1. THE DESIGN PROCESS Introduction to Technology

2. DESIGN… Design is a broad term that is often associated with artistic expression, but it is best thought of as a thinking process involving planning with intention and purpose. We design everything from the look of a room to the vacation that we hope we will soon take. More important, design describes the process of developing solutions to problems.

3. THE DEISGN LOOP

4. THE DESIGN LOOP (cont’d) You should understand that designing is not a linear process; that is, when you design and make something, you do not think and act in separate, sequential steps. The creative process of designing 'is more like switching back and forth between a thinking-questioning-evaluating mode and an acting- doing mode. These modes have been called the "active" and "reflective" phases of design, and you are constantly moving between the two.

5. Step 1… Identifying the Problems Central to the process of designing is the identification of a problem in need of a solution. On the surface, this appears to be a simple task, but it requires careful observation and a critical eye.

6. Step 2. Framing a Design Brief: Problem Clarification and Specification The second step in the process is one of clarification and specification. Here you will need to detail exactly what it is you intend to do. This can be difficult, and a good starting point is to ask yourself a number of questions…

7. Design Brief…(cont’d) If the problem is centered around a mobility device for the physically challenged, some questions might be: Is it intended for an adult or a child? Will it be self-powered or motorized? Will it fold up? The specifications you generate will provide some expectations and limitations for the project, and can be referred to at a later time to see if the solutions you are considering address the important aspects of the problem.

8. Design Brief Ideas: Design and develop a system to inform junior high school students about Halloween safely. Design and make a carrier for a fishing pole that will fasten to a bicycle or a motorcycle. Design a system that will make it easier for a person in a wheel chair to open a standard interior door. An example of a design brief for a device for the physically challenged follows: Design and make a device that will allow individuals with little or no use of their legs to move around the school between and within classrooms. This device should be easy to operate and use.

9. Specifications… This design brief provides direction for the work of the designer, but it is valuable to think things through a bit further by specifying in more detail the requirements of the solution. Here is an example of a set of specifications for the design brief just shown: The device should meet all guidelines for such devices established by appropriate federal authorities and organizations representing the physically challenged. The device should be capable of being stored in a 12"W X 24"D X 35"H Space. The device should be safe to use by an adult, and safety should be considered when choosing materials, finishes, and the shielding of possible moving components.

10. When you get stuck? "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs." - Henry Ford

11. Step 3. Research and Investigation: In order to solve problems, all pertinent information must be gathered and documented for possible future reference The importance of investigation and research cannot be overemphasized. Few solutions are new. Even most inventions involve many previously known principles and concepts. Effective designing means looking at existing devices and systems, 'as well as existing knowledge and solutions as a source of ideas for new solutions.

12. Where can we find information???

13. Step 4- Generation of Alternative Solutions Generating a number of alternative solutions is one of the most important steps and often the most difficult to do. Although it seems to be human nature to latch on to your first idea and try and make it work, designers know that the more ideas they have, the more likely it is that one of them will be a good one.

14. Generating Solutions Brainstorming and other techniques are useful methods of generating a lot of ideas. Of course, some ideas developed by using these techniques will be unworkable for various reasons, and this is the step in the design process where decisions are made to consider them or not. Ideas may be unworkable because of costs, technical know-how, or many other reasons, but these factors are not considered in techniques such as brainstorming. At some point, however, decisions must be made about the workability of ideas generated. The workable ideas that emerge from ideation techniques must be further developed before they can be seriously considered, and it is during this phase that these possible solutions emerge.

15. YOU KNOW Remember your first idea is not always your best!!!!!!!!!!!!

16. Step 5. Choosing the Best Solution Choosing the best among a number of ideas is less straightforward than it may appear. Two strategies for choice making are transferable to outside situations. The first involves listing the attributes (good and bad points) of the ideas and comparing them. The second strategy involves the development of a matrix.

17. Step 6. Developmental Work After choosing the solution most appropriate to the specifications, you are proceeding toward the construction stage. However, there may be a number of problems that need solutions (this is the case with most technological problems), so modeling, experimentation with different materials, and fastening techniques, shapes, arid sizes will need to be done before actual construction of the final design is undertaken.

18. 6. Development Work To include: 3 view drawing Isometric drawing Procedures Material list Equipment list Remember the plastic models?

19. Step 7. Modeling and Prototyping: Construction Modeling a solution may take a number of forms: Two-dimensional and Three- dimensional models, computer models, and mathematical models are commonly used.

20. Appearance Models Appearance models do not function but are intended to show what a product will look like when it is produced. Often, photos of new products in catalogs are of appearance models.

21. Functional Models Functional models may not look like the end product, but they are operational. These are used to work out the mechanical or electronic systems…

22. Prototypes Prototypes are models that function and look like the finished product but are usually hand built. They are often developed as a "proof of concept," such as a car of the future that appears in an automobile show. The term "prototype" is an appropriate one for the type of work often done in technology courses in which only one design solution is constructed.

23.  FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION!

24. Step 8. Testing and Evaluating When the modeling or prototyping is completed, the testing and evaluation of the design solution begins. This may be as simple as applying the specifications to the end product to see if it does all the things that it is supposed to do. But more often it is performance testing, as in the case of a practical device.

26. THINK! "Get the habit of analysis - analysis will in time enable synthesis to become your habit of mind.“ - Frank Lloyd Wright

27. Testing and Evaluating (cont’d) In the case of an aid for a disabled person, testing may involve giving the device to an appropriate individual to use for a time. An interview at the conclusion of the test would provide invaluable feedback on the performance of the device in the real world and could lead to possible improvements or modifications. This phase is important to the design process, because it tells you how well you have accomplished your goal and whether more development work is needed

28. Step 9. REDESIGN: NOW THAT I AM DONE WITH MY DESIGN WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY THE NEXT TIME???????

29. WELL "Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them." - R. Buckminster Fuller