Introduction to Design

1. Introduction to Design Mr S. Crisp 2013

2. What is Design? • Definitions of “Design” often include words such as: • Conceive • Formulate • Invent • Create • Plan (including sketching , drawing etc.) • Note that these words are all verbs

3. Definition of Design (1) “Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system.” (http://en.wikipedia.org, January 2013)

4. Definition of Design (2) “No longer associated simply with objects and appearances, design is increasingly understood in a much wider sense as the human capacity to plan and produce desired outcomes.” Bruce Mau, 2007 (http://defining-design.net, January 2013)

5. Definition of Design (3) “Design is the human power of conceiving, planning, and making products that serve human beings in the accomplishment of their individual and collective purposes.” Richard Buchanan, 2001 (http://defining-design.net, January 2013)

6. Definition of Design (4) “Design is the purposeful organization of resources to accomplish a goal.” Hevner et. Al., 2004 (http://defining-design.net, January 2013)

7. Definition of Design (5) “Design is a conscious and intuitive effort to impose meaningful order…. Design is both the underlying matrix of order and the tool that creates it .” Victor Papanek, 1971 (http://defining-design.net, January 2013)

8. Definition of Design (6) “Design is, in its most general educational sense, defined as the area of human experience, skill and understanding that reflects man’s concern with the appreciation and adaptation in his surroundings in the light of his material and spiritual needs .” Bruce Archer, 1979 (http://defining-design.net, January 2013)

9. Definition of Design (7) “Design is devising courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.” Herbert Simon, 1969 (http://defining-design.net, January 2013)

10. Definition of Design (8) “Design is the process of conceiving, deciding and documenting the physical characteristics, behaviours and operation of an item or system to achieve requirements set out by a specific set of criteria” Mr Crisp, 2013

11. Design as a Process • The design process can be modeled. • There are many design process models. • Most are similar and will include, at least, the following four steps: • Investigating • Devising • Producing • Evaluating

12. Investigating Devising Producing Evaluating Linear Design Model • One step of the process is completed before the next step is begun. • No steps are revisited

13. Investigating Evaluating Devising Producing Simple Circular Model • The design process is never truly completed. • The end of one design process is simply the beginning of the next

14. Design Cycle Model • Design is not completed in one single pass. • There are backward steps, loops and iterations within the process of design. (Taken from International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program)

15. The Reality of Design The design process is seldom as simple, neat and orderly as the models describe

16. A Realistic Model Copied from http://www.design-technology.info/designcycle/index.htm, January 2012

17. A Realistic Model • “The Product” is at the centre of the design process. • If this were not so, the effort of design is frequently wasted and the final product may not meet the original need • There are numerous steps to the design process

18. A Realistic Model • “Evaluate” appears three times in the model, always followed by “Proposals for Change”. • The model does not dictate at which step the design process is to restart following a change

19. A Realistic Model • Between “The Product” and each step of the design process is a layer containing the word “Think”. • This needs to be more than just a word on a diagram • The design process is a thinking process!

20. In Summary • There are many possible definitions of “Design” • Most models of the design process include the steps of Investigate, Devise, Produce and Evaluate – often by other names • Design is normally iterative • Design models are useful, but the reality is that the design process is seldom as simple.