Technology GCSE Cea

• Product design


  Complex process involving more than just sketching a design and hoping it can be made
• What consumers expect from a product

  • Work well
  • Look good
  • Be comfortable to use
  • Be safe to use
  • Be affordable
  • Be made to last
  • Be made to high quality
• What manufacturers want from a product

  • Be what the consumer wants
  • Be a best seller in a highly competitive market
• Product design has to involve many aspects of market research and analysis to ensure the product meets consumer expectations and is successful when launched
• Design process


  The approach taken by manufacturers and designers to ensure a new product has a reasonable chance of being successful
• The design process


  1. Analyse the Brief

  2. Identify Key Requirements

  3. Research

  4. Idea Generation

  5. Design

  6. Idea Testing

  7. Development

  8. Implementation

  9. Evaluation

  10. Redesign
• Key Roles In The Design Process

  • Client
  • Designer
  • Maker
  • Retailer
  • User
• Client


  The person or company who commissions the design by providing the designer with the problem or need, completes the market research and has the money needed to finance the project
• Designer


  The person who comes up with the ideas or designs to solve the problem or need
• Maker


  The manufacturer who plans and manufactures the quality end product in a safe and efficient way so that it will make a profit
• Retailer


  The person or company that sells the finished product to customers
• User


  The person who will be getting the finished product and making use of it
• Generating Ideas


  1. Brainstorming/Thought showers

  2. Disassembly of existing products

  3. User experience

  4. Initial rough sketches (concept sketches)

  5. Physical modelling/mock up

  6. CAD modelling

  7. Initial prototype
• Brainstorming/Thought showers


  Putting all of your initial thoughts and questions on paper, could be basic 'thumbnail' sketches or simply written words
• Disassembly of existing products


  Taking an existing product apart to find out how it works and get information about the materials and processes used
• User experience


  When a person is asked to use a product for a period of time and report on how easy or comfortable it is to use or point out any problems or flaws
• Initial rough sketches (concept sketches)

  Rough sketches of the designer's first ideas for the product
• Physical modelling/mock up


  Models often used to help judge proportion and finalise shape and form, made to scale from materials like card, foam, corrugated card, Styrofoam
• CAD modelling


  3D computer simulations of designs, can be rotated and looked at from various angles as well as having colour and texture added
• Initial prototype


  An early example or release of a product to help the designer find out how it will work, usually a very detailed full size model that is tested and refined
• Fitness for purpose


  The designer must decide if the prototype is 'fit for purpose'
• Determining fitness for purpose

  1. Has the design brief been met?

  2. Are the needs of the intended users being met?

  3. Are the product users satisfied with the final product?

  4. Is the product good enough to do the job that it was supposed to do?
• Examples of products not fit for purpose

  • Google Glass 2011-Wearable computer!
  • HP TouchPad 2012-failed operating system
• Product analysis


  A big part of product design, looking at what other designers have done with existing products
• Purposes of product analysis

  1. Understand the materials used

  2. Understand the manufacturing processes used

  3. Understand the features of the design that make it work well

  4. Identify examples of good and bad design

  5. Get ideas to use in own designs or to improve/modify

  6. Make better decisions about what people want and might buy
• Analysing an existing product

  1. What is it made from?

  2. What properties do the materials have?

  3. How can the materials be processed?

  4. What does it look like? Colours?

  5. Is it stylish? Shape and form?

  6. Why would appeal to a consumer?

  7. How safe is it to use?

  8. How safe is it to make?

  9. What is the target market?

  10. Why would they buy it?

  11. What does it do? Features?

  12. Does it work properly?

  13. How does it work?

  14. Is it good for the environment?

  15. How long would it last?

  16. Is it comfortable to use?

  17. What are the key sizes?
• CAD (Computer Aided Design)


  Designers model their concept ideas using specialist computer software like Solidworks
• Almost everything is designed on a computer in today's technological world
• Advantages of using CAD for GCSE coursework

  • It is quite quick and easy to draw and make changes to drawings
  • High quality accurate drawings are produced and they look realistic
  • Different views and angles of designs can be looked at
  • Drawings can be stored on a USB Pen Drive
  • Changes such as sizes, shape, colours or materials can be made to designs quite quickly
  • Designs can be printed many times and be sent electronically (email) to production teams across the world. The designs can be shared between locations- a team can work on the designs
  • The software is often compatible with Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) machines - eg Lasercutter / 3D Printer
• Disadvantages of using CAD


  • The CAD software is expensive to buy
  • Can be quite difficult to learn how to use it - it has many features that require training in use
  • Traditional drawing skills are 'lost'
  • Computers can fail-viruses, software problems - which can result in lost work
• Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)

  Everyday products are manufactured on machines which are controlled and operated by computers rather than people
• Modelling


  A vital part of the design process, including mock-ups, prototypes, and CAD
• Reasons for producing models/mock-ups

  • Work out proportions and sizes
  • Help to visualise the design in 3D
  • Work out how it will be made and joined
  • Find out if the design idea will be successful
• Materials for mock-ups

  • Card/paper
  • Cardboard (corrugated)
  • Foam
  • Thin balsa or plywood
• Prototypes


  The first version of how a product will look and work, with parts that can function, tested in use to identify and solve problems
• Ergonomics


  The study of people in their environment. Making the product fit for the user.
• Signers

  • Consumers demand products that function, have good aesthetic appeal, are easy to use and are comfortable to use
• Designer


  Needs to understand the relationship between people and products - the product needs to be easier to use, comfortable to use and safe to use
• Mock-ups can be made from

  • Card/paper
  • Cardboard (corrugated)
  • Foam
  • Thin balsa or plywood
• Aesthetics


  How something looks to you - if you like something, it is aesthetically pleasing. What appeals to one person might not appeal to another. Involves your senses and emotions.