Jan 7 – Jan 25 2.5 weeks
Unit Summary Students will learn the visual design elements and principles and their application in design. Students will also reverse engineer a product and perform visual and functional analysis on the product and make suggestions for improvement.
Big Ideas
Reverse engineering involves disassembling and analyzing a product or system in order to understand and document the visual, functional, and/or structural aspects of its design.
Visual elements and principles of design are part of an aesthetic vocabulary that is used to describe the visual characteristics of an object, the application of which can affect the visual appeal of the object and its commercial success in the marketplace
Technical professionals use the results of reverse engineering for many different purposes such as discovery, testing, forensics, improvement or redesign, and producing technical documentation of a product.
Essential Questions
Why are many consumer product designs not commercially successful?
When, if ever, is it acceptable for a company to reverse engineer and reproduce a successful consumer product designed by another person/company?
Priority TEKS
Identify and describe the visual principles and elements of design apparent in a natural or man-made object.
Describe the process of reverse engineering.
Explain the various reasons to perform reverse engineering including discovery, documentation, investigation, and product improvement
Explain how the visual elements and principles of design affect the aesthetics and commercial success of a product.
Perform a functional analysis of a product in order to determine the purpose, inputs and outputs, and the operation of a product or system.
Perform a structural analysis of a product in order to determine the materials used and the form of component parts as well as the configuration and interaction of component parts when assembled.
Activities
Team project
Elements & Principles of Design
Visual Analysist
Functional Analysis
Structural analysis
Reporting