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Designers rarely design a product that is brand new. Most ideas are based upon past or similar products or inspired by nature, artists or other designers or design movements.The more information you have the better quality your ideas will be. This is why we carry out research in our projects. Information is not only gathered by carrying out research it is gathered through the things you experience in everyday life.

• If you are out and about and see something you think would make a nice feature in your design, a mechanism that would prove useful, photograph it and sketch it later…………

Being able to seek information that is not obvious to your design task and use it is key to developing creative ideas, no matter where the idea comes from…….

• Use lots of images to inspire you no matter how weird or wacky, never start with a blank page its very hard to do this. No designer works in a vacuum (isolation)!

Through product analysis James Dyson found a problem with old vacuum cleaners whose design had remained the same since the early 1900’s. He became frustrated with his vacuum cleaners diminishing performance: dust kept clogging the dust bag, reducing suction. Dyson had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt. The cyclone idea came from the spray-finishing room's air filter in his Ballbarrow factory.

Dyson’s first original invention, the Ballbarrow, was a modified version of a wheelbarrow using a ball instead of a wheel. This was featured on the BBC's Tomorrow's World television programme.

Dyson continued product analysis on his own design and found a further problem. It was difficult to turn the cleaner because of its fixed wheels.

Design and technology should be the subject where mathematical brainboxes and science whizzkids turn their bright ideas into useful products

James Dyson

It is entirely up to you how you present your design ideas and the images that you will use to inspire you. As discussed earlier there is no point in carrying out research if you are not going to use it.

It is very important that you show how your ideas are partly generated and developed as a result of the research you have gathered. You will gain more marks if are able to show a link between research and design ideas.

Summarising the information you have gathered can make it a lot easy to use as inspiration for quick idea generation.

• This method encourages you to develop concepts into ideas.
• It focuses on developing concepts by using the research you have gathered and other sources of information you possess.
• You must summarise your research before you can use this technique.

This stands for the following

S – substitute

C – combine

A – adapt

M – minimise

P – put to use

E – eliminate  

R - reverse

Watch the video to see how an architectural lamp is developed using this technique

Watch the video opposite to see how a chair is developed using this technique…………….

A good design begins with a good design concept. You’re trying to solve a problem and your concept will lead the way and give you direction for your design decisions. How do you form a concept? What questions do you need to ask in order to develop one? How does your concept become the roadmap for you to develop your designs?

I want to attempt to answer the questions above as well as share how you can go about forming a concept for a new design or redesign. Students often find designing the hardest part of their project. There is no wrong or right way to design but the strategies below can help give you a starting point or help when you get ‘designers block’

Divergent or lateral thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions as possible no matter how weird or wacky.

Divergent Thinking leads to creativity.

• It is: The ability to see lots of different answers.
• The ability to see lots of ways to interpret a question.
• The ability to “think outside the box.”
• How can we do this when designing?
• Firstly we can look at the task or question and try to interpret it differently.
• Don’t set out to try and come up with the one obvious answer.

Assume Less:

Don’t assume the obvious

Think More:  use Information from everywhere

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

Albert Einstein

Using geometrical shapes as inspiration for your ideas. Watch the video above to see how a lamp inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright uses geometric shapes to develop a range of design ideas.

Morphing is a design strategy where you gradually change the shape step by step or work with combinations. For example 6 shapes, 6 materials and 3 mechanisms will give you a possible 6 x 6 x 3 = 108 combinations

This method allows you to develop creative ideas quickly.

It is a good technique to use at the beginning of generating ideas.

This method encourages you to use Divergent Thinking by asking the question “what if?”

Step 2. Development

Step 1. Creativity

Step 3. Details

When you are ready to begin generating ideas you should try to follow these steps; Creativity, Development and Details. Each of these steps may require further research. You may need to find information to help you to progress to the next stage. Click over the arrows to find out more.

Step 1. Creativity

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Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Step 1. Creativity

Click here for page layout.

Click here for page layout.

Click here for page layout.

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