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Criteria to evaluate success
HSC Outcome H4.3: evaluates
the processes undertaken and the impacts of the major design
project
Criteria for evaluation relates to the
assessment of the features of products, systems and environments
planned for and developed in design and technology.
Areas for consideration include:
- appropriateness of design solutions
- functionality
- aesthetics
- ergonomics
- use of energy, recyclability
- safety
- cost
- comparison with existing products
- durability and obsolescence
- life cycle analysis.
What factors will I need to consider when designing and producing?
When beginning a process of design, the
designer must determine what will be the features of the solution
which will ensure that it satisfies the identified need, want
or opportunity.
In clarifying this, some other questions that could be asked
are:
- What
factors must I consider for the design to function satisfactorily?
Properties such as strength, cost, size,
durability, ergonomics, safety, ecological sustainability, ease
of care and usage need to be considered carefully and evaluated.
The most important property requirements need to be identified
and priorities set. Design usually involves compromise and risk.
By using the design process designers determine what is achievable.
- What aesthetic qualities will my design need to have?
All designed products, systems and environments
as well as reflecting the values and attitudes of the designer,
clients and users elicit emotional or sensory responses from
the people who use them. An important function of marketing and
design is to identify what might be the likely attitudes and
responses from audiences or users for whom the product, system
or environment is intended.
The aesthetic qualities which are appropriate will vary considerably,
depending upon what the design is to be used for, and who will
use it.
Some factors which contribute to the aesthetic qualities include
colour, shape, line, texture and user friendliness.
- What may be the short and long
term consequences of my planned design?
Designers are increasingly being made
responsible and accountable for the short and long term consequences
of their designs. Designers must consider how their design may
affect the user, society and the environment now and into the
future.
- How will I be able to evaluate
the success of a design project?
In the Design Project you undertake,
you will need to establish criteria which clearly state the most
important functional and aesthetic features of the intended design.
Once established you and your teacher can use the criteria to
guide future decisions, eg if an important quality is strength,
then you will need to experiment to establish which materials
and techniques can best provide strength to the design.
You need to refer continually to this criteria in order to determine
whether your project is progressing satisfactorily.
The examiners for the Major Design Project will refer to the
criteria established in the Project Proposal when considering
the success of the project.
Student Activity
Investigate how different people, in
interacting with a new product, system or environment, determine
its success, eg consider the role of the designer, the producer,
the marketer, the user and people it impacts upon indirectly
such as neighbours, environmentalists. You could undertake a
life cycle analysis of specific products, systems or environments
to determine the total cost in terms of resource usage from 'cradle
to grave', ie from conception to obsolescence.
