Experiencing a space: Applying experiential methods to support the learning of art and design

The purpose of this study is to promote the experiential learning (EL) method in the pedagogics of art and design in higher education. This article is based on a case study consisting of two pedagogical projects in interior design courses, the probing project and the multisensory space project, carried out between 2014 and 2016 with trainee teachers. Using the data from these projects I analyse using the qualitative content analysis method how and with what implications EL supports learning of art and design in higher education. The results show that EL was found to be inspiring and self-expressive, and was an unusual and motivating way to learn interior design. In a teacher education context EL gave students ideas about collaborative and EL-based methods of learning that could be applied to their own future teaching projects.