Lesson video

Hello, I'm Mr Donnelly, I'm one of the design technology teachers here for Oak Academy.

This is the fourth lesson in a unit of six and it's about designing a product, a para-triathlete.

To recap quickly in lesson one we put together a design specification.

Lesson two we learned about anthropometrics and ergonomics and applied that learning to the specification from lesson one.

Lesson three, we focused on the function and the form of the product that we're going to design.

You can see now how important it is that you've done lesson one, two and three, before you pick up with this lesson.

This one is all about the really important and quite difficult design decisions that a designer has to pick and make choices on when they come to design a final product.

We're going to develop our initial idea further and focus on the decisions that need to be made by designers when they do the exact the same work as what we're doing.

I hope you'll really enjoy the lesson, I've loved making it, and I'll see you in a few moments when you've got a pen and some paper and ready to start.

So in this lesson, there are three things that we're going to focus on.

The first one is that we're going to develop our ideas moving on from the initial ideas that we did in lesson three.

The next thing, we're going to refine our specification.

So every time we do an activity, we will learn something that will inform a better specification of our product.

And then the last point, which is crucial to this lesson we're going to try to prioritise the specification points so that they become the key features in the product that we develop.

In this lesson there's always with mind, you'll need two simple bits of equipment.

First one, it's some plain paper, and then next is something to draw and write with.

So if you've not got paper and a pencil or a pen, pause the video, go and get those things and come back and then we'll crack on.

So on this slide, I've got three key words and terms. The first one is specification.

This is a list of key points that a designer will use to develop a product.

The second term is client needs.

So within a specification you will always have the key points that the client needs for the product to be successful.

In addition to that, there's the things that the client wants.

So needs and wants are very different.

Some things a client actually needs will make sure that the product will function, somethings that the client wants, maybe important to the client but not quite as crucial as the client need.

So specification is the list that a designer will use to keep on track.

Client needs are the things that are really important for the client.

And client wants are desirable features that will make the product maybe more enjoyable and better to use.

So because this lesson is part of unit of six.

This is lesson four.

It's important just to set the scene where I'm up to at the moment.

So you know that I've got a specification and some initial ideas, you know that I'm designing a part of a residual limb that will hold a coffee cup for a para-triathlete to be able to carry a cup of coffee whilst on the move.

And the safety features are that the coffee cup must be held securely.

So that's where I'm up to now.

And you can see there that there is a para-triathletes residual limb with a prosthetic being fitted.

So on here, I've got a statement and I'd like you to say whether you think it's true or false.

So you should not have more than 10 points to your design specification.

Do you think that's true or do you think it's false? Make a commitment, pick one and I'll reveal the answer.

It's false.

There's no limit to the amount of points you have on a specification.

So the more complex the product, the more points the specification we'll have, and a simple product may have a less points but there is no limit.

So all that you need to focus on are what are the main points that you're going to need to be able to get started with the design, and then after that your specification will grow as you learn more.

My current specification, hasn't gotten many points.

I'm keeping it quite simple just for the purpose of this lesson.

But if you could work with a client you may end up with more points than me and could design a product, which is slightly more complex.

So to recap quickly.

My product must fit the residual limb of a para-triathlete, must hold a cup safely, must be adjustable in size, must be light in weight and not cumbersome to use.

Must have no sharp edges and it must be black.

I started my first sketches from a tracing.

So if you've seen them on my previous lessons that's a photograph of my arm holding a cup, I took a photo and then printed it out, traced over it.

And I used that to help get the form correct for quite a complex drawing.

So, because you've seen my specification on the slide before and it looked really simple, there was only maybe five or six points.

I'm going to put those points upon this slide now, but at the end of each point, I posed a question that should help develop that specification point so we've got some more information.

So when we were working out that we wanted the product to fit the residual limb of a client, you need to know what the exact size is.

When we're going to say, we're going to hold a coffee cup and so, how big is the coffee cup? Will it be suitable for different coffee cups or will it be just one cup the other para-triathlete uses? And that's the cup that fits the product that or fails to their residual limb.

For it to be adjustable in size, again, is this for the cups or is that actually because the residual limb may change size depending on the temperature.

If it's light in weight, how can we measure it and test it? And how will we know whether it's cumbersome or not.

No sharp edges, will they actually help with the function or is this part of the form? So this is the first task in this lesson.

You should now have your specification that we've been developing during lesson one, two and three.

I showed you on the previous slide that I had a specification that I've developed further by asking some simple questions such as how big will it be? Which coffee cup will it hold? Is it adjustable for the coffee cup or for the residual limb of the power triathlete? All those things will feed more information to my specification.

What I want you to do is to expand your specification points by asking questions so that you need more information to fulfil the good answer.

So pause the video, read the slide carefully, you may want to go back and have a look at the questions I posed to extend my points and then you'll be able to see my example on the next slide.

So this is the start of my example.

It goes over more than one slide and you'll see that I've developed to my specification points.

I'm not going to read them all out, but I'd like you to read them to yourself.

And you can see from my first one, that not only have I said that the product should fit the residual limb of my para-triathletes.

I've also worked out that the circumference should be 235 millimetres.

And the residual limb should be able to slide inside by 120 millimetres.

Once you've made these decisions and you've got a specification that's got more points to it, then you should be at the point where you can come up with a more developed idea.

So at the start of the lesson, I explained that we had some important decisions that could be quite difficult to make.

You've got to analyse where human values, conflict and compromise has to be achieved.

You may want the world for the products that you're designing, and you may feel really passionate about making the very best it could be.

But sometimes decisions need to be made that highlight the limitations that you face.

So the first thing is, is the budget going to be something that could hold you back? Always when a designer works, they've got a budget to work to.

Some materials cost more than others.

Sometimes a lack of technology is available.

Lack of facilities to develop and make a product can hinder the progress of a designer.

How many other factors can you think of? Maybe jot these down on a sheet of paper so that you can work out what things could hold a designer back in the real world.

So pause the video, read through the slide and then you write down what you think could be limitations that could hold you back if you are going to make this product for real.

So in this activity, we're going to do something called SCAMPER our design.

You should be at the point now where you've got an initial idea, you've got some thoughts about what limitations we could face, and what we're going to do.

Is a scamper the idea and I'll explain more on the next slide about what that means.

But as an example on here you can see that there's a picture of a car which are concept design and some catwalk fashion models.

Now, what normally happens is clothing which is found on the catwalk is toned down to become the next season fashion.

So there could be features from catwalk models and the clothing that they wear.

And they're toned down to be more suitable for everyday wear.

Same with concept cars, sometimes crazy forms and unusual colours and material mixes.

I've actually seen out on the street with new fancy cars but they're actually toned down from their original concept.

So concept work is maybe what's possible or it could be what designers are aiming for in the future, and they'll always tone it down for everyday people like me and you to be able to go and buy.

With this lesson, there is a worksheet, it's a SCAMPER worksheet.

And you'll see an example in the following slides.

It's important that you know what the word SCAMPER means.

So the first letter in our acronym it's S that substitutes, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate and reverse.

Sometimes if you do a drawing, even turning it upside down, or looking at it from another angle can bring new ideas to light.

It could be that you start designing something.

And in actual facts you end up using it for another purpose.

And SCAMPER forces you to think slightly differently than you would just with a blank sheets of paper and a pencil.

So this is an example of the SCAMPER worksheet that you can download.

I put the pause icon on just so you can have a look at it before you actually complete the task.

So you can see that I've written SCAMPER at the top, and then to keep you reminded of what it is that you're going to do with the sheet is that I've got the words explained.

So substitute, combine, adapt and modify, put to another use, eliminate and reverse.

And what I did is I've drew my initial idea in one of the boxes, and then I've decided to substitute a part and draw that in another box.

I might then reverse an idea, flip it upside down and put it in another.

You'll get the idea as you move on.

So once I've finished talking, if you just press pause and read this slide yourself, it says here, you're going to apply the SCAMPER method to your initial idea.

And what you're going to do is get the worksheet, you can download that, print it out, and then draw your initial idea in one of the boxes.

As you change your idea, you will use another box on the worksheet, and then as you change your idea again, you'll use another box until you filled the worksheets up.

On the slide that follows, you'll see my example.

So this is my example of how I started.

In the middle, I drew where I was up to with my favourite and what I considered to be my best initial idea.

What I've then done is substituted, taken away some of the material which I think will make the products to be more lightweight.

After that, I progressed and filled in another box and another until the worksheet was full.

So this is how I started the task.

So here's my final sheet.

What I decided to do was start with my best initial idea in the middle.

I've gone and substituted and taken away some of the material.

I got an idea from a deodorant to add a roller ball to the bottom of the cup holder.

And I thought this may help the product slide and glide around the table.

And then looked at another way to hold a cup by removing some material And I've combined those together to end up with a lighter less material product under roller ball on the bottom.

And that's allowed me to come up with an idea which is my current best design, and that is the one at the bottom left as you look at the screen.

So it's got less material and a roller ball on the base.

If you've not finished, then if you could work on your sheet so that you complete the tasks for this lesson.

So at the start of this lesson there were three words or terms, which I went through.

It's important now, just to revisit those to check that you've got a good understanding of what they mean.

So the first one was specification.

This should be in the form of a list that a designer follows to make sure that what they design is right on track for developing a product.

The next was client need.

Now this was different than the last term client wants I'll put them both up to talk about them at the same time.

So our client need, they're the things that our client must include in their specification.

So as a designer, if you were developing a specification with a clients you would check the things that they actually need to make sure that what you design is perfect for them.

A client wants, they're the things that are desirable.

So needs are essential aspects, and the client wants they're desirable features to the product.

If you can include as many of the client wants with all of the client needs, then you're onto designing a product that the client would be happy with.

And I hope you've really enjoyed the lesson I have and I'll see you in the next one.