Product Development Project
Product Development Project using the Creative Process
This week you will be inventing and developing a new product. This product will specifically be a new type of camera. In order to complete this task we’re looking at an incredibly powerful tool for creative people. It is a process that I have used for many years and has helped me be successful in my work as teacher, designer, writer and artist.
The creative process is a powerful conceptual framework that helps creative people solve difficult challenges or develop innovative projects.
Professionals use the creative process to invent new products, develop successful business ventures, or complete ambitious personal projects. You can also apply it to academic essays, writing fiction or nonfiction, short stories, scripts, film, advertisements and political campaigns and thousands of other tasks.
What are the steps of the Creative Process?
In order to develop an amazing new product that people will want to buy, you must first understand the specific steps of the creative process in order to apply them to your assignment. The steps are a follows:
Step 1: Identify a Problem you want to solve
Define a question you want to answer or determine a project you want to complete. When developing a new product to sell, you always want to start by identifying a problem that needs to be solved that no one else has a solution for yet.
EXAMPLE: I love woodworking. The problem I want to solve has to do with cutting wood in intricate patterns. I want to develop a machine that lets me make my own complex designs based on templates but without the need of a computer.
Step 2: Research and get Inspired
Research EVERYTHING about your problem or project. Look at products that are already out there and see if you can improve on something. Find inspiration for your design and ideas. At this point, you don't yet need to have a solution.
EXAMPLE: My research shows that there already are CNC machines, but they are expensive and require a computer. Maybe my product can be completely mechanical faster to set up.
Step 3: Analyze and Brainstorm
Analyze your findings, organize your thoughts, brainstorm solutions and plan out your next steps. This is where you start developing ideas to solve your problem and begin to develop your product to address that problem.
EXAMPLE: I am drawing a bunch of ideas about how I could configure my machine, how would it look like, how much would it cost to build, and who would by it.
Step 4: Create a Prototype or Draft
Take action based on your research! Begin creating, drawing ideas, completing drafts, even building a prototype or simply writing descriptions down. Ask yourself, is this something YOU would like to buy?
EXAMPLE: I will narrow down to 3 designs, and draw them in detail. I don't have to have all the details of how they work, but they must be realistic. I will also develop the name and the look in this step.
Step 5: Refinement Cycle
This is the most important step! After your first drafts of your product, step back and assess your work, refine and make a second draft, ask for constructive feedback. Then repeat and repeat as many times as necessary.
EXAMPLE: In this step, I will develop each draft and refine it. I will choose the best possible design and create a more presentable draft. I will share this draft with Sarabia to get feedback.
Step 6: Present Solution or Deliver Final Product
Present and implement your solution or deliver your completed project. Launch your venture, deploy your product, or publish your work. This is where you develop your Elevator Pitch Video.
EXAMPLE: Once I have completed the final version of my machine, I will finish the powerpoint presentation template and develop my Elevator speech to sell this machine. I will record to 30 second video to present my product.
Wait, so what am I being graded on?
You are developing the concept for a new type of Camera. Not building a camera physically, but coming up with a design and an idea in terms of design and function.
You are NOT BUILDING this device physically. You are simply coming up and developing the idea. This project has 3 components, as explained below:
A. Creative Process Powerpoint
A powerpoint showing your application of the Creative Process in order to develop a product that solves a specific problem. I will provide a template for this powerpoint.
B. Final Product Design Sketch
A drawing showing the final version of your product. This drawing must be in 3 Dimensional perspective and show the look and general features of your camera. Make this as appealing as possible.
Requirements for Powerpoint:
Open the Creative Process Powerpoint Template and make a copy to your Google Drive. Then begin replacing my text boxes to your own and adding your own pictures, research, drawings and descriptions. Make sure you do all this in order.
Follow the creative process to think through your product.
Share your final Powerpoint on Google Classroom.
Requirements for Product Design Sketch:
Remember, you are NOT actually making a camera physically. You are simply coming up with the idea and doing drawings. Your final product will be a series of drawings of your camera along with a description.
You must develop a PRODUCT DESIGN SKETCH of your final version. Look at the videos below on how to do that.
Use your Sketchbook this week to practice making drafts of your Product Sketch.
What do you mean by creating a camera?
Cameras are everywhere and they mostly look the same. How would you come up with something different? Is your camera a new size or shape? Had different functions or has a added functions, is it more complex or more simple than other cameras?
One thing to note is that you are NOT making this device physically. You are simply coming up with the idea and doing drawings.
All the technical details are not important. What's important is what problem does your new invention solve and how does it look? We can figure out exactly how it works later.
We don't care about the particulars of how the camera works. We care about what it can do and how it looks.
What can I use to prototype my idea?
This year, thanks to a gran from Friends of Sacramento Arts, you will have a chance to create the prototype drawings for your invention using Procreate on our New iPads. This is a great tool that will allow you to create quick sketches and will allow me to help you refine ideas. Procreate is an industry standard tool for brainstorming and generating quick images. It allows you to use multiple colors and do straight lines and edit quickly. See some cool examples below:
Can you show me what my Creative Process Powerpoint should look like?
Of course! Here you go. Open this file and make a copy to your Google Drive so you can use it is a template:
Can I see more resources on how to make a final Product Sketch?
What is the success criteria? Can I see the rubric you'll use to grade me?
How do I submit my projects?
For your Powerpoint, all you have to do is submit your Google Drive Powerpoint Template to Google Classroom.
For y our video, once you finish recording and editing your video on YouTube, you have to copy the share link. You can then submit your video as a link on the Google classroom assignments page.
If you are unable to get YouTube to work you can also upload a video file.
When is my project Due?
Friday before 3:15pm
