• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.743-755
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• 2016

This study aimed to reveal the designer's creative process in the development of clothing designs. The researcher has taken roles both as a design practitioner and an observer. The full process of design development was concurrently documented while working to solve a specific problem. This included noting down the concept, keywords, and detailed scratch ideas, as well as refining the design by collecting sketches and taking photos. Integrated data from the captured design process were analyzed based on Lamb and Kallal's apparel design framework, which included problem identification, construction of preliminary ideas, design refinement, prototype development, and evaluation. The functional, expressive, and aesthetic (FEA) criteria of the entire process were thus assessed. Additionally, five professional apparel reviewers evaluated the design project based on FEA criteria. The results showed the processes for identifying targets and intentions, extracting the main elements from sources, developing the major visual concepts, and making final adjustments. Ultimately, this study revealed how a designer manages each stage of the creative design process. Sharing such detailed observations of the design process can help refine the knowledge involved in each stage of the creative process, and provide guidance for instructors in design education.