Design Brief
For this course there are several things we need to take for granted - the product you will design and prototype will be commercially made
A Design Brief is a statement that sets out 'what' design opportunity you will be looking at developing. You will also be stating what sort of person you will be designing it for, age range, lifestyle etc. You should also explain the environment your product would be used in and try and note any issues that you might need to overcome. For example children's toys will need to be very robust as they will get thrown around, chewed etc. You will also need to consider cost, packaging, material properties, environmental issues, safety etc. ACCESS FM is a good starting point here.
A good starting point willl start with a basic sentence
"I will be designing and making ....."
for example a design brief for a 'Jar Opener' could read like this:
I will be designing and making a product that will make the opening of jars a lot easier for people with poor strength in their arms or hands. These could be elderly or arthritic. It needs to look functional and have parts that are easily identifiable so older people can operate it easily. As it will be commercially manufactured and several thousands made it needs to fit in with other standard kitchen utensils and be easy for the taget market to operate, ensuring it it is easy to hold. It needs to be good value for money however must not be expensive. It will be used in the kitchen so needs to be hygienic and as it will be used with food it must be easily cleaned.
It must be safe for the elderly to use so it would be better if it was battery operated or rechargeable to reduce any electric shock. It also need to be safe to use and touch. As lids and jars come in a range of sizes it is important that it is is flexible enough to open small and large jars. However as the target market wont generally live in a large household it would not have to open extra-large or 'Family sized jars. It also needs to be compact so that it can be easily stored or to take up little room on the worktop. It needs to be automated to reduce the amount of force and/or number of actions needed to make it work and any batteries need to be easy to replace or it must be easy to charge.
It needs to be easily maintained and must be able to secure glass jars without breaking them. It must provide sufficient force and grip to open jars that have been tightly sealed. It needs to be made form materials that can be held easily and are hygienic. As there will probably be some mechanism inside that will be creating a large force it needs to be strong enough to overcome tight lids, as does the power unit and batteries. where it grips it will need to have elastic properties and provide grip.
A Design Brief is a statement that sets out 'what' design opportunity you will be looking at developing. You will also be stating what sort of person you will be designing it for, age range, lifestyle etc. You should also explain the environment your product would be used in and try and note any issues that you might need to overcome. For example children's toys will need to be very robust as they will get thrown around, chewed etc. You will also need to consider cost, packaging, material properties, environmental issues, safety etc. ACCESS FM is a good starting point here.
A good starting point willl start with a basic sentence
"I will be designing and making ....."
for example a design brief for a 'Jar Opener' could read like this:
I will be designing and making a product that will make the opening of jars a lot easier for people with poor strength in their arms or hands. These could be elderly or arthritic. It needs to look functional and have parts that are easily identifiable so older people can operate it easily. As it will be commercially manufactured and several thousands made it needs to fit in with other standard kitchen utensils and be easy for the taget market to operate, ensuring it it is easy to hold. It needs to be good value for money however must not be expensive. It will be used in the kitchen so needs to be hygienic and as it will be used with food it must be easily cleaned.
It must be safe for the elderly to use so it would be better if it was battery operated or rechargeable to reduce any electric shock. It also need to be safe to use and touch. As lids and jars come in a range of sizes it is important that it is is flexible enough to open small and large jars. However as the target market wont generally live in a large household it would not have to open extra-large or 'Family sized jars. It also needs to be compact so that it can be easily stored or to take up little room on the worktop. It needs to be automated to reduce the amount of force and/or number of actions needed to make it work and any batteries need to be easy to replace or it must be easy to charge.
It needs to be easily maintained and must be able to secure glass jars without breaking them. It must provide sufficient force and grip to open jars that have been tightly sealed. It needs to be made form materials that can be held easily and are hygienic. As there will probably be some mechanism inside that will be creating a large force it needs to be strong enough to overcome tight lids, as does the power unit and batteries. where it grips it will need to have elastic properties and provide grip.