Doing, Thinking, Feeling: The Process of Becoming a Designer

Challenges

Landscape Architecture Studio at the University of Kentucky is a rigorous, immersive experience. One where students are expected to live in the problem space, not just solve it. But for years, Professor Ryan Hargrove wrestled with a critical challenge:

Students were learning, growing, and evolving— but that growth was largely invisible.

Most students entered Studio One without any prior design experience. They struggled to articulate their process, and were unfamiliar with reflecting on their own thinking, let alone sharing it. Traditional tools like sketchbooks and journals weren’t sticking. Reflection became just another box to check, instead of a vital part of their development.

Ryan wanted more for his students. Not just better drawings. Better thinkers.

Goals

The big goal? Build reflective designers.

Specifically, Ryan wanted to:

• Help students develop metacognitive awareness: an understanding of how they think through complex problems.
  
  
• Encourage students to reflect in action. Not just after a project ends, but while immersed in it.
  
  
• Normalize documenting the emotional, cognitive, and creative process. Not just final outputs.
  
  
• Foster a shared culture of vulnerability, growth, and creative authenticity.
  
  

Implementation

In Fall 2024, Ryan brought Unrulr into his foundational Studio One course.

From the start, students were encouraged to use Unrulr in three distinct ways:

1. Show what you’re doing: from polished models to quick sketches and messy prototypes.
   
   
2. Show what you’re thinking: through photos, videos, audio reflections, or written notes.
   
   
3. Show what you’re feeling: the emotional layer that binds the story together.
   
   

The result was a stream of authentic, real-time reflections, posted from the studio, the dining hall, or on a walk across campus. Students documented not only their design process, but how that process shaped them as people.

Prompts helped at the beginning. But before long, students took full ownership. Posting became habitual. Unrulr was no longer an “assignment”— it was simply part of how they worked, learned, and connected with each other.

Outcomes, In Their Words

If I get to the end of the semester and I've learned about that student and they've grown in the capacity to learn about themselves, that's a win for me. That's a home run. Whether they learned how to draw better, whether they learned a skill on the computer, they can learn all of that in time. But having that foundational element of understanding of self, the power of reflection, and how to tell a story— that's the foundation that you want to continue to grow.

One of the most important things Unrulr does is create an environment in which people feel safe, compelled and inspired to share feeling in an evocative, rich, authentic way.

— Ryan Hargrove, Professor of Landscape Architecture

The Story Through COGS

Ryan’s students’ posts aren’t just showing what was built, they’re uncovering how they became designers in the process.

A quick look at the most-tagged COGS (Concepts, Outcomes, Goals, and Skills) offers a window into what matters most in Ryan’s learning environment:

Ryan’s Most Tagged COGS

• Persistence – 1,302 tags
• Observation – 956 tags
• Grit – 912 tags
• Curiosity – 904 tags
• Embracing Uncertainty – 883 tags
• Listening – 463 tags
• Empathy – 428 tags

A Focus on Process

This data tells a clear story: Ryan’s students are immersed in the process of design, not just its output. Skills like persistence, grit, and embracing uncertainty point to a culture where students are encouraged to take creative risks, recover from setbacks, and reflect deeply on their growth. Observation and curiosity show that students are learning to see with intention— paying attention to the world around them and using it to inspire their work.

Learning to Relate to Others

While empathy and listening appear less frequently, they still signal an important part of the studio’s evolution: students are starting to document not just what they make, but how they relate to others, how they feel, and how that emotional intelligence shapes their design decisions.

Together, these tags highlight a program that’s building reflective, resilient, and relational designers— learners who are documenting not just what they’ve done, but who they’re becoming.

In Ryan’s class, being a good designer means being a good person.

And thanks to Unrulr, these often-invisible traits are now visible, trackable, and celebrated.

The Impact of Unrulr

Unrulr transformed the landscape of Landscape Architecture Studio:

• Culture Shift: Reflection became part of the daily rhythm— shared, visible, and meaningful.
  
• Ownership: Students now document without prompts or reminders. They’ve made Unrulr a part of how they live design.
  
• Emotional Intelligence: Posts explore not just what students did, but how they felt and why that matters.
  
• Community: Students engage with each other’s journeys, building a shared language of growth.
  
• Future-Ready Designers: With a portfolio of authentic reflections, students leave Studio One better equipped to navigate ambiguity and create human-centered work.

What’s Next?

Ryan’s work with Studio One is just the beginning.

As he reflects on the semester, he’s already thinking about how to extend Unrulr across other studios and courses, deepening the culture of reflection throughout the department.

And for his students, the impact endures. Many carry their Unrulr habits into Studio Two, into internships, and into their future careers— where reflection, empathy, and process matter just as much as product.

Because once students realize reflection isn’t a task, it’s a superpower, there’s no going back.