An investigation of design studio performance in relation to creativity, spatial ability, and visual cognitive style

•Freshman design students' creativity, spatial ability, and visual cognitive style were measured, and compared with their design studio course grades.•The Architectural Spatial Ability Test was developed and used to measure domain-specific spatial abilities.•Students' design studio performance did not correlate to their creativity, spatial abilities, and visual cognitive styles.•The main effect of gender in general spatial abilities and visual cognitive style was found, but no effect regarding academic major was found.•Males significantly outperformed females on general spatial ability tests and had higher spatial scores in visual cognitive style.

Design is a complex, multifaceted problem-solving activity involving various cognitive abilities. Creativity and spatial ability are considered critical in design process and outcomes, and visual cognitive style represents the potential of artistic and scientific creativity; however, little empirical research exists on their relationships and roles in design studio performance. This paper is an investigation of how one's creativity, spatial ability, and visual cognitive styles relate to design studio performance, measured by grade. Identifying students' cognitive abilities and their relation to design studio performance is important for the development of meaningful pedagogy and the holistic understanding of student capacities. Fifty-nine freshman architecture and interior design majors' creativity, spatial ability, and visual cognitive style were measured using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, Mental Rotation Test, Paper Folding Test, the Architectural Spatial Ability Test, and the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire, and compared with one another and with final grades in their design studio course. The effect of gender and academic major was investigated through a two-way ANOVA. The analysis revealed no correlations between studio course grade and the observed scores; but a positive correlation existed between general spatial abilities and visual cognitive styles. It also revealed males' outperformance in general spatial ability tasks and tendency of spatial visualizers. The results show that design studio performance cannot be measured and predicted directly by creativity, spatial ability, and visual cognitive style. The results highlight the necessity to develop measurement criteria of domain-specific creativity and spatial ability, and the importance of holistic understanding of student capacities and the nurturing process in education.