Factors Influencing The Creative Decision-Making Of Fashion Designers In Ghana: A Case Study Of Kumasi Metropolis

Abstract

Since the 1990s, there has been extensive research on the creative decision-making and practices of designers in fields like architecture, industrial design, and engineering, but relatively little on fashion design. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the corpus of knowledge on creative decision making by examining the factors that influence the decision making strategies and processes of fashion designers in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area. The study used a qualitative research approach to collect data from 33 respondents chosen through a snowball sampling techniques. The study discovered that the creative design decision making of fashion designers in the Kumasi Metropolis are influenced by art, nature, cultural heritage, belief systems, religious ideologies, color, architecture and the nature of the community in which fashion design decisions are made. Designers spend a lot of time in researching trends, materials, colors, and techniques, and experiment with fabric, shapes, colors and incorporation of unsusal materials such as recycled materials, to stay up-to-date on current and future trends in fashion, and create designs that are fresh and relevant. Based on the findings the study recommends that fashion designers in the Kumasi Metropolis can use technology to enhance their creative designs, for example, by using 3D printing, virtual reality, and augmented reality. These tools, together with collaborating with other creatives such as photographers, artist and musicians can help designers to visualize their designs and bring them to life in new and exciting ways. It can also push the boundaries of fashion design and create innovative, futuristic designs.