Design

There are always many good possibilities for solving design problems. If you focus on just one before looking at the alternatives, it is almost certain that you are overlooking a better solution. Good designers try to generate as many possible solutions as they can. This can be done in a range of ways but the primary way is sketching with paper and pencil.

From your proposal you need to develop a design for a digital outcome, it should be informed and effective.

2d ⟹ 3d

Sketches ⟹ Computer generated

A little colour ⟹ Fully rendered

Defining the purpose and end users for the digital outcome (See Proposal )

You should already have the purpose and end users from your proposal.

You need to copy and paste them in to the design part of your doc. You may need to adjust if something has changed.

Researching

Your first step in developing your design should involve researching your product concept statement.

You should investigate a range of existing solutions
You should also investigate conventions
Look up tutorials or find people able to help you with your project
The equipment and software are you using will put limits on your design
What materials you have access to
Reference materials that you can look at for inspiration

DT | Design Research

Generating a range of design ideas

Now you should start sketching out your designs. This could include a wide range of possible solutions and make enough designs that you can get effective feedback. At a minimum you should have three designs of what you can make. Some projects can be broken down into smaller elements so for these you may have multiple designs for these instead. Some examples of things that you could design are:

Name of your product
Colours your product could be
Layouts of elements in games and websites

When you are sketching out your designs they do not have to be perfect. It is simply trying to get an idea across to possible end users. It can also be highly valuable to put annotations (written descriptions) on your drawings.

Some more specific design ideas are given below:

DT | Design - Generating Ideas

Revisit your end user group? Is it

Feedback - Optional at this point (expand for info)

At this point you may want to get some feedback, especially if you have options but not quite sure which path to follow.

Giving and receiving design feedback is tough. Feedback should be helpful, could improve the work, move things forward and bring about confidence. Quite often feedback is unconstructive and can be ill-aimed, irrelevant, antagonistic.

Feedback needs to be constructive… and honest

But what does it mean to be constructive?

Adjective

1. serving a useful purpose; tending to build up

Refining Your Design Ideas

DT | Design - Refining Ideas

Feedback (expand for info)

At this point you may want to get some feedback, especially if you have options but not quite sure which path to follow.

Feedback needs to be constructive… and honest

But what does it mean to be constructive?

Adjective

1. serving a useful purpose; tending to build up

Final Conceptual Design

Take your all your ideas, refinement and feedback and present your preferred idea. Note that depending on your outcome this might look slightly different (some examples on next few slides).

Your final design idea should be presented to a high standard with how you show your idea.
Justify how the chosen design addresses design principles and elements and relevant implications
Justify, with evidence, how your chosen design is suitable for the purpose and end user/s

DT | Design - Presenting your Final Design

appropriateness of your design

Think about how your design is fit for purpose and end users eg if your purpose was to make people aware of... how does your outcome design do this? How has your design considered;

End user considerations eg have you designed an outcome that the user wants, that your users will be able to use (eg old people need bigger fonts, young people may view on phones), appropriate content for gender, age, ethnic groups
What conventions have you considered in your design that will make your outcome suitable for your end users?
What implications have you considered in your design that will make your outcome suitable for your end users?