Overview

The 'Design Process' is an approach to solving complex problems that require a product solution. There are many different design processes used by different designers, engineers and even whole companies. Learning about different design processes can take many years of practice and study... Don't worry! You only need to understand the basics at this stage. 

In this section, I have created a range of different resources to help you learn and understand the design process. ​
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The design process

The first stages of the design process - brief, research and specification - are the most important, but often the part pupils overlook or disengage from. I have created these resources to help pupils engage in this section of the course. This is a mixture of A4 booklets and notes, and A3 pages for folio folders.

A4 worksheet

A4 Drawings Pack

Course Presentation

Course Notes 

A4 worksheet

A3 design factors

Resource coming!

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"Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful"

John Maeda (1966 - )
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Aesthetics

How a product looks can have a huge impact on how successful it will be commercially; people are attracted to stylish and beautiful products.

We use the word 'aesthetics' to describe how a product looks.

Understanding what makes a product look good can be very complex and it is important that you are able to accurately describe aesthetic features and qualities. These resources should help with that...

A4 worksheet

A4 Drawings Pack

Course Presentation

Aesthetics course notes

A3 worksheet

A3 worksheet

Images for course notes

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"Everything is design. Everything"

Paul Rand (1914 - 1996)
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Function

Some products have one purpose, some products have many. Understanding the purpose of a product may seem simple enough, but there is more to it than you may think...

A4 worksheet

A4 Drawings Pack

Course Presentation

A3 worksheet

A3 worksheet

Resource coming!

Resource coming!

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Course Presentation
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"Any product that needs a manual to work is broken"

Elon Musk (1971 - )
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Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the blanket term used to describe how humans (or animals) interact with a product. It is a fascinating and complex area of study, which encompasses everything from the sizes of people (anthropometrics), through to how we mentally perceive a product (psychology).

Having an understanding of ergonomic factors is essential for any designer or engineer and in this section of learning, you will learn the basics required. ​

A4 worksheet

A4 Drawings Pack

Course Presentation

A4 worksheet

Resource coming!

Resource coming!

Resource coming!

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Course Presentation
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"The life of a design is a life of fight. Fight against ugliness"

Massimo Vignelli (1931 - 2014)
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Assessment ​

The following materials have been created to assess learning in this unit. Some of these documents are for 'Coffee' supporters of DesignClass only.  

A4 worksheet

A4 Drawings Pack

Course Presentation