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Good designers will always do some research before they start to design themselves. One form of research is to look at (analyse) existing products. This analysis allows the designer to see how a similar design problem has been solved before as well as to generate ideas about what works well or what does not work well. You can gain knowledge and inspiration by looking at existing products.
In this section of work we will look mainly at hand held games or puzzles that the user would hold these in your hands, however you may also find it useful to analyse any hand held product that you hold with 2 hands. Other examples include digital cameras, steering wheels, mobile phones etc
This section of work is divided into 2 parts.
In part 1 you will learn about sources of research and then start to source some examples of your own research for this project.
In part 2 you will learn how to fully analyse each product that you have chosen.
Part 1 - sources of research
Part 1 - sources of research
When conducting research there are 2 types of research sources that we can use. These are primary and secondary. Read on to understand the difference.
Primary research
Primary research
Primary research is the kind that you have done yourself by analysing the product first hand. Primary research is the best because you have the chance to interact with and test the product .
Secondary research
Secondary research
Secondary research is an analysis of anything that you do not have in front of you when you do your analysis. When we cannot hold and interact with a product, there are some assumptions made about, therefore this type of research is not as valuable. You also usually only see the product photo from one view.
Secondary Research
Secondary Research
Pictures off the internet
Pictures off the internet
You can find many pictures of gaming devices, gaming controllers and other handheld products by using the google search engine on the internet.
Pictures from a book, magazine or catalogue
Pictures from a book, magazine or catalogue
Books, magazines and catalogues are a great source of images of existing products.
Pictures sent to you from someone else
Pictures sent to you from someone else
Even if another person sends you a photo that they have taken, it is still secondary research for you.
Primary Research
Primary Research
Photos you have taken yourself
Photos you have taken yourself
Primary research is research that you can do yourself because you have the product in front of you.
When you take photos of your product, put white paper underneath so there is a plain background and use the opportunity to take more than one picture from different angles
Primary research is the best!
Primary research is the best!
Primary research is better because you can analyse the product in greater depth when you have the chance to hold it and interact with it. You can also take many photos of the product from different angles.
Here are a few examples of some photos taken for primary research:
Here are a few examples of some photos taken for primary research:
Top view shows the overall apperance of the product
Side view shows the depth and width of the product
An image of the product being used helps show scale and context
A back view shows any underneath features or details of the product
Task 1
Task 1
Collect images of suitable existing products and display them on the google slides on your Google Classroom.
You must include 2 slides. 1 Primary research and 1 secondary research.
On the primary research slide should be a range of photos that you have taken yourself of the product you have chosen.
On the secondary research slide should be 4 - 6 different existing product photos that you have found from secondary sources.
Student Example #1
Student Example #2
Student Example #3
Student Example #4
Part 2 - analysis
Part 2 - analysis
How to analyse a product - Puzzles/Mazes/Toys
How to analyse a product - Puzzles/Mazes/Toys
Aesthetics - how does the product look? write details of what you notice about the form, shape, colour, texture, finish, decoration, stickers (decals) etc.
Cost - what price range does the product fit into? You can find out the price through research and you can also comment on if you think it looks cheap or looks expensive.
Customer - who is the product for? (families? adults? children? teenagers? professionals?) who will use it? what is their age? gender? likes? style? needs?
Environment - Where does the product go or where is it used? What impact does the environment that the product will be used in have on the design?
Size - what size is the product? do you think there are reasons for the sizing of the product?
Safety - are there any features of the product that are there for safety?
Function - what do different parts of the product do? are there any special features?
Materials - What materials is it made from? are different materials used for different purposes?
Task 2
Task 2
Analyse each of the images that you have collected. Remember that you should have both primary and secondary research.
You should be continuing to work on the slides that you started in task 1.
Hand your work in on Google Classroom when you have finished.
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