Core

• Aesthetics - What the product looks like eg: the colour, texture, pattern and decoration
• Client requirements - Who would buy the product and when would they use it? How well does the product do its job when compared to others? How marketable is it to the user?
• • Environment - Is the product sustainable and/or environmentally friendly? Is it recyclable? Can it be easily repaired rather than thrown away?
• • Size - What is the size of the product? Is it comfortable to use? Is it a similar size to other products with the same use?
• • Scale of production - Which processes were used to make the product? Which type of production method was used (one-off, batch or mass)?
• • Cost - How much did it cost to make? How much does it cost to buy? Is it considered good value by the consumer?
• • Function - What is the function and purpose of the product? How well does it work? Could it be improved?
• • Materials and components - What materials and components have been used to make the product? Why were these materials and components used?
• privately owned business - The owner makes decisions on the direction of the company and is not accountable to anyone else. There are benefits, including the ability to quickly adapt to changes in the market, but these companies often do not have the funding to invest in larger projects.
• Crowdfunding uses websites to advertise products as investment opportunities, where people can choose to back a project with a financial donation if they think it will be viable. Backers are often rewarded with free gifts, discounts or a pre-agreed part of any profits if the product is successful.
• Government may financially support a new business if it is believed that it would benefit the economy. In the UK, this government backing is known as start-up loans.
• If the owner of an organisation doesn’t cash-in the profit from the business but instead reinvests it into the business, it is known as a not-for-profit organisation. The profit is reinvested into the business to keep it running, develop the business or invest in new and emerging technology.
• types of pollution:

  • noise pollution, eg from the use of heavy machines
  • release of greenhouse gases
  • water and soil contamination
• Finite resources are non-renewable and will eventually run out. Metals, plastics and fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) are all examples of finite resources.
• Non-finite resources are found naturally and can be replaced. Examples include natural timber, cotton and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal.
• the 6 Rs: repair, reuse, recycle, rethink, reduce, refuse
• advantages and disadvantages in the workforce

  
• When a worker works away from the office it is known as remote working. A worker may choose to work from home or a cafe. The internet allows people who work in organisations which allow remote access to work systems. An advantage is flexibility in working hours to suit personal needs. A disadvantage is a worker can become isolated with limited interaction with co-workers.
• Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing is triggered by a customer order. The correct amounts of materials are ordered in to cover the order, and these arrive just as they are needed by production. This saves money on storage, reduces waste and ensures there is no money wasted producing stock that will remain unsold. There are disadvantages to the system in that, if any part of the product cannot be sourced, clients have to wait for their order to be produced.
• When a manufacturer uses the same component across a number of products it is known as standardised design and components. For example, car manufactures owned by the same company often share components as it can reduce development and production costs, and increase the speed at which a product comes to market.
• Lean manufacturing is a Japanese concept, based on minimising costs and maximising efficiency by cutting down on waste and the amount of materials and energy used in production. This is done by adapting designs and making changes to the production process.
• Bespoke specialist products can be made for a client using one-off production. Specialist workers and production aids are needed. This can produce high-quality and original objects, but they are often expensive to make and buy and highly skilled workers are needed to produce them.
• Batch production is where many items of the same product are produced, such as mobile phones and TVs. A range of products can be made, particularly ones that are regularly changed, but time is lost when retooling and skilled workers are needed. When a product is made in a batch, it is often far cheaper per product than making just one.
• Mass-produced products are manufactured in large volumes, and are often made by automated machinery with assembly line workers used to fit parts together or add standard components. Products are kept low cost as a large number are made and bulk materials and components are cheaper to buy. There is, however, a large cost in setting up such an assembly line.
• Continuous production takes place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and, in some cases, 365 days a year. It can produce huge volumes of a product at a low cost but it is limited to a small range of products, but it is expensive to set up.
• Planned obsolescence is the practice of designing products that will have a limited life cycle and that will become obsolete and require to be replaced. Planned obsolescence is generally bad for the environment as it creates more waste.
• Design for maintenance is a term used when designing products that are more durable and have spare parts available to mend and maintain them.
• Design for disassembly is a concept that when a product has reached the end of its life it can be taken apart and parts reused or recycled. 
• Fossil fuels are a finite resource, meaning that they cannot be replaced once extracted from the ground. Examples include:

  • coal
  • natural gas
  • oil
  • nuclear
• renewable sources are non-finite as they harness the Earth’s natural resources. Examples include:

  • wind
  • solar
  • tidal
  • hydroelectric
  • biomass
• Single-use batteries:

  • convenient source of power
  • Expensive in the long term
• Rechargeable batteries:

  Can be recharged and are more economical in the long term

  they can only be recharged a number of times before they lose battery life
• There are many considerations for a designer when selecting energy sources for use in a product, including:

  • portability of the power source
  • environmental impact
  • power output
  • circuit/systems connections
  • cost
• Shape-memory alloys (SMA) are metal alloys that can remember their shape when heated
• Photochromic pigments change their properties when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light
• Nanomaterials are tiny particles of 1 to 100 nanometres (nm)
• Reactive glass is a material that changes from transparent to opaque by passing current through an electrochromic material built into the glass.
• Conductive inks are made from a precious metal, such as silver, which can make them expensive. When the ink dries a current is able to flow through the material.
• Temperature-responsive polymers respond to temperature change by displaying a change in property. 
• Composite materials are made up of different materials which are combined to improve their properties. They can be a combination of natural and synthetic materials but fall into three main categories:

  • fibre-based composites
  • particle-based composites
  • sheet-based composites