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New
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Year 10

Why and how designers analyse products

I can analyse a product to identify successful features and those which can be improved.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10

Why and how designers analyse products

I can analyse a product to identify successful features and those which can be improved.

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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. All design and technological practice takes place within contexts which inform outcomes.
  2. Designers can use strategies to help them perform analysis.
  3. Designers analyse products to identify successful features and those which can be improved.

Keywords

  • Context - the situation within which something exists or happens

  • Analysis - examining something in detail

  • Function - the purpose of the product

  • Form - a particular shape, linked to aesthetics

Common misconception

Possible outcome design fixation limits context exploration. Product analysis leads to copying.

Product analysis identifies successful features and those which can be improved.


To help you plan your year 10 design and technology lesson on: Why and how designers analyse products, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Provide products or photographs for students to analyse. Referring to independent NEA work in the future and how product analysis of relevant products is a useful strategy.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

A selection of products to analyse. The example in this lesson is a can opener.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these are aesthetics considerations?
Correct answer: style
fashion
Correct answer: colour
Correct answer: shape
Correct answer: texture
Q2.
There are two forms of research that designers can conduct: primary and .
Correct Answer: secondary
Q3.
What information could designers gather from research before designing begins?
manufacturing cost
Correct answer: design inspiration
Correct answer: anthropometric data
Correct answer: suitable materials
Correct answer: clients needs and wants
Q4.
Life cycle assessment is a way to assess the __________ of a product.
Correct answer: environmental impact
cost
function
aesthetics
Q5.
The form and function of a product need to be considered when designing. Match the word to the definition.
Correct Answer:form,a particular shape, linked to aesthetics
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a particular shape, linked to aesthetics

Correct Answer:function,the purpose of the product
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the purpose of the product

Q6.
When designing products or services, we often begin by thinking about person, place and purpose. Match the words to the definition.
Correct Answer:person,user
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user

Correct Answer:place,location
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location

Correct Answer:purpose,function
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function

6 Questions

Q1.
All design and technological practice takes place within that inform outcomes.
Correct Answer: contexts, Contexts, context, Context
Q2.
Product analysis is an example of ...
investigating the context
developing ideas
communicating ideas
Correct answer: research
manufacture
Q3.
What is primary research?
Correct answer: data and information that has been collected by the researcher
collecting data and information that has been collected before
collecting data and information from the internet
collecting data and information from books
Q4.
When analysing products we use subheadings, which is the subheading that considers the shape of a product?
function
Correct answer: form
aesthestics
size
environmental
Q5.
When analysing a product, how do designers focus their thoughts?
Correct Answer: using subheadings, subheadings
Q6.
Which of the following should we include when writing a summary?
Correct answer: successful features
ideas
Correct answer: features which could be improved
modifications
Correct answer: justifications