LSC S2:THE DESIGN PROCESS

Introduction
THE DESIGN PROCESS On your first day in class, most of you can not find chairs to sit on. The school administration decides to solve this problem. So they approach a carpenter. This is how the carpenter goes about it.

o He clearly takes note of the details of the furniture require design brief).
e He then starts on the design of the furniture, specifies the dimensions, decides on the material to use and acquires the required materials.

e
The next stage is the making process. It involves measuring and marking out, cutting, planning, shaping, assembling to form the final product and then finishing by painting or vanishing.
The final stage is testing if it works and it is strong enough. He then delivers furniture to your school .
If the administration is not satisfied with some of the furniture, he is recalled to redo it.

The various stages undertaken to produce the furniture in Figure 2.1, starting from the time the school identifies the need for furniture to the time the carpenter delivers is known as the design process. In summary, the design process is a series of activities carried out to create a product.
In this chapter, you will understand the needs of the community in relation to design and the correct use of tools and materials.

The Design Process
There are series of activities that are carried out to create a product. Study Figure 2.2 below.

Identifying the Need and Defining the Problem
As a designer, you need to ask critical questions about what you want to create. What problem do you want to solve? Who are you designing for? What do you want to achieve? What are the design requirements and challenges? Identifying the need
Activity 2.1
What you need: A sketch book/notebook, pens and pencil, a ruler, illustration of a library shelf.

t to do: In groups carry out this activity.

1. Do you observe any problem in the illustration in Figure 2.3 above? If yes, state the problem.
2. Have you ever experienced similar challenges in your school or home? State the particular instances where you faced similar challenges and how you addressed them.
3. Suggest what needs to be designed to address the problem in Figure 2.3. List as many options as possible.
4. State the best option among your solutions in (3) above. Explain why you chose that particular option to address the need.
5. Apart from a school library, state where else you can use the product you have chosen and what it would be used for.
6. From your own understanding, define a need.

Factors that Affect Design
Look at the furniture in your classroom. Why do you think it is not the same as that used in a dining hall? Why do you think it is made of that particular material, is of that size, has different parts joined in a particular way, etc.?

Exploring the factors that affect design
Activity 2.2
What to do:

1. Study the images of the two chairs in Figure 2.4 (A) and write your observations. Which one of them would you choose to use in your home study room? Give reasons for your choice.

2.What differences do you observe in the chairs in set B? If you were requested to make any of the two, which one would be easier to make and why?

3 if your school was to buy furniture for your staffroom and they had to choose from the options in B, which one would be suitable? Give reasons for your answer.
4 From your discussions and observations above, outline the factors that may affect design.
5 Write your responses in your books and make a presentation to your class. Take note of what you have learnt from other groups’ presentations.

Design Brief
Have you ever had something like a dress or shirt specially tailored for you? Did you go with a specific idea of what you wanted? Did you have a function to attend that required you to have the dress or shirt tailored? Did the tailor take your measurements to get your particular size? What guided your choice of material? Was it the print pattern or colour? Did you agree on when you would pick the dress or shirt?

The information that comes from the interaction between the tailor (designer) and you (client) outlines what needs to be done, spells the constraints and challenges. This is the design brief for tailoring your dress or shirt. Therefore, a design brief is a precise statement of what needs to be done to solve a
problem.

Writing a design brief
What to do: In the same groups as in Activity 2.2

1. Choose any item in your class, such as a chair, bench or desk. Outline the design brief you think was used in the design of that particular product.
2. Present your design brief to the rest of the class and get feedback.
3. Revise your brief based on the feedback you got from your class.
   In summary a design brief includes information about:
   the title of the project or product being designed
   client or user details (name and address)
   size of the product or project
   specific details of what is required by the client or user
   function and aesthetics preference of the client
   proposed materials, and many others

Researching or Investigating the Problem
Before doing research and investigation, it is important that the nature Of the design problem is clearly understood.
While carrying out research, you should always ask the following questions:
a) What currently exists? Examine existing designs related to what you intend to design. Discover how different elements of design were used’
b) What is required?
c) What are the design constraints or difficulties? This helps ou recogniSe

the limits of your solutions and eliminate solutions that would be inefficient, costly or impossible to make.
While carrying out research, you can refer to what you have physically seen before, in a design magazine, book or on the Internet.

.7

4. Present your findings to the class and get feedback. Write what you have learnt from other groups’ presentations.
   The process of gathering data or information that forms a basis for design is known as investigation or research. This will broaden your knowledge as a designer and influence how the outcome will be developed.
   Imagining Possible Solutions
   Think of possible solutions to a problem and sketch them. Possible solutions may be variations on one design using the same or different materials. They may also include completely different designs. You draw and develop ideas basing on research done, imagination, or experience (knowledge of what you have seen before).
   Activity 2.5
   Imagining possible solutions
   What you need: The design brief you developed in the previous activity, 2H pencil, geometry set, ruler, pair of compasses, dividers, eraser, T-square, board, clips, exercise book and pen.

What to do: In the same groups as in Activity 2.5, carry out this activity•

1. Sketch different design solutions to address the problem above based
2. on the design brief and the research done.
3. Choose the best option and develop it further, make detailed drawings
   with dimensions.
4. Present your designs (sketches and drawings) to the class and get
   feedback.
5. Make revisions based on the feedback you get.

Modelling
In the design process, there is need to make models or mock-ups of the proposed designs. This helps to test certain aspects and ideas to see if they work as intended. Physical models can be of a smaller or larger size of the actual object to be made.

Exploring modelling materials
Activity 2.6
What to do: In groups as in Activity 2.5, carry out this activity.

1. Observe and identify what the different models in Figure 2.5 A, B, C and D below represent and the modelling materials used in each model.

2. Do you think the modelling material used in C would be suitable for a model of B or D? Give reasons for your answer.
3. Move around your school environment and identify any materials that can be used to make models.

After selecting the best design option, use the final drawings to estimate the details and quantities of materials required. Acquire the necessary materials and tools or equipment. The making process involves:
O preparing the work place and acquiring the necessary tools.
O measuring and marking out of materials.
O cutting, folding, bending, filing, assembling etc. depending on materials used.
O finishing by sanding, painting, vanishing etc. as required.

Evaluation or Testing
After making the prototype, it is important to evaluate or test it to check if it:

What to do: In the same groups as in the previous Activity 2.7, carry out this
activity. Use the item you chose in Activity 2.3 and refer to the design brief
you wrote and evaluate the item.
1.Does it satisfy all the requirements listed in the design brief? If no,state which requirements were not adequately presented?

2 Do you find any challenges while using that particular item? If yes, write the challenges you face.
3 Is it strong enough to support your weight while using it? Give reasons for your answer.
4 Is the size of that item small or very big? What can be done to improve on this?
5 Is it light enough for you to Lift or move around the class? What material was used to make it? What material could have been used to make it lighter if it is heavy?

6. Present your responses to the class and get feedback.
   Therefore, after testing or evaluating a product or prototype and it is found
   not to satisfy the design requirements, it is remade or improved.
   1 Remaking or Improving
   After testing the final product and discovering that some elements do not meet the required standards or satisfy the design brief or do not work well, you remake the product or object.
   It could be that the product or object does not function properly, is not strong enough or was not well assembled.

Activity 2.9
Remake your model
What to do: In the same groups as in activity 2.8 above, use the model you made in Activity 2.7 to carry out this activity.
1. Remake your model based on the feedback you got from your class.
2 What had you not done well and how differently did you do it this time?
Present your improved models and get feedback.