Product Design and Technologies Unit 1: Design Practice

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this unit.

Course Description

This unit focuses on the work of designers across relevant specialisations in product design. Students explore how designers collaborate and work in teams; they consider the processes that designers use to conduct research and the techniques they employ to generate ideas and design products. In doing this, they practise using their critical, creative and speculative thinking strategies. When creating their own designs, students use appropriate drawing systems – both manual and digital – to develop graphical product concepts. They also experiment with materials, tools and processes to prototype and propose physical product concepts.

In this unit, students analyse and evaluate existing products and current technological innovations in product design. They achieve this through understanding the importance of a design brief, learning about factors that influence design, and using the Double Diamond design approach as a framework.

In their practical work, students explore and test materials, tools and processes available to them in order to work technologically, and they practise safe skill development when creating an innovative product. This is achieved through the development of graphical product concepts and the use of prototypes to explore and propose physical product concepts.

Areas of Study

Area of Study 1 - Developing and conceptualising designs

In this area of study, students focus on the first diamond in the Double Diamond design approach to investigate and define needs and/or opportunities. They propose graphical product concepts using visualisations, design options and working drawings. This gives them the opportunity to demonstrate design thinking that incorporates critical, creative and speculative thinking.

Specifically, they learn to use appropriate drawing systems for their design specialisations and refine their product concepts to convey their ideas graphically, using manual and digital technologies. Students also create a series of prototypes to experiment with the physicality of their product concepts. They apply design thinking techniques to generate and design product concepts that employ creative and safe use of a variety of materials, tools and processes.

Students work in various design specialisations and have opportunities to work individually, in teams, and collaboratively in their classroom environment. Teamwork encourages communication between students and mirrors professional design practice where designers, when developing designed solutions, have identified roles within transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams. Teamwork combines individual efforts of all team members to achieve a goal. Additionally, collaboration occurs when students are working together on classroom activities and completing work collectively. Examples of collaboration include group discussions, brainstorming ideas, analysing problems and reaching consensus about processes. Digital technologies can facilitate teamwork and collaboration when students are developing designed solutions.

Area of Study 2 - Generating, designing and producing

In this area of study, students focus on the second diamond in the Double Diamond design approach to develop, trial and test physical product concepts, and make a designed product. Based on the graphical product concepts proposed in Outcome 1, trials and tests are conducted to inform, evaluate and critique physical product concepts and to justify the selection of the chosen product concept and its production processes. Students develop a final proof of concept and implement a scheduled production plan to make the product efficiently and effectively. They explore available materials, tools and processes, and develop skills in using them to develop technacy through generating, designing, producing and implementing. Students use various materials, tools and processes to demonstrate how products can be a synthesis of various design specialisations and technologies. They have further opportunities to work individually, collaboratively and in teams to share work, knowledge and skills. Students evaluate their designed product and their contributions to collaborations and teamwork to complete the project.

Assessment

Outcome

Marks

Assessment Task

Outcome 1 SAC

On completion of this outcome the student should be able to investigate and critique products using the factors that influence design, to make judgments about the success or failure of the products to support positive impacts for end users.

To achieve this outcome the student will draw on key knowledge and key skills outlined in Area of Study 1.

S/N

multimodal record of evidence of research, development and conceptualisation of products addressing a need or opportunity related to positive impacts for the end user(s)

Outcome 2 SAC

On completion of this unit the student should be able to design and make an inclusive product that responds to a need or opportunity of an end user(s) that addresses positive impacts in relation to belonging, access, usability and/or equity.

To achieve this outcome the student will draw on key knowledge and key skills outlined in Area of Study 2.

S/N

practical work: demonstration of graphical and physical product concepts including prototyping and making final proof of concept along with the finished product addressing a need or opportunity related to positive impacts for the end user(s)
case study analysis or research inquiry of a designer and end user(s) that explores the influence of culture in product design.

Overall Final Assessment