Design and Technology (Product Design)

Course summary

This course encourages students to take a broad view of technology and design. You will develop your capacity to design and make products and to appreciate the complex relationships between design, materials, manufacturing, protecting intellectual property and the importance of marketing and branding. There is a particular emphasis on the life cycle of products, manufacture and renewable resources. Topics include: • Materials, components and application - students develop an understanding of the physical and mechanical properties of a range of materials and components • Learning through designing and making - students apply their knowledge to the design and production of their own project • Design and manufacture - the evolution, selection and application of materials to the manufacture of modern products • Design and making practice - this practical project will include context and objectives, plan of action, development of the design proposal, manufacture/ modelling, evaluation and recommendations, communication and presentation • Key historic movements and the impact key figures have on modern design thinking and how designers from the past provide inspiration for present and future designing.