Appearances matter: The perceived complexity, coherence, mystery, and legibility of makerspace labs

Makerspace labs are popping up across U.S. universities following the excitement the Maker movement has created. These spaces are touted as a place where students can express their creativity and turn their ideas into innovations. Makerspaces do indeed foster self-directed learning and creative innovation; however, little has been studied regarding the design of such spaces to draw in the general student population. This paper shares results from a pilot study where the research team created a survey based on the preferred environments theoretical framework to measure first-year engineering students preferences regarding various images of makerspace labs.