A scaffold for design decision-making.
Thisness gives students working across graphic, brand and digital design a structure for examining what their design decisions are grounded in, at the point they're making them.
It sits within the design process they're already learning and can be used independently between tutorials, critiques and other points of discussion.
When the work gets ahead of the reasoning.
Students can move quickly from an initial idea towards increasingly resolved work. But visual resolution doesn't necessarily mean the thinking behind a direction is equally resolved.
A decision can begin to feel right before its basis has been fully examined. And once a direction starts taking shape, it can become harder to distinguish what led to it from how it is subsequently explained.
This isn't a new concern in design education.
Research in 2006 identified a potential disconnect between designing and subsequently recording and justifying design decisions. In 2008, research with final-year graphic design students identified students moving towards final outcomes before ideas had been sufficiently tested and substantiated.
Critique and reflection have long helped educators bring students' thinking into discussion. But the context continues to change: in 2026, a study of student design projects found that AI-assisted work scored higher for visual elaboration, but not for design logic.
Increasingly resolved work ≠ increasingly resolved reasoning
Making the basis of a decision visible.
Students can examine evidence, surface assumptions, explore connections and consider the consequences of the choices they're making while working independently.
It doesn't determine the direction. It gives the student a clearer basis from which to judge it.
Explore Thisness with your students
Thisness is available free for use within design education. Get in touch and I'll send you the Thisness Toolkit and Practice Sheets to explore.
References
Cuddihy, E. & Turns, J. (2006). Assessing Design Expertise in Student Project Work. View study
Ellmers, G., Foley, M. & Bennett, S. (2008). Graphic Design Education: A Revised Assessment Approach to Encourage Deep Learning. View study
Zhao et al. (2026). AI’s Brush on Novice Posters: How Generative AI Shapes Design Outcomes and Student Learning. View study
Journal
The journal explores ideas around clarity, judgement and professional practice in creative work. Essays written to encourage deeper reflection on the work.
Contact
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