Herron School of Art and Design Theses

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/2591

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 224

Understanding the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Design Curricula
(2025-05) Vavhal, Ria; Ganci, Aaron; Maruf Mihçi, Gürkan; Datta, Amrita
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming creative industries, yet graphic design education remains underprepared to equip students with the necessary skills to adapt. This thesis explores how AI can be meaningfully integrated into design curricula through qualitative research involving interviews with educators and focus groups with students. The findings revealed diverse perspectives on AI and emphasized the need for both technical literacy and soft skills such as critical thinking and ethical awareness. In response, this study developed The Beginner’s Guide to AI in Graphic Design Education—a practical, educator-informed resource designed to support responsible AI use in the classroom. The guide was evaluated by design faculty and aims to assist educators in confidently adapting their teaching to an evolving technological landscape.
Approaching Wicked Problems with Design Facilitation & Co-Design: A Case Study Envisioning Third-Party Logistics for the Food Pantry Ecosystem
(2025-04) Perry-Goldsmith, Amy; Hong, Youngbok; Ganci, Aaron; Chernicoff, William
Food insecurity has become a serious concern for many communities in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic. Embedded challenges in the food pantry ecosystem, including inadequate resources and a largely volunteer workforce, make the logistics of food distribution inefficient. Multi-faceted societal problems like food insecurity and food pantry logistics that are ultimately too complex to be truly solved are known in the design world as “wicked problems.” Designers can approach these problems with tools like design facilitation and co-design to engage stakeholders, gain insights from diverse groups of people, and help the community generate authentic potential solutions. Stakeholders in the Indianapolis food pantry community participated in a designer-facilitated co-design workshop that led to the creation of three prototypes for next generation logistics models for the food pantry system. Now, these prototypes can potentially be used by the community to test new ways of distributing food and to seek funding for future support as changes are made.
Exploring Memory Reconsolidation in the Veteran Population
(2025-05) LaChance, Sophia; Misluk, Eileen; Graham, Uriah
This literature review explores the intersection of memory reconsolidation and art therapy as a potential therapeutic approach for reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the veteran population. Through this literature review of 29 peer-reviewed sources, the research aimed to determine whether integrating art therapy with memory reconsolidation could offer clinical benefits. Findings revealed that art therapy could have a place within the mismatch experience, or prediction error, step of memory reconsolidation. Within the research, art therapy was found to be highly favorable among PTSD patients, and memory reconsolidation was found to decrease PTSD symptoms successfully with low relapse rates of symptomology. Only one source explicitly combined both approaches throughout this research, and six additional sources made direct or indirect connections. These findings highlight the need for further research to assess the efficacy of memory reconsolidation and art therapy together in addressing PTSD and trauma among veterans.
An Integrative Literature Review: Textile Arts in Art Therapy
(2025-05) Minnigan, Sadie; Misluk, Eileen; Daugherty, Lauren
A review of available literature sought to explore the potential benefits and therapeutic uses of textile art forms in art therapy. To understand different textile materials, cultural implications of these materials, and how they’re being utilized in and out of art therapy, an integrative literature review was conducted to highlight the preliminary research on textile arts in art therapy and illustrate the gap in literature on clinical art therapy textile art interventions. Key findings indicated the potential for textile arts to address identity, both individual and communal, through storytelling by way of textile crafting.
Supporting School-Based Art Therapy in Rural Public Schools
(2025-05) Price, Gabrielle; Misluk, Eileen; Slabach, Katie
This study aimed to show the need for mental health services in a rural public school and how school-based art therapy would be feasible to address that need. This survey study used a mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative data. There were 21 school staff members who participated in the survey, and two staff members who participated in an interview that was used to validate the findings. The participants were staff members at a rural public school in Indiana. The staff members were able to recognize that students struggle with their mental health by listing observed symptoms, but due to accessibility and affordability barriers, the students have limited resources. According to previous research, school-based art therapy has been beneficial in reducing the mental health symptoms that were reported in the survey.
Beyond the Canvas: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence as a Creative Tool for Art Therapists
(2025-05) Gravitt, Hannah; Misluk, Eileen; McCullough, Shannon
This self-study explores the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) as an art material within art therapy, with the goal of understanding how AI-based artmaking compares to traditional media in terms of emotional expression, creative engagement, and therapeutic potential. The study asks: Can generative AI enhance creative exploration, reduce barriers to artmaking, and expand the accessibility of art therapy across diverse populations and settings? The research was motivated by the increasing use of digital tools in clinical and creative practices and the need to assess their role through a therapeutic lens. Using a dual-method approach, the researcher created artworks in response to the same prompts using both traditional and AI-generated processes, followed by structured reflection. Results indicated that traditional media supported sensory grounding, emotional access, and spontaneity, while AI facilitated cognitive clarity, symbolic externalization, and metaphor construction. Key findings suggest that AI may reduce perfectionism and physical limitations, offering a bridge into artmaking for hesitant or under-resourced clients. The study concludes that while AI lacks tactile engagement and spontaneity, it can enhance meaning-making and emotional processing when integrated thoughtfully. Clinical implications include layering modalities across the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC), reducing barriers to participation, and extending art therapy’s reach in digital or restricted environments. Further research is recommended to explore AI’s use across populations and develop tools tailored to therapeutic needs.
Exploring Art Therapy in Alcoholism Detoxification: A Survey on Materials and Therapeutic Directives
(2025-05) Callis, Bethany; Misluk, Eileen; Adeniyi, Linda
This study aimed to identify the most commonly used materials, directives, and therapeutic approaches employed in art therapy for individuals undergoing detox for alcohol use disorder (AUD). To explore these practices, 32 art therapy clinicians with experience in the substance use population completed an online survey. The survey included questions related to demographics, types of materials and directives, levels of complexity and structure, and engagement across levels of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC). While it was anticipated that kinesthetic and sensory art making modalities, along with structured directives would be most prevalent, the results revealed a wide range of contradictory responses, specifically concerning levels of the ETC and directive structure. These findings highlight the diversity of clinical approaches in this setting and may serve as a foundational reference for future research aimed at deepening our understanding of effective art therapy interventions in AUD detox contexts.
The Use of a Survey to Cultivate a Collection of Creative Adaptations for Hospitalized Children with Physical Disabilities
(2025-05) Borman, Olivia; Misluk, Eileen; Lugo, Hannah
The following study is focused on finding creative ways to accommodate and adapt art therapy for physically disabled patients. Using a mixed-method, survey approach, with quantitative demographic data and qualitative insights into art therapy experiences, 23 art therapists were asked about how they helped disabled patients/clients participate in art therapy, what traditional/non-traditional materials they used, and how they implemented these adaptations. Participants were credentialed/ licensed art therapists in the United States who worked with physically disabled patients/clients. Participants reported using many different creative adaptations, including adapting the space, materials, and directives. There were also many different ideas about how to implement these adaptations, which showcases the need for individualized care for every patient with disabilities. No disability or patient is the same. Therefore, each needs specific mental health treatment services. Future research focused on accommodating intellectual, developmental, visual, and hearing disabilities would help to fill the gap in the current literature for adaptive art therapy.
A Mixed Methods Prelimimnary Review of Hospitalized Trauma Patient Experiences with Art Therapy
(2025-05) Beardsley, Ella; Misluk, Eileen; Mattingly, Amy
This study provided a preliminary investigation of the use of art therapy with individuals who sustained sudden traumatic injuries. A mixed methods study design included a literature review, secondary survey results, and personal communication with an art therapist in a trauma unit. The literature review provided only two articles related to the use of art therapy with individuals with traumatic injuries. Research about the population's physical and mental health needs and the use of art therapy with comparable populations was used to supplement this research. The secondary survey results were collected from a trauma unit that surveyed eleven eligible participants after having at least one art therapy session during their hospital stay. The survey results found preliminary evidence of positive experiences with art therapy and the likelihood to participate again. The results of the literature review provided evidence that there needs to be more mental health resources for patients following a traumatic injury. Additionally, art therapy was able to address a variety of mental health needs that trauma patients have with comparable populations. These findings suggest that increased funding for adjunctive mental health resources like art therapy might improve trauma patients' experiences in the hospital.
Soft Power
(2025-05) Cooreman, Lisa; Setser, Meredith; Holzman, Laura
My work explores care as a radical, gendered, and relational force. One that challenges dominant systems through presence, repetition, and tenderness rather than coercion. Drawing on feminist theory, global perspectives, and lived experience as a single mother and first-generation college graduate, I consider the invisible labor of care and its entanglement with identity, autonomy, and resistance. Using upcycled garments, soft sculpture, printed fabric, and found objects, I construct installations that intertwine text with tactile processes like sewing, binding, and mending, ritual gestures that hold, remember, and rebuild. Influenced by five years living in Japan, my practice integrates collectivist values such as omoiyari (empathetic consideration) and jishuku (voluntary restraint), which emphasize interdependence and community-oriented action. I draw on feminist scholar Nancy Snow’s reformulation of “soft power” to frame care as a subtle yet potent strategy for social change, where empathy, visibility, and attention become tools of resilience. My work navigates the paradoxes of visibility and erasure imposed on women, trans, and non-binary individuals within systems that exploit care while devaluing those who provide it. Through tactile materiality and language-as-textile, I investigate care’s potential to map histories, hold vulnerability, and affirm agency. My sculptures often pair soft fabrics with rigid materials, evoking the tension between tenderness and control. These forms serve as monuments to the unseen labor of care, spaces that refuse domination, instead inviting viewers to listen, feel, and witness. In doing so, my practice asserts that collective care is not a weakness, but a deeply political ethic capable of transforming how we live, relate, and resist.

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