Product Design (Option C)

What makes a good product

Product design is about far more than making something look nice. A good designer juggles several demands at once, and a product that ignores any one of them tends to fail. It must do its job well, which is its function. It must be pleasant to look at and hold its own on a shelf, which is its appearance. It must fit the people who use it, comfortably and safely, which draws on body-measurement data. It must be affordable to make and to buy. And, increasingly, it must be kind to the planet, using fewer resources and lasting longer or being easy to recycle. On top of all this, a designer thinks about how the product will actually be manufactured, so that the clever idea can be made cheaply and well. This module works through these factors, how to analyse an existing product against them, and how to design with them in mind.

Product design words

Learn these terms before the design factors are matched up. They name the ideas used in this topic.

Match each design factor to what it means

Good design against poor design

The same product idea can succeed or fail depending on how many of the design factors it respects.

What is this use of body-size data?

A designer measures the hand sizes of thousands of people to decide how big to make a tool handle so it fits most users. What is this use of body-size data called?

• Anthropometrics
• Aesthetics
• Costing
• Packaging

Take a product apart in your head

A powerful exam skill is being able to analyse a product, which simply means taking it apart in your head and judging it. Pick up any everyday object and ask a set of questions. Who is it for, and does it suit them? Does it do its job well, or is it awkward and annoying? Is it comfortable and safe to hold and use? How well is it made, and does it feel like it will last? Roughly what would it cost to make, and is that fair for what it is? And what happens to it at the end of its life, can it be repaired or recycled or is it simply thrown away? Answering these honestly, with reasons, is exactly what the examiner wants when they show you a product and ask you to evaluate it. Practise on the things around you.

Pick the factors a designer must weigh

Select every factor a product designer genuinely has to consider.

• Whether it does its job well
• Whether it is comfortable and safe to use
• What it costs to make and to buy
• The designer mood on the day
• The weather during the exam

Order how to analyse a product

Put the steps of analysing an existing product into a sensible order.

• Work out who the product is for
• Judge how well it does its job
• Look at how it is made and what it costs
• Consider its impact on the environment
• Suggest how it could be improved

Complete the product design facts

Designing products to fit the people who use them comfortably and safely is called _____. Using body-measurement data, such as average hand or seat sizes, to size a product is called _____. How a product looks, its shape, colour and style, is its _____. Designing so that a product uses fewer resources and can be reused or recycled supports _____.

Tap the two design considerations

Read these four things. Tap the TWO that are genuine product design considerations.

• ergonomics, how comfortable it is to use
• sustainability, its impact on the planet
• the phase of the Moon
• the price of gold on the day

Designing a good pair of shoes

Think about what makes a genuinely good pair of shoes, and you have most of product design in one object. First they must fit: too tight and they hurt, too loose and they rub, so a designer studies the range of foot shapes real people have. They must suit the occasion, since a running shoe and a smart shoe look and feel completely different, and a buyer chooses partly with their eyes. They must be well made from the right stuff, so they do not fall apart in a month. They must sell at a price people will pay. And a thoughtful maker now asks whether they can be repaired, or made from kinder materials, rather than thrown away in a year. A shoe that ignores any one of these, however clever, is a shoe that no one keeps. Every product you design faces the very same balancing act.

The product design run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Improve the product

Read each situation and choose the best design answer.

• A kettle handle is too small and hot for many people to hold safely. Which factor has been ignored?
• A designer wants a product to be kinder to the planet. What should they do?
• A clever design is far too expensive and awkward to manufacture. What is missing?

Build a product design point

Choose the word for each gap to complete one point about product design.

Explain how to design a good product

A friend is starting the product design option. Using what you have learned, explain how to design a good product.

• Explain what function and aesthetics each mean
• Explain what ergonomics and anthropometrics add to a design
• Explain why cost and design for manufacture matter
• Explain how a designer makes a product more sustainable
• Explain how to analyse an existing product