Design and Technology
Design and Technology
Stage 6 Design and Technology is a study of the historical and cultural influences on design and how design, technology, society and the environment are related. It develops understanding and skills in using innovation and structured design processes to solve problems through the completion of projects. Following is a link to the NESA page for Desing and Technology which included the syllabus and other resources: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/design-technology.html
A useful link from the NESA site is: Design and Technology Project Advice
Sources of Research for Design and Technology
State Library of NSW Database Resources for Economics Students
The State Library of NSW (SLNSW) provides access to databases that are excellent sources of information for Economics. You need to have a SLNSW membership number to access most of the databases. If you do not already have a membership number for SLNSW you can sign up for free: for a Library card click here or https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/research-and-collections/get-library-card/sign-library-card
Following is a list of key resources and databases for Design and Technology from SLNSW:
Following is a list of databases that cover very broad topic areas. These are not design or technology specific, however, most of them will address aspects of design, technology, other sciences and arts topic areas.
Factiva
“Factiva is a full-text news and financial information database of publications from Australian and international sources in 22 languages from 118 countries including newspapers, magazines, company and industry reports, newswires, pictures, and websites” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/factiva
Gale Research Complete
“Gale Research Complete is a unified platform for primary and secondary sources including over 28,000 journals, 2,000 ebooks, 300 primary source collections across 15 million digitised pages, and over two million literature works” (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/gale-research-complete
This complete database of Australasian content searches across all Informit subject databases. It covers the following major subject areas: Agriculture, Arts, Asian, Business, Education, Engineering, Health, History, Indigenous, Law, Media, Reference, Sciences, Social Sciences and Technology: https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/informit-combined-search
JSTOR
"JSTOR is an interdisciplinary digital archive of scholarly material in the social sciences and humanities and the sciences. It includes the full text of non-current issues from over 1,000 leading academic journals as well as select monographs and other materials" (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/jstor-search-journals-primary-sources-and-books-jstor
ProQuest Central
"ProQuest Central contains a broad range of scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, books, newspapers, reports and videos. It covers over 160 subjects including business, health, technology, social science and literature" (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/proquest-central-proquest
ProQuest Ebook Central
Being ebooks, they are much more in-depth than a journal article; ebooks can be hundreds of pages in length. Sometimes ebooks can be too in-depth for the early phase of a research project, although the introduction chapters can provide excellent overviews of a topic at times; but generally, ebooks are perfect for really digging deep in a topic and tend to be written by experts.
Tip: search the database for your topic, then you can also search within chapter headings or book index for keywords; some eBooks have search functions within: https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/ebook-central-proquest
Following is a list of more design and technology-related databases:
SLNSW Databases List for Technology: https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/search?subject%5B0%5D=97 https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/computing-database-proquest
Art and Architecture Archive 1854-2005
"This archive comprises two subject specific collections, Architecture & Design and Art & Photography. Spanning 1854-2005, this primary source collection focuses on art, art history, architecture, and restoration. It covers a range of sub-disciplines, from fine and applied arts through to interior and industrial design, and landscape gardening" (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/art-and-architecture-archive-1854-2005
Computing Database (ProQuest)
"ProQuest Computing Database includes product reviews, database design and management, software, hardware, e-commerce, web site development, intranets and extranets, and technology management" (SLNSW). https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/computing-database-proquest
Informit Engineering Collection
"Contains over 69,000 technical and general articles, and 645 academic and industry resources starting from 1973 as well as access to conference proceedings and reports from Engineers Australia and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand" (SLNSW): https://eresources.sl.nsw.gov.au/informit-engineering-collection-informit
Free and open databases or information sources. No Membership Card is Required.
Design and Art Australia Online
DAAO is an e-Research tool that shares biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators: https://www.daao.org.au/
Free Patents Online (FPO)
Free searchable database of US and European patents and patent applications: https://www.freepatentsonline.com/
Design Thinking (IDEO)
Design Thinking is a framework that helps guide people through the design process. There are many versions of it, one example is the following from the company called IDEO, while we would normally not promote commercial organisations, IDEO are thought leaders and generously share their resources and ideas. For a general introduction to design thinking go to: https://designthinking.ideo.com/. It is also recommended that you have a look at their Design Kit website, on the following link, scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the "DOWNLOAD FREE PDF" button for their free book titled "The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design": https://www.designkit.org/resources/1
From IDEO's Design Kit website, it is worth highlighting another resource from their website:
Methods is a page of thinking routines and exercises to help you at the various stages of the design process including inspiration, ideation and implementation: https://www.designkit.org/methods
Inhabitat (magazine)
Covers the future of design and tracks innovations in technology, practices and materials: https://inhabitat.com/
IP (Intellectual Property) Australia
"This site provides information about Australian patents. It also provides access to two databases for patents and patent applications filed since January 1979" (SLNSW): https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/
"New Scientist is the world’s most popular weekly science and technology magazine. Its website, app and print editions cover international news from a scientific standpoint, and ask the biggest-picture questions about life, the universe and what it means to be human" (SLNSW). Like databases, in this magazine website, you can use the search function to look for relevant information and refine your search by using their tools eg. 'subject': https://www.newscientist.com/
UX Design ("UX" = User Experience)
UX informed design is another contemporary approach to the design process with the users experience at it's centre. It is widely used in the software and computing industry, but it is also used in fields such as retail shopping space design and more. Many organizations and startups adopt one or more UX design frameworks to deliver successful projects. Design teams use these frameworks to guide decision-making and solve problems. If you are interested in exploring UX Design, start with the following website that outlines different UX frameworks: https://www.uxpin.com/studio/blog/design-frameworks/