121 Development of Artistic and Creative Activities for Design Students Lin Zhu1, Jiachang Lu2 1Dhurakij Pundit University, Thailand 1Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, China Submitted: 2023-04-07. Revised: 2023-05-24. Accepted: 2023-06-24 Abstract The main purpose of this scientific study is to identify key areas for the development of the ar- tistic and creative activity of students studying the basics of design in higher educational institu- tions, which contributes to improving their creative abilities and developing the ability to create an innovative product design. The basis of the methodological approach in this scientific study is a combination of methods of systematic analysis of the key principles of teaching design in modern higher educational institutions with a comprehensive study of the real prospects for the introduction of innovative solutions in the process of teaching design in order to develop artistic and creative activity among future specialists in this profession. The results are the importance of developing modern students’ artistic and creative activity for design departments of higher educational institutions to improve their skills in creating artistic product design and the ability to develop innovative design were obtained. Also, the results illustrate the success of applying specific methods of training designers to implement the tasks. The practical significance of the results obtained in this research work lies in the possibility of their application in the process of teaching students of design departments of modern higher education institutions to develop their understanding of the principles of artistic design and the ability to transfer such skills to the creation of modern products with innovative design. Keywords: art design, innovative product design, innovative teaching method How to Cite: Zhu, L. & Lu, J. (2023). Development of Artistic and Creative Activities for Design Students. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education, 23(1), 121-131 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 23 (1) (2023), 121-131 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v23i1.43806 cesses in the world economy, to make non- standard decisions in the design and crea- tion of innovative design products that can subsequently attract significant demand. Pipinato (2021) draws attention in his handbook on innovative bridge design to the fact that modern approaches to cre- ating the design of created architectural structures require non-standard design solutions that meet the design require- ments established worldwide. Therefore, INTRODUCTION The problem of this scientific rese- arch lies in the urgent need to search for and implement the latest technologies in teaching modern design students in higher educational institutions. Such a need is de- termined by the growing need for highly qualified specialists in the field of design technologies, who are able, in the context of the development of globalization pro- Corresponding author: E-mail: linzhu744@gmail.com p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 23 (1) (2023): 121-131122 according to the researcher, creating such projects requires, in addition to purely en- gineering training, developed skills of non- standard design thinking, which are laid down at the stage of specialist training in an educational institution (Pipinato, 2021). For his part, Taura (2016) drew at- tention in his study of the principles of creating modern creative design projects to the fact that as modern technologies develop, the consumer no longer has an urgent need for certain products, which causes the designer’s problem in creating a product that is really in demand in the cur- rent situation. According to the author, the solution to this kind of problem lies in the application of an engineering approach to the current situation, which, in turn, imp- lies that designers have significant skills in artistic and creative activity, the ability to develop and implement non-standard so- lutions in the course of their activities, and this kind of activity is being developed still at the stage of studying at a higher educa- tional institution (Taura, 2016). At the same time, Thompson & Jac- que (2017) concluded in a scientific study of the principles of the development of creativity in the context of the role of an individual performer in this process that the degree of influence of a particular per- former on creativity in a certain area as a whole is largely determined by his ability to bring innovative, creative ideas and jus- tify their usefulness and viability. Accor- ding to the authors, the development of the creative activity of performers is pos- sible if there are prospects for implemen- ting their innovative ideas and concepts, which open up significant prospects for the implementation of one or another crea- tive idea (Thompson & Jaque, 2017). Buck (2020) noted in an indepen- dent study of the problematic aspects of the design and development of the finis- hed product that the process of creating the design of the finished product is quite laborious and requires the display of out- standing design and engineering abilities. The designer should be well aware of the product itself, its characteristic properties, and distinctive features, which should be favorably emphasized in the design ele- ments. At the same time, such skills are not always present in a design specialist initi- ally - they can be developed in the process of studying at an educational institution, especially if there is a special emphasis on their development by the provisions of the curriculum (Buck, 2020). This requires the manifestation of creative activity on the students’ part, their interest in obtaining high-quality skills in creating design pro- jects, and mastering the basics of design skills. Corazza et al. (2021) conducted a joint scientific study of the principles of the formation of creative activity in the educational space, during which it was found that the process of formation of spe- cific creative developments with regard to students has a clear dependence on the le- vel of creative tasks assigned to them and specific efforts aimed at their implemen- tation. At the same time, the development of students’ artistic and creative activity is less related to their natural abilities since, in this context, the main emphasis should be placed on the efforts of the students themselves to implement a particular cre- ative task and master the specific skills and techniques, which are necessary for its successful implementation (Corazza et al., 2021). This research aims to determine the main directions and methods for develo- ping design students’ artistic and creative activity at the stage of their education in a modern higher educational institution. METHODS The basis of the methodological ap- proach in this research work is a combina- tion of methods of system analysis of the fundamental principles of teaching design in modern educational institutions with a comprehensive study of the objective pros- pects for introducing innovations in the process of learning designers to form and develop their artistic and creative activity. The method of comparative analysis of the Lin Zhu et al., Development of Artistic and Creative Activities for Design Students 123 results obtained in this scientific study was also used with the results and conclusions of a number of scientific papers on related topics. The main research is preceded by the creation of a theoretical base, which in- cludes an analysis of a number of scientific works by modern scientists who have stu- died the problematic aspects of the deve- lopment of the artistic and creative activity of students in the design departments of modern higher educational institutions. The application of the system ana- lysis method of the main aspects of teach- ing design in modern higher educational institutions made it possible to determine the basic principles for developing artistic and creative activity among students of modern educational institutions. In addi- tion, real methods of its development were identified, one of which should be consi- dered the method of infographic projects. The specific stages of the implementation of innovative product design using the in- fographic method are determined; it is re- commended for use at the stage of training design students in a modern higher educa- tional institution. Conducting a comprehensive study of the real prospects for the introduction of innovative solutions in the process of training a modern student-designer made it possible to formulate the key principles for creating an educational and cognitive environment that can provide all the re- quired conditions for the development of students’ creativity and increase the gene- ral level of their artistic perception. At the same time, specific factors must be taken into account in order to introduce the info- graphic method into the process of teach- ing design students in order to develop the proper level of artistic and creative activity in them, which is necessary for the future of the development and practical imple- mentation of products created on the basis of artistic ideas design solutions have been formulated. The selected combination of scientific research methods determined the presence of certain stages of scientific work. At the initial stage of this scientific research, the main aspects of the develop- ment of the artistic and creative activity of students of design departments of modern higher education institutions were conside- red, which are of fundamental importance in terms of improving their skills in percei- ving artistic design and subsequently cre- ating products with innovative design. In addition, competencies are identified that are of key importance in developing the skills of design students to develop inno- vative designs for finished products. At the next stage of the research work, the prospects for introducing the infographic method into the training pro- gram for design students in a higher edu- cational institution were considered to de- velop their artistic and creative skills. Some student works are also presented with a description of the methods of their creati- on, which are of key importance in solving the problems of activating students’ artis- tic creativity and revealing their ability to create. At the final stage of this scientific stu- dy, an analytical comparison of the results obtained with the results and conclusions of several scientific papers on related to- pics was carried out. This made it possible to clarify the results obtained and to for- mulate, on their basis, the final conclusions that serve as their logical reflection and to sum up the entire complex research work performed. RESULTS AND DISCUSION In modern conditions, with the cur- rent development of industrial, economic, and social relations, there is a real need to make changes in the educational process of modern higher educational institutions to develop the artistic and creative activi- ty of design students. This is required for students to develop the ability to create technological innovations that provide the products which are subsequently produ- ced, with their participation a real advan- tage in today’s competitive environment (Björklund et al., 2020). In addition, the process of teaching students the principles Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 23 (1) (2023): 121-131124 of creating artistic designs of products is important in terms of the development of creative innovation and artistic and creati- ve activity of students in general. The development of the artistic and creative activity of students of modern higher educational institutions requires in- creased attention to the following aspects: (1) stimulation of independent work of stu- dents in the classroom and extracurricular activities (outside activities); (2) formu- lation of tasks that require non-standard approaches to the solution for their imple- mentation; and (3) creation of an educatio- nal and cognitive environment conducive to the development of artistic and creative activity of design students. Independent work of students in the classroom and extracurricular activi- ties contribute to the development of their competencies, which should be considered key from the point of view of the prospects for the formation of artistic and creative activity skills in the future. These should include the following: (1) the ability to make independent decisions when choo- sing a specific concept for the implemen- tation of a task issued by a professor; (2) the development of skills in creating an ar- tistic design of the finished product, using innovative solutions; (3) development and improvement of creative abilities, stimula- ted by developing the skill of finding non- standard solutions in the course of perfor- ming program tasks. Preparation and issuance of assign- ments to students, the solution of which requires the use of non-standard approa- ches, involve their subsequent indepen- dent work with specific search tasks that stimulate the creative activity of students. When organizing independent work of students, the professor monitors all stages of such work and also controls the process of completing tasks and obtaining new knowledge and competencies for students. For this, it is necessary to set specific tasks, the qualitative solution of which requires a creative approach to the application of all the information received. The educational and cognitive envi- ronment, which is conducive to the deve- lopment of the artistic and creative activity of design students, must meet the follo- wing criteria: (1) represent a certain comp- lex of socio-cultural, psychological, and pedagogical conditions that ensure the ef- fective interweaving of the cognitive, per- sonal, emotional and volitional beginnings of each student; (2) have a set of special pe- dagogical conditions, which are required to create and maintain the student’s inte- rest in the development of his artistic and creative abilities; (3) be able to fully ensure the development of the processes of cog- nition of the individual and their adjust- ment, in accordance with the provisions of the program of the higher educational institution. To create an effective educational and cognitive environment that can cont- ribute to the development of the artistic and creative activity of students of design departments of modern higher education institutions, a number of key tasks need to be solved, namely the proper provi- sion of the educational, methodological and material base, which is required for the implementation of a wide range of tasks set in the curriculum; introduction of modern computer technologies into the educational process, which contributes to a visual illustration of creative solutions developed in the learning process; a ratio- nal combination of software products used with traditional forms of education allows developing innovative design solutions when creating a finished product and il- lustrating them using modern computer technology’s capabilities. One of the most effective ways to de- velop artistic abilities and creative activity of students of design departments of mo- dern higher education institutions is the project method aimed at creating an inno- vative, artistic design of the finished pro- duct using the principles of infographics. The creation of an iconographic project involves the mandatory independent work of students, developing their skills of creative, artistic activity by creating an innovative design of the finished product, Lin Zhu et al., Development of Artistic and Creative Activities for Design Students 125 which has a pronounced artistic compo- nent (Nguyen & Mougenot, 2022). The infographic is a variant of the graphic presentation of information, with the aim of the fastest, most objective, and most reliable presentation of data of any complexity. This method has found wide application in the field of education and journalism when submitting a variety of technical information. The infographic method allows not only to transmit in- formation in large volumes but also de- monstrates specific trends and the real re- lationship of facts and objects in space and time. The development of the artistic de- sign of the finished product using the in- fographic method requires the obligatory consideration of a whole range of factors, namely historical, artistic, scientific, and logistical. In this context, the personal charac- teristics of the project developer are of primary importance: his perseverance, the level of development of the creative activi- ty, the ability to feel the images of artistic design and display them in the completed project, the presence of artistic taste, prac- tical experience in the development of the innovative design of finished products, the desire to develop their own artistic, creati- ve activity. The process of developing the artis- tic and creative activity of design students through the development of projects in the style of infographics can be represented as a sequence of certain stages, namely (1) De- finition of the final task of the project. For- mulation of the terms of reference for the creation of the project, taking into account the general concept of its artistic design; (2) Preliminary design study. Artistic search for an innovative design concept; (3) Pre- paration of sketches, taking into account the addition of innovative solutions to the proposed design; (4) Final fine-tuning of the finished material in graphic editor pro- grams, with subsequent implementation in the material; Output the finished project in infograph- ics Achieving ultimate success in the de- velopment of the artistic and creative acti- vity of design students through the use of the infographic method is possible if there is a favorable combination of a number of factors that directly impact the constructi- on of the educational process. These should include (1) the presence of a sufficient le- vel of professionalism in the teaching staff, who is responsible for the organization of training sessions and the selection of met- hodological material, the study of which will lead to the development of students’ skills in creating samples of artistic de- sign: (2) a high-quality technological base, which is sufficient for its use in the process of creating an innovative product design during practical exercises, using modern computer technology; (3) development of independent work skills among design students at the stage of training at a higher educational institution, sufficient to deve- lop the artistic design of an innovative pro- duct; (4) direct desire of students to mas- ter the method of infographics in order to develop the competencies in question; and (5) students’ understanding of the essence of innovative design solutions and the fea- tures of their practical creation. Figures 1-2 show the work that could be done by design students using the in- fographics method in the process of stu- dying at a higher educational institution. At the same time, the possibility of their special development is allowed in order to develop students’ perception of artistic design as a result of the activation of the process of their artistic creativity. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 23 (1) (2023): 121-131126 Figure 1. Work in the style of infographics “Size Comparison of Vessels” Source: Braquelaire and Strandh (2004) In developing the infographic shown in Figure 1, a comparison of different ty- pes of ships was made, and methods were used to combine different colors and styles of color combinations in the image. Such tasks are aimed at developing the percepti- on of the principles of constructing the ar- tistic design of the finished product among design students through the activation of artistic creativity Figure 2. Work in the style of the “Louvre Museum” infographic Source: Braquelaire and Strandh (2004) The work presented in Figure 2 was created using vector and raster graphics methods. In the first case, the drawing in- cludes separate geometric objects: lines, points, and polygons. As a rule, vector graphics allow the creation of relatively simple infographic images in SVG format. In the second case, in order to create an in- fographic image, a system of pixels is used, the colour difference of which creates a certain graphic image, which the human eye perceives as a single picture. The main bitmap formats are PNG, JPEG, TIF, GIF, and BPM. The considered methods for creating ready-made images suggest using proprie- tary libraries containing many options for creating various types of images (Roy and Warren, 2019). To ensure that students can access them, the professor should use paid and free repositories during classes. Using the above possibilities for crea- ting art design patterns using iconography methods is a clear example of developing innovative product design by activating the artistic creativity of students of design departments of modern higher educati- on institutions. In this case, the design’s innovativeness is expressed through the color-coding method, which allows visual determination of the differences between the individual pieces of information in the text. The development of ability to de- velop an artistic design, which is neces- sary for the preparation of an innovative design concept for a finished product, is fully consistent with the preparation of terms of reference for the development of an iconography sketch, which includes the following mandatory steps: (1) Align- ment of the finished composition on the area, which is limited by specific geome- tric parameters; (2) The typical character of the silhouettes of figures placed on the final composition is created in a form that is as close as possible to the simplest geo- metric shapes; (3) It is necessary to main- tain a complete static or dynamic balan- ce for all the constituent elements of the composition; and (4) Two key options for displaying figures on a sheet are used - the dominant figure is located in the center of the composition, while all the others are perceived in approximate relation to it; all figures completely lose their own identity, being located in the established rhythmic alternation of final forms. The stage of developing a finished model contributes to the formation of skills for creating innovative product design. At this stage, students are tasked with inde- pendently searching for the final form of Lin Zhu et al., Development of Artistic and Creative Activities for Design Students 127 the finished product and designing its fi- nal proportions. At the same time, the pro- fessor monitors the rationality of the met- hods used by students and their ultimate effectiveness in implementing the general concept of artistic design. The selection of a more rational model is mandatory at this stage in terms of educating students’ abi- lity to find and implement non-standard methods for solving a typical problem, which in the future will be crucial if it is necessary to develop an innovative pro- duct design already in solving problems of professional activity (Kumar et al., 2021). The organization of practical classes on the creation of infographics and pro- ducts based on innovative graphic design should be implemented by professors using an activity approach, which invol- ves the sequential implementation of the stages of preparing and issuing technical specifications, creating a sketch of a futu- re product project, modeling it using the available software and creating a finished product model. Teaching future designers the basics of infographics is very relevant at this stage since it contributes to the con- sistent formation of their competencies ne- cessary to effectively create various com- binations of artistic images that form the concept of the innovative design of the fi- nished product (Booker et al., 2001). At the same time, design students are activating the desire to continue learning in the cho- sen direction, which, in turn, ensures an increase in overall creative activity in the process of learning activities as a whole. Creating an innovative product de- sign requires a design professional to de- velop the ability to build art forms within a given design concept. A characteristic example of creating an innovative product design is the use of a color-coding method that allows highlighting colour fragments with various kinds of information. This is fully facilitated by the development of the artistic and creative activity of students of design departments of modern higher educational institutions at the stage of pre- paration for mastering the profession. At the same time, conducting independent practical exercises aimed at developing in- novative designs for finished products wit- hin the framework of creating projects in the style of infographics contributes to the development of skills in creating graphic images of any degree of complexity using modern software tools (Cather et al., 2001). This helps develop the spatial imagination of future designers, as well as a number of other skills and competencies necessary to develop a wide variety of design innova- tions. Thus, the development of the artis- tic and creative activity of design students through the introduction of practical tasks for the development of product models using the iconography method in the pro- gram of higher educational institutions proves its practical effectiveness due to the presence of a wide range of opportunities for improving the skills of creating samp- les of the artistic, innovative design of fi- nished products. The skills acquired du- ring practical training will be very useful for future designers in their professional activities and will determine their signifi- cant competitive advantages in the labour market. MacLean-Blevins (2017) notes in a scientific study to review the general prin- ciples for constructing effective plastic products that any design decision made at each stage of creating a finished pro- duct allows the designer to optimize and verify the finished design thoroughly. In this context, the author pointed out that to bridge the fundamental gap between the industrial designer and the finished pro- duct developer, the designer should apply creativity at every stage of designing the finished product. This requires thorough training aimed at developing the creative abilities of a design specialist, as well as his personal efforts at all stages of the lear- ning process. In general, the researcher’s conclusions are fully correlated with the results obtained in this scientific study, significantly supplementing them in the context of assessing the areas of applicati- on of the creative abilities of a modern de- signer in practice (MacLean-Blevins, 2017). Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 23 (1) (2023): 121-131128 For their part, Ashby and Johnson (2009) came to the conclusion that materi- als are the basis of any design project in a joint scientific study of the features of the use of various materials in the process of implementing a design project. Today the- re is a wide variety of different materials for all possible forms and contemporary design trends. In addition to it, scientists note that the problem of choosing materi- als for creating a design project is unique in its own way since a technical designer has access to any information related to all the nuances of the project. The question is the level of training of the designer him- self and his ability to select the required information from all the available variety, which, in turn, necessitates high-quality training of specialists in this field. The re- searchers’ conclusions can be challenged on the grounds that a designer with a de- veloped creative ability should not have problems finding information on issues of interest to him in the implementation of any project (Ashby & Johnson, 2009). The topics raised are developed by Lu et al. (2021) in a joint study of the key principles of joint planning, design, and installation of finished products. Accor- ding to the authors, implementing a cer- tain design concept involves taking certain steps to prepare a draft of this concept and its consistent implementation, using all available opportunities for assembling and picking finished products. It is also noted that with the development of modern com- puter technology, there has been an evolu- tion of traditional methods for assembling and designing finished products, which in general, has contributed to the accele- ration of their development process. The methodology of combining the principles of planning, designing and assembling fi- nished products should be taught to future designers at the stage of preparation for fu- ture professional activities (Lu et al., 2021). The researcher’s conclusions complement the results of this scientific work in the context of the importance of the practical application of modern computer technolo- gies in creating a finished innovative de- sign of the finished product. Becker (2016) examines this subject from a slightly different angle; he raised a number of problematic aspects of choosing a colour scheme for creating a finished product design in his scientific research. The scientist expressed the opinion that colour sets the key mood when evaluating the finished product, which necessitates carefully selecting its colour scheme when creating a design concept. Product design innovation is largely determined by the designer’s ability to choose a palette of co- lours that not only distinguish the product from competitors and creates a unique ex- perience for the end user (Becker, 2016). A designer needs to have a good understan- ding of the world of colour makers, while a formula needs to have a better understan- ding of design concepts. The researcher’s conclusions require additional clarificati- on regarding the interaction between the designer and the developer of colours to create a high-quality and effective artistic design of the finished product. In turn, Best (2012) noted in his stu- dy of the features of colour selection in the implementation of the design concept of the finished product the fact that colour design is the basis for the perception of the product, emphasizing its advantageo- us competitive advantages and creating a truly innovative design of the finished pro- duct. According to the researcher, the abi- lity to select a colour scheme to create real creative innovations should be brought up in a future designer at the stage of learning a profession since, in practice, it may not always be possible to improve the skill of selecting the optimal colour combination when creating a finished product (Best, 2012). In general, the conclusions of the re- searcher fully coincide with the results ob- tained in this scientific work in the context of assessing the importance of choosing a colour scheme for creating an innovative design of the finished product. Pouzada (2021) considered in his scientific research the selection of mate- rials and the creation of design concepts for producing plastic products on an in- Lin Zhu et al., Development of Artistic and Creative Activities for Design Students 129 dustrial scale. The author notes that the creation of innovative products requires thorough training of designers in the deve- lopment of plastic products, as well as the choice of materials and their application in the creation of design forms (Pouzada, 2021). According to the researcher, com- prehensive training of qualified designers should include training in the principles of thermoplastic molding, studying the la- test advances in the field of plastic tools, as well as the impact of processing options for finished molds on the subsequent per- formance of the finished product. The pre- sented results are interesting in the context of the results of this scientific study by emphasizing the need for an integrated approach to creating the artistic design of the finished product. At the same time, a group of aut- hors represented by Frishberg & Lamb- din (2015) conducted a scientific study of the principles of studying the target audience’s needs when creating various innovative products. As a result, scientists concluded that creating an innovative pro- duct design requires a clear understanding of the user’s needs and the practical abi- lity to implement a product that can fully satisfy these needs. This implies the need to develop the creative activity of future designers at the stage of their training in the profession, as well as to improve their artistic taste and ability to implement the main design ideas in the finished creative concept of the product (Frishberg & Lam- bdin, 2015). In essence, the researcher’s conclusions are fully consistent with the results obtained in this scientific work in terms of assessing the importance of de- veloping the creative activity of future de- signers to develop their ability to create an innovative product design. The topic is being developed by Staines (2012), who conducted a scientific study of the general principles of creating interiors for academic libraries, teaching, learning, and conducting various research. The author noted that the ability to create innovative design concepts allows for gi- ving the surrounding workspace unique, incomparable characteristics, which as a result, will positively affect the results of people working in this space. The ar- tistic expressiveness of the workroom is largely determined by the creative abili- ties of the designer who has undertaken to create the interior (Staines, 2012). The researcher’s conclusions can be challenged on the grounds that the designer’s creati- vity alone cannot significantly impact the workspace’s internal expressiveness wit- hout his interaction with other specialists involved in the process of creating this space. At the same time, Leary (2019), who considered in his research work the key principles for the development of design concepts for additive manufacturing, drew attention to the fact that the creation of any design concept requires significant effort, both on the part of the designer himself and on the part of other specialists, invol- ved in the process. According to the aut- hor, much depends on the ability of the entire team to combine creative efforts in one direction in order to obtain the final re- sult, which is expressed in the creation of a single creative concept of additive manu- facturing, which includes various options for optimizing the parameters of the entire process (Leary, 2019). Fundamentally, the conclusions of the scientist do not cont- radict the results of this scientific work, supplementing them in the context of as- sessing the importance of team interaction for creating a final high-quality product. Thus, in general, the results of this scientific study essentially coincide with the conclusions of the reviewed scientific papers, emphasizing their objectivity and scientific validity. CONCLUSIONS The development of the artistic and creative activity of students of design de- partments of modern higher education institutions is aimed at developing the ar- tistic perception of students, which is ne- cessary to create competencies, sufficient for them to develop innovative designs Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 23 (1) (2023): 121-131130 of finished products in their subsequent professional activities. The solution to this kind of educational task requires the fulfill- ment of a number of key conditions for the organization of the educational process, among which it should be noted the pre- sence of the required level of competence of the teaching staff of the educational ins- titution, sufficient material and technical equipment, as well as the consistent deve- lopment of students’ skills of independent work when performing their educational tasks. An effective solution to this kind of problem is possible by introducing tasks for the development of design projects using the infographic method into the curriculum of the design department of a modern higher education institution. This method is highly effective in creating a visual picture of educational informati- on and developing students’ creative and artistic abilities, increasing their overall level of creative activity and developing their practical skills in creating artistic de- sign concepts. This is facilitated by the stu- dents’ performance of tasks aimed at selec- ting the optimal combination of colours, objects, and shapes in a given composition and choosing the option for arranging the figures in it. Furthermore, improving stu- dents’ skills in independent work is of gre- at importance in this context; it contributes to the development of creative thinking and the search for innovative solutions in building the design concept of the finished product. The result is an increase in students’ general level of artistic and creative activi- ty, the development of artistic perception, as well as the ability to make innovative decisions when developing the concept of the design of the finished product. 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