1. Task/Brief – As a designer for a leading high street store, you have been asked to design and make a stylish and innovative hat for the next fashion season.

2. Steps to think about when designing and producing a hat: (usually known as the design process)
In order to be successful I will need to carry out the following processes:
Researching e.g.
Hats on the current market Other famous hat designer Function of hats Understanding pattern development
Designing e.g. Design spec. Initial ideas Developing final ideas Presentation of ideas.
Making
Planning
Evaluating

3. When researching you could think about:

4. Research methods.
Researching information will help you with designing your hat in a number of ways. This could be done using either primary or secondary research.
What is the difference between
primary and secondary research?
Primary research is when you find out the information needed. You can do this by e.g. carrying out surveys or questionnaires.
Secondary research is when somebody else finds out the information. You can do this by reading information in magazines, books, internet etc.

5. Target group Trends Function Price
For this hat task the research is going to focus on the following aspects:
Target group
Trends
Function
Price

6. What age group it’s aimed at? Target group - Teenagers/adults/children
Research - things to think about:
Quality control?
How well made is the product
Seasons?
Winter or summer
Fabric?
Fleece/cotton/wool
Decorative techniques?
Embroidery/cutback/
Lasered/freehand embroidery
Above hat images courtesy
Hats
Style/Trends?
What ‘look’ are you aiming for?
What age group it’s aimed at?
Target group - Teenagers/adults/children
Cost ?
Function?
What is it’s intended use

7. Target group: who are you designing for? Who is your target group?
When designing a product what other questions do you need to ask yourself about the target group?
Some thoughts:
How old are they?
What gender am I aiming my hat at? What are their interests?
What do they like doing in their free time? (function)
How much do they spend on clothing?
All of these questions relate to your target group.

8. Can you think of any more questions/thoughts to go on the mind map?
A good way to develop your research of your target group is to ask yourself a number of questions about them.
What are their interests ? (This could link to
the possible function
of the hat)
What do they do in their free time?
Where do they shop mainly - are there any clues for trends in these shops? (Price/Trends)
Hats for the
target group
How old are
they exactly? ‘Teenagers’
too vague an age group
early/mid/late teens?
What’s trendy are cool now?
Can you think of any more questions/thoughts to go on the mind map?

9. What age group it’s aimed at? Target group - Teenagers/adults/children
Research - things to think about:
Quality control?
How well made is the product
Seasons?
Winter or summer
Fabric?
Fleece/cotton/wool
Decorative techniques?
Embroidery/cutback/
Lasered/freehand embroidery
Above hat images courtesy
Hats
Style/Trends?
What ‘look’ are you aiming for?
What age group it’s aimed at?
Target group - Teenagers/adults/children
Cost ?
Function?
What is it’s intended use

10. Hat images courtesy www.howies.co.uk
Trends
What is meant by the term ‘fashion trends’?
The term trends is often referred to as the latest styles.
trends in hats can relate to :
outline shapes
colours
fabrics
decorative features
sustainability/environment issues
Fashion is a funny thing. Shapes, fabrics, colours change every season (trends). What is fashionable one season is totally out the next.
Hat images courtesy

11. So how do we know what’s in fashion. You can find out the trends using:
Primary research - you can find out this information by carrying out questionnaires, market surveys and photo’s from a fashion show.
Secondary research - is when your research is provided by somebody else for example internet sites and magazines. You will probably get most of your information through this type of research
Look in magazines:
Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire, Esquire, FHM collections, Arena, Pour Homme.
On the internet:
Other useful websites specifically for hats include:
Amazing hat design by Welsh designer Dai Rees

12. When fashion designers create products they need to be aware of the latest trends. However many cutting edge or leading designers create their own trends and make that all important impact on the catwalk.
Task Find out who are the leading hat designers in the UK. Clue one of these designers is Welshman Dai Rees.
Create a digital poster of their designs, list five aspects that you think make their work cutting edge.
Amazing hat design by Welsh designer Dai Rees

13. Research - things to think about:
Quality control?
How well made is the product
Seasons?
Winter or summer
Fabric?
Fleece/cotton/wool
Decorative techniques?
Embroidery/cutback/
Lasered/freehand embroidery
Above hat images courtesy
Hats
Style?
What look are you aiming for?
What age group it’s aimed at?
Teenagers/adults/children
Cost ?
Function?
What is it’s intended use

14. Function: what is the intended use of the hat by the target group?
For instance if your target group is a young rugby player such as Gavin Henson.
What would the function of the hat be? If it was for training, what would you need to think about?
easy to wear/wash
does not come off when running/training
any thing else? .
Or a hat to support his favourite team?
Some questions to think about when designing your hat.
What is the function of your hat?
Does the function have to influence the design?
What qualities does the fabric need for the hat to function well?
What type of fabric would be suitable?

15. What age group it’s aimed at? Target group - Teenagers/adults/children
Research - things to think about:
Quality control?
How well made is the product
Seasons?
Winter or summer
Fabric?
Fleece/cotton/wool
Decorative techniques?
Embroidery/cutback/
Lasered/freehand embroidery
Above hat images courtesy
Hats
Style/Trends?
What ‘look’ are you aimimg for?
What age group it’s aimed at?
Target group - Teenagers/adults/children
Cost ?
Function?
What is it’s intended use

16. Cost: How much is your hat going to cost?
The price of a hat depends on various things:
the fabric
cost of production i.e. time spent making the hat and equipment needed.
decorative details
packaging and transport All of these factors are added together to work out the cost of production For an approximate guide, companies then double this cost to achieve a 100% profit.
i.e (labour)+production+fabric+distribution +storage+ decorative features = £ £5.50x 2 = £11= 100% profit

17. Look at the hat opposite and identify any extra costs?
Considerations of costs when designing and making a hat. (Labour)+production+fabric+distribution+storage+decorative features = ?
Look at the hat opposite and identify any extra costs?
Extras cost here ? Labour skills and extra fabric for the decorative feature.
This extended part of the hat will cost more due to extra fabric needed and additional construction time.
Logo costs you? Time, specialist equipment and design costs.
Recap
The more detailed the logo/decorative features
the longer it takes to make, and therefore increasing the final cost of the hat.

18. Which hat would be the quickest to make and why?
Task – working in pairs or a small group. Look at the following hats and consider the following questions?
Hat 1
Hat 2
Hat 3
Which hat would be the quickest to make and why?
Which hat would take the longest to make and why?
Which of the above hats would you select to adapt to make it suitable for an innovative hat to support a Welsh team? The hat needs to be suited to factory manufacture.