Considerations for a designer:
Stakeholder wants (e.g. cheap and quick to manufacture, packaging looks good etc.)
Social factors – socially acceptable and moral implications (e.g. conditions of factories),
cultural issues
Environmental issues – recyclability
Inclusive – people with disabilities (accessible e.g. lifts), instructions easy to follow
(many languages, many ages may use and read instructions)
Ergonomics – the relationship between the products and the people that use them – is it
comfortable, right shapes and sizes for the human body…
Anthropometrics – the study of sizes of people in relation to the design of products
(e.g. what size should a door be to allow everyone through, how tall should a chair be
etc.)
Aesthetics – how a product looks and feels for the user
Legal requirements
Source of power
Dimensions
Materials
How durable it must be – toddlers’ toys must be more durable than adults, how long
should the product last, planned obsolescence…
Sustainability
Colours and their meanings:
Red – aggressive, compassionate, danger, hot
Blue – for boys, cold, peace, tranquillity, sky
Green – nature
Non – biodegradable
will not break down naturally.
will take many years (more than 50) to break down/disappear.
Material takes a long time to break down in the ground
Planned obsolescence
Designer makes sure that product will break/fail/run out after a period of time
Manufacturer uses cheap materials to ensure product does not last a long time
Users have to buy another one earlier than anticipated
Eco-design
Design which takes into account environmental effects of manufacture or use
Design which looks at the [carbon] footprint of the product
Design which reduces energy consumption
Easy to take apart (disassemble) and separate materials before recycling
Disassembling is also used to see how other companies have built a product to be a
certain way (e.g. environmentally friendly)
6 Rs
Reduce -is it possible to reduce the amount of materials used? This will help to protect
valuable resources.
Rethink - is there a better way to solve this problem that is less damaging to the
environment?
Stakeholder wants (e.g. cheap and quick to manufacture, packaging looks good etc.)
Social factors – socially acceptable and moral implications (e.g. conditions of factories),
cultural issues
Environmental issues – recyclability
Inclusive – people with disabilities (accessible e.g. lifts), instructions easy to follow
(many languages, many ages may use and read instructions)
Ergonomics – the relationship between the products and the people that use them – is it
comfortable, right shapes and sizes for the human body…
Anthropometrics – the study of sizes of people in relation to the design of products
(e.g. what size should a door be to allow everyone through, how tall should a chair be
etc.)
Aesthetics – how a product looks and feels for the user
Legal requirements
Source of power
Dimensions
Materials
How durable it must be – toddlers’ toys must be more durable than adults, how long
should the product last, planned obsolescence…
Sustainability
Colours and their meanings:
Red – aggressive, compassionate, danger, hot
Blue – for boys, cold, peace, tranquillity, sky
Green – nature
Non – biodegradable
will not break down naturally.
will take many years (more than 50) to break down/disappear.
Material takes a long time to break down in the ground
Planned obsolescence
Designer makes sure that product will break/fail/run out after a period of time
Manufacturer uses cheap materials to ensure product does not last a long time
Users have to buy another one earlier than anticipated
Eco-design
Design which takes into account environmental effects of manufacture or use
Design which looks at the [carbon] footprint of the product
Design which reduces energy consumption
Easy to take apart (disassemble) and separate materials before recycling
Disassembling is also used to see how other companies have built a product to be a
certain way (e.g. environmentally friendly)
6 Rs
Reduce -is it possible to reduce the amount of materials used? This will help to protect
valuable resources.
Rethink - is there a better way to solve this problem that is less damaging to the
environment?
