IB Design and Technology Product Design

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IB Design and TechnologyProduct Design

• The Designer and Society

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Social Responsibility

• Brainstorm
• List ways in which society places a social and
  moral responsibility on the work of a designer in
  relation to green design issues.
• Consider

Waste Pollution Resources Market forces Wealth
creation
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Video clip green socks.mpg
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Video clip marketing bicycle helmets.mpg
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Conflict

• Design is all about finding compromise between
  conflicting requirements. One of the most common
  areas where this conflict arises is between form
  and function.
• There is often tension between
• Aesthetic characteristics and functionality
• Aesthetic characteristics and safety issues
• Aesthetic characteristics and cost
• Aesthetic characteristics and value for money

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Planned Obsolescence

• A conscious act either to ensure a continuing
  market or to ensure that safety factors and new
  technologies can be incorporated into later
  versions of the product.
• When a product becomes obsolete it means the
  product has broken down and is non-repairable or
  that it is too expensive to repair or it is
  simply out-dated.
• Obsolescence can happen as technology improves.
  Example the Word Processor is taking the place
  of the typewriter. Thus the typewriter will soon
  be obsolete. But obsolescence is not always left
  to the natural progress of technology.

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Planned Obsolescence and the Consumer

• Brainstorm List advantages and disadvantages of
  Planned Obsolescence to the consumer.

Advantages Disadvantages
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Planned Obsolescence and the Manufacturer

• Brainstorm List advantages and disadvantages of
  Planned Obsolescence to the Manufacturer.

Advantages Disadvantages
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Planned Obsolescence and the PDS

• Brainstorm How does Planned Obsolescence affect
  the designer when developing the Product Design
  Specification for a product?
• Consider
• Materials and construction
• Durability
• Ease of maintenance

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Fashion

• A style or trend.
• How many people have perfectly good clothes
  hanging in the wardrobe which they would not wear
  now, because they are old-fashioned even though
  they may be only a couple of years old? The
  clothes industry, furniture industry, car
  industry and music industry all use fashion
  trends to outdate last years model and maintain a
  healthy market for new products. Aesthetic
  considerations of shape and form, texture and
  colour affect the design of a product. What is
  in fashion today will not be in fashion in 6
  months.

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The Product Cycle
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Influences on the Product Cycle

• Compare the influences of fashion and planned
  obsolescence on the product cycle.

Planned obsolescence has a definite timescale
fashion is less predictable. Both may be present
in a design (e.g. a certain colour may be
fashionable for a car) but this does not affect
materials or technological obsolescence.
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Perceived Quality and Value for Money

• Are designer brands automatically better than
  cheaper alternatives?
• What affect does our Kleenex culture have on
  the Product Cycle?
• What affect does Planned Obsolescence and Fashion
  changes have on conserving natural resources,
  waste and pollution?

Consider the influence of fashion and planned
obsolescence on the product cycle, i.e. a shorter
cycle means more use of raw materials and energy
in obtaining the materials, manufacturing and
disposing of the materials. Also consider waste
and pollution at each stage of the cycle.
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Waste and Recycling

• How can a designer affect the environmental
  impact of a product?

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Form versus function

• Look at the power point Bad human factors design
  and evaluate each of the products that face a
  conflict of form over function.