The paper describes a systematic approach that follows the tradition of the Bauhaus principles of craftsmanship and visual perception. Precedents are drawn from the use of light, color and texture in the visual arts such as the glass collage assemblages of Albers and Moholy-Nagy’s camera-less photogram. References are also drawn from Kandinsky’s diagrammatic analysis of still life drawings and Kepes’s idea of the language of vision.

The focus of the paper is how digital media and physical material can be used interchangeably as instruments in a design environment. The investigation centers on developing teaching methods for seeing, thinking and making of spatial design. A sequence of experimental exercises stimulates students’ intuition and powers of analytical observation. This systematic approach helps students explore how space can be perceived and informed by using types of media that are significantly different in their nature. The methodology explores the concerns and techniques of making and exploring space through the use of light, shadow, motion, color and transparency.