Crit 1 - 4 PROJECT DESCRIPTORS

IDENTIFICATION OF A NEED OR OPPORTUNITY WITH A BRIEF ANALYSIS LEADING TO A DESIGN BRIEF (CRITERION 1) 

Learners are required to state clearly a need or opportunity and to consider aspects of the design problem. This should include the context, situation and how these affect the intended user. A targeted questionnaire or interviews with possible client(s) can help learners to show that they have a good understanding of the needs of the potential user group. They would benefit from looking at the needs and expectations of the selected users. It may be useful for them to consider the type of environment in which the designed product will be used and highlight key issues. 

Examples of questions that might be asked and answered include: 

• Where does the problem exist? 

• Whom does it affect? (Consider their age, gender or any particular problems, etc.) 

• What are the consequences of the problem? 

• What are the financial implications? 

• Are there solutions already available? 

This should be followed by a clear design brief stating what they are going to do.

RESEARCH INTO THE DESIGN BRIEF RESULTING IN A SPECIFICATION (CRITERION 2) 

In this section, learners are required to identify the requirements of the brief and to collect relevant information and other data. At this point, learners SHOULD NOT propose any solutions or even start to suggest ways of helping the situation. They should simply outline different aspects of the problem. Your learners might wish to consider existing products to help gather information. 

Learners should avoid simply repeating extracts of information on materials, constructions, fittings and finishes from textbooks. Instead, they must produce evidence of having considered a range of ideas in order to access the marks available. For example, if they were attempting to create a product to store art / graphics equipment, the following might be considered, and relevant data collected: 

• Where the product would be situated? 

• Would there be a need to make it portable? 

• How many items of art / graphic equipment would the product need to hold? 

• What would be the size-range of the equipment? 

• What form of storage would be most accessible (e.g. vertical or horizontal)? 

• Could the storage have another function, e.g. hold paper while drawing / painting?

As well as researching the particular features of existing products and gathering information and data such as ergonomic or environmental factors, learners are also expected to collect information directly relating to the user and their needs for the product. This is often done through the use of interviews, surveys, letters, emails and internet research. 

From the outcome of this research a list of specification requirements is produced. The points should be relevant to the particular problem and well justified. They should not be generic, such as: ‘Must be safe’. However, safety issues might be covered in a statement such as: ‘Knives or sharp pointed tools should be held securely so there is no chance of the user cutting themselves when using the product’. 

Many learners include approximate cost in their specifications, but few include other quantitative requirements such as maximum and minimum dimensions and / or weight where appropriate. 

The specification they produce should be used by learners when they are evaluating their ideas and when making a final evaluation of the made product. However, they should not simply use the specification like a checklist but should clearly evaluate the extent to which their proposals meet the specification. Learners may wish to add to their specification later as a result of exploring new ideas or developing their proposal. 

GENERATION AND EXPLORATION OF DESIGN IDEAS (CRITERION 3) 

Learners have the opportunity to show their creativity and imagination in this section by exploring and proposing design ideas. 

There is no preferred method of presenting drawings, but ideas should be clear to the observer. In most cases this will be through freehand sketching with sensible use of COULOUR or SHADING as required. The use of more formal drawing techniques can have a constraining effect. 

For the highest marks learners need to offer a WIDE RANGE of appropriate solutions showing imaginative interpretation. They should not focus on one or two concepts but record any ideas they have. 

DRAWINGS NEED TO BE ANNOTATED so that they relate to the specification and any research that has been carried out in the previous section of the folder. Although there is no requirement to develop a chosen idea at this stage, learners are advised to include notes on possible materials, constructions, the range of forms considered and other details so that the reader can see how ideas have emerged. 

A successful set of design sheets should enable someone who has not seen the work before to have a clear understanding of why the project has developed the way it has. Learners should identify good ideas as they proceed so that these can be brought together at the development stage. 

In the case where learners are using CAD to generate ideas, it is advisable for them to also use pencil or pen sketches so that they can explore their initial ideas quickly in order to produce a wider range of possible solutions. Many learners present their work with a good integration of annotated sketched ideas and design possibilities with simple models. This helps to show the natural progression of design and development. 

DEVELOPMENT OF PROPOSED SOLUTION (CRITERION 4) 

Learners need to bring together relevant ideas from the previous section and make decisions about form, materials, constructions, production methods, finishes and all other details relating to the final proposal. There should be some indication of the alternatives that have been considered and reasons for their decisions. 

For the highest marks learners need to show that they have carried out appropriate MODELLING and TRIALLING with regard to most of the points considered. This should take the form of 2D and / or 3D modelling to test simple mechanisms, functions, evaluating overall shape and form, or testing construction techniques and possible materials. 

In all cases, learners MUST focus on the ideas being developed and NOT just present general information extracted from textbooks. For example, a long list of woods, metals and plastics with their qualities and uses serves no purpose if it does not relate and refer to the ideas being considered. 

DEADLINE DATE FOR CRITERION 1- 4 SUBMISSION: on or before Friday 15th DECEMBER 2023