From Abstract to Volume

Grounded in Bauhaus-based basic design pedagogy, the transition from abstract two-dimensional composition to three-dimensional volumetric and spatial thinking in a first-year basic design studio is examined through a studio-based qualitative evaluation framework. The research aims to read students’ iterative productions and learning processes multidimensionally through a method developed specifically for this study and applied within studio practice. The two- and three-dimensional works of twenty-one students, produced through abstract artworks selected from modern art history, were evaluated according to five criteria: formal balance, creativity, spatial thinking, process orientation, and material–technique integration. The analysis relies not only on final outcomes but also on the joint consideration of process outputs such as sketches, intermediate trials, relief explorations, and model-making. The findings reveal that students developed a marked sensitivity in formal balance and process-oriented working; however, they displayed more variable and still-developing patterns in constructing spatial depth, establishing volumetric continuity, and making the light–material relationship a constitutive component of design. The results demonstrate that Bauhaus principles of learning through process, experimentation, and material engagement can be meaningfully reinterpreted within contemporary studio conditions. The shift from two-dimensional abstraction to volumetric and spatial thinking constitutes a critical learning threshold in basic design education. Accordingly, the study offers an applicable and replicable qualitative framework to support the evaluation of studio learning in design education.