Light It Up

Design Situation:

Design in today’s world is a complex interdisciplinary process that plays a significant role in our daily lives. In the past, design was aimed at providing basic information, shelter, food, and communication, and maintaining health. But in our ever-changing world, new technologies have meant that design solutions are now applied to nearly every aspect of our lives. Design encompasses many disciplines that interact with each other to create a functional and aesthetic product, system or environment. The complexity of the relationship between mathematics, science, fine arts and humanities varies in each design. Technology has significantly changed the way we do things at school, at work, for entertainment and in our social connections.

Advancements in Wi-Fi, hardware, software and microtechnology have enabled technology to be embedded into many products. Traditional skills such as technical drawing are still required to communicate ideas; however, computer-aided design (CAD) is now considered to be the industry standard. CAD software allows designers to develop their designs on the computer. This technology has many benefits for the design industry, as designers can easily modify their designs, conduct simulations, experiments and tests, and even estimate the amount of materials required. Once a design has been developed digitally, a model, prototype or the final product could be created using computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). Factories and manufacturing processes are changing to include technology such as laser cutting, 3D printing, computer numerical control (CNC), water jet and plasma cutting. These manufacturing practices have changed the way products are designed by making the manufacturing process quicker, more efficient with resources, consistent in quality and less labour-intensive. Designers who embrace technology in their products are giving consumers more choice and the ability to customise designs.

Design and technology are interdependent, as they can no longer exist without each other. Technology is driven by designers searching to find better ways of doing things and designers are driven by technology that makes their life easier. New design specialisations are developing as a result of the advancements in technology, and new and exciting careers and job opportunities are becoming available. Design today has been significantly impacted and influenced by technology, whether it’s during the development and manufacturing stages or its final use.