The Evolution of Product Design..
Why do products change over time?
Products change over time because of:
Materials and manufacturing - Social factors - Environment
Materials and Manufacturing
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Before the industrial revolution products were made by hand sourced from local materials.
Development of steam engine and the development of iron and steel production meant: - goods could be mass produced - textiles could be shipped from abroad and cloth produced in quantity - building, transport and production of energy changed our towns and rural areas later on, early in the 20th century another manufacturing revolution enabled the production of plastics from coal, oil, and gas: - from WW2, Bakelite was widely used for everyday household products - mass production enabled a wide range of goods to everyone at an affordable price |
New manufacturing techniques using CAD (computer aided design) and CAM (computer aided manufacturing) have made manufacturing more efficient and of a higher quality; this has resulted in cheaper products.
Q1 How were things made before the industrial revolution?
Q2 Where did the materials come from before the industrial revolution?
Q3 What was the main source of energy before the industrial revolution, and what was it like after?
Q4 When factories were built what was the impact on the following?
- Speed of manufacture
- Quality of manufacture
- Cost of manufacture
Q6 What was the first plastic?
Q7 What Does CAD stand for?
Q8 What does CAM stand for?
Q9 Give two advantages of CAD or CAM?
Social Factors
The way we live our lives and what people consider acceptable plays a big part in product design. Products need to be designed with people in mind and what their values are. Many years ago a bikini would have been considered unacceptable but times have changed and they are more 'socially acceptable'. We follow fashion more nowadays and as products are seasonal, designers must change colours and styles and keep up to date with technology.
Political changes especially those relating to money in war times affect the way products are developed. During WW2 the manufacturing sector was taken over by the government for arms production and therefore products had to be low cost, simple and efficient. This is called utility design (made for its usefulness only)
Political changes especially those relating to money in war times affect the way products are developed. During WW2 the manufacturing sector was taken over by the government for arms production and therefore products had to be low cost, simple and efficient. This is called utility design (made for its usefulness only)
Q10 Do you think E cigarettes are good or bad design.... why??
Q11 Are the following designs socially acceptable.... why???
Environment
Recently we have come to understand that our consumer society is causing a severely negative impact on our society so products are developing that are more environmentally friendlier. we no longer want to 'dispose' but we want to:
- rethink
- refuse
- reduce
- re-use
- repair
- recycle
Consumers are refusing to accept non-environmentally friendly products and are willing to pay more for greener products or willing to accept lower quality to help save the planet. Governments have introduced laws to reduce CO2 emissions and the motor industry is working hard to produce cleaner cars.
- rethink
- refuse
- reduce
- re-use
- repair
- recycle
Consumers are refusing to accept non-environmentally friendly products and are willing to pay more for greener products or willing to accept lower quality to help save the planet. Governments have introduced laws to reduce CO2 emissions and the motor industry is working hard to produce cleaner cars.
Q12 Why is it important that designers think about the environment (sustainability) when they design products?
TASK:- speak to an elderly relative or friend and find out what products they remember from their childhood and are they still available? Note how some have changed over the years.