Historical development of consumer products from the 20th century such as vacuum cleaners, portable music players or mobile telephones.
Design schools, Design groups, individuals and brands. Bauhaus, Dyson, Sony.
Evaluating products through deconstruction. Taking products apart and understanding why components have been used or placed in a particular layout.
Manufacturing processes and materials. Injection moulding, ABS.
The user of particular products, their needs and aspirations. Fashion?
Success or failure of a product. Form Follows Function ? It may look good, but, does it work?
Testing and marketing against other products. Unique Selling Points.
The evolution of a consumer product over a period of time. Technological advancements, what next?

Coursework consisting of a 3000 word report weighted at 100%
A single research based exercise (the evolution of a product, design trend, famous design individual or group etc.) providing proof of achievement of assessing learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3.

?Landmarks Of Twentieth-century Design: An Illustrated Handbook? Hiesinger & Marcus. Abbeville Press (1993). ISBN: 0756774616.
?Design: History, Theory and Practice of Product Design? B.Burdek (2004) Birkhauser Press. ISBN: 3764370297.
?Design Secrets: Products: 50 Real-Life Projects Uncovered (Design Secrets)? ISDA (2003) Rockport Pub ISBN: 1564964760
?A History of Modern Design: Graphics and Products Since the Industrial Revolution? D. Raizman (2004) Laurence King Publishing ISBN: 1856693481

The material will be introduced through a series of lectures to cover historical and current design issues (1 hour per week 1:n)
Tutorials (2 hours per week 1:20) will allow students to research, analyse and critically evaluate products as individuals and within small groups.

None

PC projection (interactive whiteboard)
www.designmuseum.org www.design-council.org.uk