 15
Student Demographics: Contextualising the Findings (fig. 1)
The student demographic shows a majority of respondents from the Fashion Business School and earlier years of study. This helps explain the strong emphasis on software literacy and workflow clarity: many respondents are not design specialists and are encountering creative software as part of broader project requirements.
fig. 1 Demographic Profile of Student Survey Participants
Student Confidence, Usefulness, and Use Intent (fig. 2)
The confidence–usefulness–use intent chart also allows comparison between students with English as a first language (1st) and those with English as a second language (2nd), revealing an accessibility-related pattern.
- Students report lower confidence in Adobe software, particularly those with English as a second language.
- Despite this difference, both groups rate the usefulness of Digital Journeys highly and show similarly strong intent to use the resource.
- This suggests that language-related barriers affect confidence with software, but do not reduce perceived value or willingness to engage with the resource.
This pattern indicates that Digital Journeys may function as an inclusive support tool, helping to mitigate linguistic and technical barriers rather than reinforcing them. As one student commented:
“Sometimes you do not know what you don’t know even exists.”
The visual contrast between confidence levels and use intent reinforces the importance of clear, visual, and structured guidance in supporting diverse student cohorts.
fig. 2 Student Confidence, Perceived Usefulness, and Intended Use of Digital Journeys
Staff Expertise and Institutional Perspective (fig. 3)
The staff expertise infographic shows a wide range of digital specialisms across the team.
- Despite this expertise, staff report that students frequently use unsuitable software.
- This suggests the issue lies in fragmented communication, not lack of staff knowledge.
fig. 3 Distribution of Staff Digital Expertise and Roles information
Staff perceptions of Digital Journeys – Likert-scale responses (fig. 4)
The staff Likert-scale responses indicate a broadly shared perception of Digital Journeys as a useful and practical response to recurring digital workflow issues encountered in teaching and technical support.
Several patterns are visible when the responses are considered together:
- High agreement around clarity and usefulness suggests alignment with staff experiences of supporting students who struggle with software choice and process understanding.
- Responses indicating that unsuitable software use occurance point to a persistent, structural issue rather than isolated cases.
- Strong likelihood of future use suggests that staff perceive Digital Journeys as compatible with existing teaching and support practices.
- Taken together, these responses position the resource as a preventative intervention that clarifies expectations earlier and reduces reliance on repetitive, reactive support.
fig. 4 Staff Perceptions of Digital Journeys (Likert-Scale Findings)
Comparative Heatmap: Shared Value, Different Priorities (fig. 5)
The comparative heatmap synthesises the themes generated through coding open ended responses and visualises their relative prominence across student and staff datasets. As Braun and Clarke emphasise, themes are not summaries of topics but “patterns of shared meaning, underpinned by a central organising concept” constructed through interpretation (Braun and Clarke, 2021).
fig. 5 Thematic Analysis Heatmap: Comparative Theme Prominence Across Student and Staff Data
Areas of strong alignment
Both students and staff strongly align around Clarifying Digital Workflows and Affirming the Value of the Resource.
- Clarifying Digital Workflows is constructed from codes such as:
- workflow clarity
- roadmap usefulness
- workflow clarification
- step-by-step guidance
- software purpose clarity
This shared emphasis reflects a common recognition that uncertainty around digital process is structural rather than individual.
- Affirming the Value of the Resource appears prominently in both datasets, drawing on codes such as:
- positive validation
- clarity confirmed
- confidence building
- validation of existing design
This is supported by student and staff comments, for example:
- Student: “… all very clear and easy to understand!”
- Staff: “The map is super clear, direct & effectively illustrates how a project workflow can be conducted to complete a design/creative project”
This cross-group validation suggests that Digital Journeys is perceived as a legitimate pedagogical tool rather than a remedial support.
Productive divergences between groups
Differences in thematic prominence reveal contrasting priorities rather than disagreement.
- Students place greater emphasis on Aligning Digital Skills with Assessment, informed by codes such as:
- assessment transparencylack of workflow visibility in briefs, skill validation and progression
One student noted that design skills felt “optional” within their course, highlighting misalignment between assessment structures and digital expectations:
‘In my course, I wasn’t really aware of where I needed design skills in the assignments and so it wasn’t clear what I should try to learn. The design side felt optional/not a priority which is a pity’
- Staff, by contrast, foreground Embedding Digital Guidance Institutionally, drawing on codes including:
- institutional embedding
- scalability
- Suggestions to integrate Digital Journeys into Moodle, handbooks, or onboarding processes frame the resource as infrastructure rather than optional support.
Interpreting the pattern
- Students prioritise immediacy: confidence, clarity, and assessment relevance.
- Staff prioritise sustainability: access, equity, and system-level integration.
- Together, these patterns show Digital Journeys operating as a connective layer between student experience and institutional practice.
Student and Staff Word Clouds: Language as Evidence (fig. 6 & fig. 7)
The side-by-side word clouds visualise the most frequently used terms (top 20) in student and staff open-ended responses, offering a language-based view of how each group frames Digital Journeys and the challenges it addresses.
fig. 6 Staff Word Cloud and fig 7 Student Word Cloud: Language Patterns in Open-Ended Responses
Shared Language Across Groups
Both word clouds prominently feature terms such as software, workflow, Adobe, tool, tutorial, and visual.
- This shared vocabulary suggests that students and staff are broadly aligned in how they understand the core problem: navigating digital workflows and choosing appropriate software.
Student Word Cloud: Orientation and Action
The student word cloud is characterised by terms linked to task break-down (Roadmap resource), clarity, and task execution.
- High-frequency words such as roadmap, search, clear, helpful, task, and workflow suggest that students experience Digital Journeys primarily as a wayfinding and decision-support tool.
- The prominence of tutorial, example, overview, and understand indicates a strong demand for step-by-step guidance and accessible explanations.
Overall, students’ language foregrounds immediacy and usability, progression emphasising how the resource supports action and confidence within live projects.
Staff Word Cloud: Support and Structure
In contrast, the staff word cloud places greater emphasis on pedagogical and institutional concerns.
- Terms such as student, access, guide, learning, integrate, handbook, and app suggest that staff conceptualise Digital Journeys as a support infrastructure rather than a standalone learning aid.
- The appearance of access and integrate aligns with staff concerns around equity, onboarding, and embedding guidance consistently across courses.
Interpreting the Contrast
Viewed together, the word clouds highlight a productive distinction:
- Students frame Digital Journeys in terms of clarity, navigation, and task completion.
- Staff frame it in terms of support, access, and integration within existing educational systems.
This contrast does not indicate disagreement, but rather reflects different roles within the learning environment. The word clouds therefore act as a visual synthesis of the findings, reinforcing how Digital Journeys bridges student experience and staff pedagogical intent.
Designing for Understanding
This project demonstrates how visual thinking can operate as a form of pedagogy. By redesigning creative software learning as a navigable, visual journey, Digital Journeys makes decision-making visible, confidence teachable, and complexity manageable. It positions design not as surface treatment, but as a strategic tool for shaping understanding, equity, and agency within fashion education’s increasingly digital landscape.
Bibliography
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2021) Thematic analysis: A practical guide. London: SAGE.
Visual Bibliography
Fig. 1
Bodea, A. (2026) Demographic Profile of Student Survey Participants
Fig. 2
Bodea, A. (2026) Student Confidence, Perceived Usefulness, and Intended Use of Digital Journeys
Fig. 3
Bodea, A. (2026) Distribution of Staff Digital Expertise and Roles. Author’s original visualisation.
Fig. 4
Bodea, A. (2026) Staff Perceptions of Digital Journeys (Likert-Scale Findings). Author’s original visualisation.
Fig. 5
Bodea, A. (2026) Thematic Analysis Heatmap: Comparative Theme Prominence Across Student and Staff Data.
Fig. 6
Bodea, A. (2026) Staff Word Cloud: Language Patterns in Open-Ended Responses. Author’s original visualisation.
Fig. 7
Bodea, A. (2026) Student Word Cloud: Language Patterns in Open-Ended Responses. Author’s original visualisation.
Categories
Expanding on the Rationale
1. Clarifying Digital Goals through Visual Structure
The design of Digital Journeys is informed by goal-setting theory, which emphasises the importance of instructional clarity in supporting learning. Locke and Latham argue that effective goals are those that are “specific and challenging” rather than vague, as they “direct attention, mobilise effort, and encourage persistence” (Locke and Latham, 2002, p. 705). In educational contexts, unclear goals can increase anxiety and cognitive overload, as students expend effort deciding how to begin rather than engaging meaningfully with learning tasks. Within Digital Journeys, this theory is applied by making digital expectations explicit at each project stage, linking tasks to appropriate software, and visualising progression through a structured roadmap. In this sense, the resource functions as a goal-clarification tool, helping students translate abstract assessment briefs into concrete, achievable actions.
2. Supporting Confidence through Mastery-Oriented Learning
The project is also informed by goal orientation theory, particularly the distinction between mastery and performance orientations. Dweck describes mastery-oriented learners as those who focus on “learning goals in which they seek to increase their competence” rather than simply demonstrating ability (Dweck, 1986, p. 1041). By contrast, performance-oriented learning environments encourage students to prioritise grades and correctness, which can undermine confidence, creativity and risk-taking. Digital Journeys supports a mastery orientation by emphasising process over outcome, normalising iteration. As Dweck later notes, learning environments that value growth and understanding foster greater resilience and confidence (Dweck, 2006).
3. Learning through Experience, Reflection and Scaffolding
This process-focused approach aligns with experiential learning theory, which understands learning as an active and iterative process rather than the passive absorption of information. Kolb defines learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 38), a perspective that closely reflects how fashion students engage with creative software through ongoing project work. In Digital Journeys, students’ interaction with different software tools constitutes concrete experience, while the visual roadmap supports reflection by making digital workflows visible and intelligible. Clarifying when and why particular tools are used supports abstract conceptualisation, enabling students to form transferable skills of digital practice, while movement between software stages encourages experimentation and revision. This experiential process is supported through principles of scaffolding, which provide structured guidance at early stages of learning. Wood, Bruner and Ross describe scaffolding as enabling learners to accomplish tasks they “would be unable to achieve on their own” (1976, p. 90). By offering step-by-step visual guidance and task-specific software recommendations, Digital Journeys reduces cognitive overload while gradually supporting independent decision-making and builds confidence and autonomy in digital workflows.
4. Visual and Emotional Design as a Pedagogical Strategy
In addition to clarifying workflows, the project deliberately foregrounds visual and aesthetic design as a pedagogical strategy. Research in multimedia learning suggests that emotionally engaging and aesthetically considered materials can enhance motivation and comprehension. Mayer and Estrella argue that “emotional design can positively affect learners’ motivation and engagement” when visuals support rather than distract from learning goals (Mayer and Estrella, 2014, p. 14). Similarly, Um et al. found that visually appealing instructional materials can improve learners’ performance by fostering positive emotional responses (Um et al., 2012). According to CAST “barriers to learning are found in the design of the curriculum, not in the learner.” (CAST, 2018) UAL guidance on digital education emphasises that barriers to learning can be reduced through inclusive and thoughtfully designed learning materials and environments, framing accessibility as central to enabling full student engagement (University of the Arts London, n.d.). These findings support the decision to design Digital Journeys as a visually clear, intuitive, interactive and engaging resource.
5. Accessibility, Inclusion and Transparent Learning Pathways
Finally, the project is grounded in principles of accessibility and inclusion, responding to digital literacy gaps that can disadvantage some learners. The UAL Inclusive Teaching and Learning Framework emphasises the importance of designing learning resources that “anticipate and remove barriers to learning, rather than responding to them after the fact” (University of the Arts London, n.d.). In this context, Digital Journeys prioritises clear visual communication, legible design, and transparency of expectations in order to support equitable access to digital knowledge. This approach aligns with hooks’ argument that inclusive education should enable learners to “claim ownership of knowledge rather than merely consuming information passively” (hooks, 1994, p. 14). From a design perspective, Norman similarly argues that well-designed systems make actions visible and understandable, noting that “the real problem with interfaces is not that they are complex, but that they are confusing” (Norman, 2013, p. 9). By making digital workflows explicit and visually navigable, Digital Journeys aims to reduce barriers to independent learning and support students in engaging more confidently with creative software within fashion education.
Framing the Project Through a Social Justice and Pedagogical Lens
This project recognises digital literacy as unevenly distributed rather than universally shared. Research in higher education demonstrates that implicit expectations around digital competence can disadvantage students who lack prior access to specialist software or informal training, reinforcing existing inequalities within creative disciplines (Selwyn, 2010; Helsper and Eynon, 2013). In practice-based subjects, digital skills are often assumed rather than explicitly taught, which can further marginalise learners without prior exposure to industry-standard tools (Beetham, 2017).
In line with the Social Model of Disability embedded within the University of the Arts London Inclusive Teaching and Learning Framework, this project understands barriers to learning as produced by educational structures and practices rather than by individual students (University of the Arts London, n.d.). From this perspective, uncertainty around digital workflows is framed as an accessibility issue created by unclear or text-heavy instructional design, rather than a deficit in student ability.
In this context, text-heavy instructional design refers to teaching materials that:
- Rely predominantly on dense written explanations
- Lack visual scaffolding (diagrams, screenshots, step-by-step visuals, videos)
- Present instructions in long paragraphs rather than structured, chunked formats
- Assume strong reading stamina, language proficiency, and prior software literacy
Text-heavy instructional design is widely recognised within inclusive learning literature as a barrier for diverse learners, including (CAST, 2018; University of the Arts London, n.d.):
- Disabled students (e.g. dyslexia, ADHD, cognitive processing differences)
- Neurodivergent learners
- Students from non-design or non-technical backgrounds
- Students with English as an additional language
Digital Journeys is therefore positioned as an inclusive, visually structured intervention that makes software expectations explicit, reduces cognitive overload, and supports all students to build confidence and autonomy in creative digital workflows.
Bibliography
Beetham, H. (2017) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing for 21st Century Learning. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Dweck, C.S. (1986) ‘Motivational processes affecting learning’, American Psychologist, 41(10), pp. 1040–1048.
Dweck, C.S. (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.
Helsper, E.J. and Eynon, R. (2013) ‘Distinct skill pathways to digital engagement’, European Journal of Communication, 28(6), pp. 696–713.
hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.
Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2002) ‘Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation’, American Psychologist, 57(9), pp. 705–717.
Mayer, R.E. and Estrella, G. (2014) ‘Benefits of emotional design in multimedia instruction’, Learning and Instruction, 33, pp. 12–18.
Norman, D.A. (2013) The Design of Everyday Things. Revised and expanded edn. New York: Basic Books.
Selwyn, N. (2010) ‘Degrees of digital division: Reconsidering digital inequalities and contemporary higher education’, Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age, pp. 67–82. London: Routledge.
Um, E., Plass, J.L., Hayward, E.O. and Homer, B.D. (2012) ‘Emotional design in multimedia learning’, Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), pp. 485–498.
University of the Arts London (n.d.) Inclusive Teaching and Learning Framework. Available at:
https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/learning-and-teaching/resources?utm_source=chatgpt.com
(Accessed: 12 December 2025).
Wood, D., Bruner, J.S. and Ross, G. (1976) ‘The role of tutoring in problem solving’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), pp. 89–100.
Choosing the right software at the right stage of a project is a recurring challenge in fashion education. This short video introduces Digital Journeys, a visually designed learning resource that I developed to help students navigate creative software workflows with greater clarity and confidence. Digital Journeys addresses this through two core features:
- an interactive Roadmap, where students can visualise their project journey and tasks required to meet learning outcomes
- Quick Search function, which allows students to look up specific tasks and reiceive a direct answer on which software to use, explains shortly the reasoning on why this is appropriate, and suggests alternatives where appropriate.
The video below provides a brief overview of the Digital Journeys resource and demonstrates how it is intended to be used in practice.
Digital Journeys Introduction Video (04:45) (Click to watch)
What triggered the project
- Students consistently used inappropriate or non-industry software for assessed tasks
- Resistance to learning unfamiliar software; preference for “what they already know”
- Confusion around why multiple software tools (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, CLO3D) are used within one project
- International students struggled with dense technical terminology during short teaching sessions
- No existing resource clearly showed the workflow across multiple software platforms
Navigating Software Choices in Industry-Led Practice
Through my role as a Learning Technology technician and Creative Digital Sofware associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, I have observed that this uncertainty often leads students feeling too overwhelmed to start the project and to inefficient workflows that leads to frustration and lost time, particularly when students attempt to complete complex outputs, such as portfolios, in software that is not aligned with industry-standard practice. Industry-standard practice refers to software that operates as a de facto global standard, established through widespread and sustained adoption across professional fashion and design practice, higher education curriculum, and global industry production workflows, rather than through formal regulation or regional preference. Market analyses indicate that Adobe Creative Cloud and its core applications (including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign) hold a substantial share of the global creative software market (Adobe products command over 80% of the graphic design software market according to Statista, 2024), with Adobe reported as the leading provider in this sector and its tools widely adopted across professional creative workflows (Straits Research, 2025; Exploding Topics, 2024).
Mapping Digital Guidance Through Design
This challenge is further compounded by the limited visual guidance provided in current unit handbooks, which are often written in academic language and do not clearly articulate digital workflows or professional software expectations. In my experience as a fashion design studio assistant, In professional design practice, software is selected strategically according to task and output rather than personal preference. In response to these recurring issues, this action research project explores the development of Digital Journeys, a visually designed learning resource intended to clarify creative software workflows and support students’ confidence and decision-making in ways that better reflect industry-standard practice in the UK fashion sector.
How can a visually designed digital learning resource clarify creative software workflows and support students’ understanding, confidence, and decision-making in fashion education?
This project is guided by the research question:
How can a visually designed digital learning resource clarify creative software workflows and support students’ understanding, confidence, and decision-making in fashion education?
Designing for Equity and Clarity in Digital Learning
Rather than framing students’ uncertainty around software choice as a lack of skill or preparedness, this project positions workflow clarity as a responsibility of educational and instructional design. Digital Journeys is conceived as a visually led intervention that makes digital expectations explicit, transparent, and aligned with professional practice, supporting students to navigate complex creative processes with greater confidence and autonomy. Digital Journeys is meant to act as a companion to the hanbook and materials not a replacement. By foregrounding clarity, accessibility, design and consistency, the project seeks to reduce unnecessary barriers to learning and promote more equitable engagement with industry-standard digital tools within fashion education.
Bibliography
Exploding Topics (2024) Graphic design software statistics. Available at: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/graphic-design-stats (Accessed: 12 December 2025).
Statista (2024) Worldwide graphics software market share. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1369176/worldwide-graphics-market-share/ (Accessed: 5 January 2026).
Straits Research (2025) Creative software market report. Available at: https://straitsresearch.com/report/creative-software-market (Accessed: 12 December 2025).
Visual Bibliography
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys Introduction Video (04:45).
Developing Digital Journeys through an Action Research cycle
The development of Digital Journeys followed an iterative Action Research cycle, allowing the resource to evolve through cycles of making, feedback, reflection, and refinement. This approach is well suited to design education, where knowledge is generated through practice and iterative development rather than linear problem-solving (McNiff and Whitehead, 2011).
Identify and plan
Following the identification of persistent confusion around digital workflows and software choice, the project moved into a planning phase focused on designing a visual roadmap that could make complex processes explicit. In art and design education, visual mapping and diagramming are recognised as key modes of thinking, helping learners understand sequencing, relationships, and purpose (Gray and Malins, 2004). This informed the decision to communicate workflows visually rather than through text-heavy explanations.
Design and feedback (first iteration)
The next action within the cycle was the creation of an initial visual mock-up of the Digital Journeys Roadmap. Peer and tutor feedback identified several areas for improvement:
- Reordering the legend to improve clarity and visual hierarchy
- Replacing the term industry standard software with software suggestions to avoid overly prescriptive language
- Clarifying context by specifying the relevant unit, brief, and year of study
Reflect and redesign
Reflection on this feedback informed the redesign of the resource, leading to the development of a second interactive prototype with improved navigation and visual consistency. This iterative movement between making and reflecting reflects Schön’s concept of reflection-in-action, where designers refine solutions through continuous engagement with their work (Schön, 1983).
These changes align with principles of information design, where hierarchy and contextual framing are essential for effective communication (Lupton, 2017). In response to feedback, and building on the original project vision, the following features were added:
- dropdown menus were introduced, allowing students to select their course and year of study and view a tailored workflow according to their selected unit brief
- multiple software suggestions were integrated
- dark mode
- interactive elements on the roadmap
Digital Journeys 1.2 – ROADMAP – Working Prototype with interactive elements (fig 5)
Digital Journeys 1.2 – QUICK SEARCH – Working Prototype with interactive elements (fig 6)
Digital Journeys 1.2 – QUICK SEARCH & ROADMAP Dark Mode – Working Prototype with interactive elements (fig 7)
for a full demonstration of the resource please refer to my Introduction blogpost “Introduction – Digital Journeys: Supporting Student Workflow in Fashion Education with Design Software“
Validate and evaluate (student and staff questionnaires)
Feedback from surveys confirmed the clarity and usefulness of the roadmap while also identifying specific areas for future development. Suggested additions included:
- Links to in-house tutorials or official Adobe tutorials to ensure consistency and reliability
- Brief software overviews explaining purpose and typical use
- Step-by-step visual guidance for moving between software
- Examples of outcomes and techniques to show what is possible
- Expanded software options, including alternatives where Adobe software is inaccessible
- Integration into existing platforms such as Moodle or course handbooks
- Opportunities for ongoing student feedback and suggestions
- Clearer onboarding support for students from non-design backgrounds
This feedback validated the relevance of Digital Journeys as a workflow-support tool while also highlighting how it could be expanded to better support diverse learning needs.
Analyse, feasibility and iteration
Accessibility testing using Colour Blind Oracle indicated that colour distinctions between research stages and InDesign were difficult to perceive for users with red–green colour vision deficiencies, specifically Deutan (deuteranomaly and deuteranopia) and Protan (protanomaly and protanopia) conditions. This finding reinforces the need to design interfaces that do not rely on colour alone to communicate meaning (Lupton, 2017).
Accessibility testing
From a feasibility perspective, Digital Journeys would require ongoing maintenance due to regular software updates and annual major version changes. This highlights the importance of designing the resource as a flexible, updateable system rather than a fixed artefact, with content that can be reviewed and refreshed to remain accurate and relevant.
Next steps
The next stage of development will focus on improving colour accessibility, alternative text and font size for a more inclusive approach, expanding in-house and official Adobe tutorial integration, reasearching a better platform to and iterate/update and host the resource and continuing iterative testing with a focus group. Through ongoing Action Research cycles, Digital Journeys will remain an evolving, design-led resource responsive to both pedagogic needs and software change.
Bibliography
Gray, C. and Malins, J. (2004) Visualizing Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Lupton, E. (2017) Graphic Design: The New Basics. 2nd edn. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
McNiff, J. and Whitehead, J. (2011) All You Need to Know About Action Research. 2nd edn. London: SAGE.
Schön, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.
Color Oracle (n.d.) Color Oracle: A free colour blindness simulator for Windows, Mac and Linux. Available at: https://colororacle.org (Accessed: 1 November).
Visual Bibliography
Fig. 1
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ARP Cycle. Original visual composition developed by the author, based on an adapted Adobe Stock infographic template: Infographic design template with place for your data (Adobe Stock ID: 438815703). Available at: https://stock.adobe.com/uk/images/infographic-design-template-with-place-for-your-data-vector-illustration/438815703 (Accessed: 2026).
Fig. 2
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ROADMAP 1.0 – Mock-up. Author’s original design.
Fig. 3
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys: Design and Interaction Assets Plan. Author’s original diagram.
Fig. 4
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys QUICK SEARCH 1.0 – Mock-up. Author’s original design.
Fig. 5
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys 1.2 – ROADMAP: Working Prototype with Interactive Elements. Author’s original design.
Fig. 6
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys 1.2 – QUICK SEARCH: Working Prototype with Interactive Elements. Author’s original design.
Fig. 7
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys 1.2 – QUICK SEARCH & ROADMAP (Dark Mode): Working Prototype with Interactive Elements. Author’s original design.
Fig. 8
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ROADMAP – Original Colour Version. Author’s original design.
Fig. 9
Bodea, A. (2025) Digital Journeys ROADMAP – Simulated View for Red–Green Colour Vision Deficiency (Protanopia). Author’s original design, simulated using Color Oracle.
Categories
Research Methods
Research Methods: Surveys as a Mixed-Data Tool
To evaluate the Digital Journeys prototype, I am using short, structured questionnaires for two participant groups: students and staff. Although surveys are sometimes associated with quantitative research, Gray and Malins emphasise that in art and design research, questionnaires can generate both qualitative and quantitative insights, particularly when combined with reflective interpretation. They note that questionnaires can be used “not simply to collect facts, but to reveal attitudes, perceptions and experiences” (Gray and Malins, 2004, p. 143).
The student and staff surveys are designed to capture:
- Quantitative data (Likert-scale questions measuring clarity, usefulness, and confidence).
- Qualitative data (open-ended questions inviting comments on what worked, what was confusing, and what could be improved).
This approach aligns with Doing Your Research Project, which argues that combining question types allows researchers to balance breadth and depth, noting that “open questions can provide insights that the researcher may not have anticipated” (Bell, 2014, p. 157). In my project, this is particularly important because I want students to articulate in their own words how the resource affects their workflow, rather than forcing their experience into predefined categories.
Survey results
The links include the consent form, survey questions, and anonymous survey responses, with Likert-scale and multiple-choice data presented in aggregated visual form and open-ended responses shown in full without identifying information.
Thematic Analysis as an Analytical Strategy
I am using thematic analysis as my primary method of analysis. Braun and Clarke describe thematic analysis as “a method for systematically identifying, organising, and offering insight into patterns of meaning (themes) across a dataset” (Braun and Clarke, 2021, p. 4). This flexibility makes it particularly suitable for practitioner research, where data may be relatively small-scale but rich in meaning.
Rather than treating thematic analysis as a purely technical process, Braun and Clarke emphasise that it is an interpretive act. They argue that themes do not simply “emerge” from data, but are actively constructed by the researcher through engagement with theory, context, and research questions (Braun and Clarke, 2021). This perspective is important for my project, as my analysis is shaped by my professional experience supporting students with creative software. Braun and Clarke argue that transparency strengthens qualitative research, noting that “good thematic analysis makes the researcher’s analytic process visible” (Braun and Clarke, 2021, p. 35). In practice, this means clearly linking themes to data extracts and explaining how design decisions are informed by participant feedback.
I am following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase approach:
- Familiarisation: Reading survey responses multiple times to gain an overview of student and staff perceptions.
- Coding: Identifying meaningful features of the data, such as references to confusion, confidence, efficiency, or visual clarity.
- Generating themes: Grouping codes into broader themes, for example software confusion, value of visual guidance, or independent learning support.
- Reviewing themes: Checking themes against the dataset to ensure they are coherent and representative.
- Defining and naming themes: Refining each theme to clearly articulate what it captures about the data.
- Writing up: Integrating themes with theory and reflecting on their implications for practice.
Coding and theming examples of data can be viewed here
As they note, it enables researchers to “move beyond describing data to interpreting and making sense of it” (Braun and Clarke, 2021, p. 22). In my project, this means linking student comments about confusion or confidence directly to design decisions within Digital Journeys.
Visual Analysis and Designerly Ways of Thinking
Situated within art and design education, this project extends analysis beyond written text to include visual approaches such as “mapping, diagramming and visual structuring of ideas,” acknowledging that designers often think through visual means (Gray and Malins, 2004, p. 172). Translating survey themes into diagrams and visual maps allows the researcher to “see relationships, gaps and patterns that might remain hidden in linear text,” ensuring methodological alignment between a visually focused learning resource and its analysis (Gray and Malins, 2004, p. 176).
Bibliography
Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2021) Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. London: SAGE.
Gray, C. and Malins, J. (2004) Visualizing Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. Farnham: Ashgate.
McNiff, J. and Whitehead, J. (2011) You and Your Action Research Project. 3rd edn. London: Routledge.
Bell, J., Bryman, A. and Harley, B. (2018) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers. 7th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.