The Design Cycle

Step 1: Problem

In this step you investigate the situation of the problem to write the Design Brief.

The Design Brief has 3 items

1. the problem you are going to solve

2. the list of design criteria for the solution of the problem

3. the method you are going to use to test if your solution has solved the problem.

------------ Example ---------------------------------------

The Problem: design a new sandwich for the shop in the Aula of the school that many students would like to buy.

The shop owner has set already 2 criteria for the sandwich:

1. the maximum price of the sandwich is 1 euro.

2. the sandwich has no meat.

To make a better list of criteria you can, for instance:

think of the things you like on a sandwich or what do you think is important for a sandwich that you buy at school.

think of things like:

- Is it possible to heat the sandwich?

- do the sandwiches need to be made fresh? Or is it possible to store them in a refrigerator?

- how much time can you spend on making a sandwich?

---------------- Design Brief --------------------

Part 1 The problem

We are going to design a new sandwich for the shop in the Aula of the Heerbeeck College that many students would like to buy.

Part 2: The list of design criteria

1. the maximum price of the sandwich is 1 euro.

2. the sandwich has no meat.

3. the sandwich is cold

4. the sandwich can be made in the shop in 30 seconds

Part 3: Testing the solution

We are going to test our sandwich with the following method

- Have the shop owner make 10 sandwiches and measure the time it takes to make them.

- Ask 10 students to eat the sandwich and ask if they would like to buy it.

We think our solution is good If the shop owner can make 10 sandwiches in 5 minutes and 5 students answer that they would like to buy the sandwich.

Step 2: Research

In this step you gather knowledge and learn skills you need to have to find a solution to the problem. You do this by thinking of research questions. A research question is a question you need to find the answer to solve the problem and then do research to find the answer to these questions.

------------ Example ---------------------------------------

When you task is to design a new sandwich for the shop in the Aula. There are a lot of research questions you can think of. Here are a few:

- what kind of sandwiches do they already have in the shop?

- what kind of ingredients do they have in the shop and how much do they cost?

- do most students like hearty or sweet sandwiches?

- How many ingredients can you put on a sandwich in 30 seconds?

-.........................

Step 3: Ideas

In this step you combine the information from the Design Brief and with the answers on the research questions to think of possible solutions for the problem.

To show others your ideas you will make an isometric sketch. This is a special kind of 3D drawing.

Most of the time you can think of more than one solution for problem. You will have to choose the best solution. You have to come up with a fair way to decide which solution best meets the Design Criteria from the Design Brief.

------------ Example ---------------------------------------

When you design a sandwich you can come up with 1001 possible solutions

- plain white bread with tomatoes, cucumber and ketchup,

- a dark brown bun with hummus and mint leaves,

- ..............

You have to come up with a fair way to decide which sandwich best meets the Design Criteria from the Design Brief.

Step 4: Make

Now it is time to make a prototype of your solution to the problem.

In many cases your prototype will be made of wood, metal and plastic. To see the exact dimensions of your prototype you will have to make a technical drawing before you start.

----------- Example ---------------------------------------

Making a sandwich is easy.

Step 5: Evaluation

In the Design Brief you have already written down how to check if you are succesfull in solving the problem. Do this check and decide if you have solved the problem or some improvement is still needed. In that case the whole Design Cycle can start again.

----------- Example ---------------------------------------

- Have the shop owner make 10 sandwiches and measure the time it takes to make them.

- Ask 10 students to eat the sandwich and ask if they would like to buy it.

We think our solution is good If the shop owner can make 10 sandwiches in 5 minutes and 5 students answer that they would like to buy the sandwich.