Investigation

8 marks
Understand|ng the Des|gn Context
Understand|ng the context
Design Context
This is on the sheet and email.
What exactly are is it you going to design and make?
Write a paragraph on each of the headings below to help you
understand the brief in detail
What Product
Lxp|a|n the des|gn br|ef |n your
own words
What am I go|ng to make
Lxp|a|n exact|y what |t |s you are
go|ng to make
Shape
Lxp|a|n what shape you are
th|nk|ng of mak|ng your product
and exp|a|n why
S|ze
Lxp|a|n what s|ze your product
needs to be and why - th|nk
about how the product |s go|ng
to be used
Cost
Lst|mate the product|on cost of
your product - an approx|mat|on
w||| do!
Safety
Are there any hea|th and safety
|ssues |n the use and product|on
of your product - for both you
and the user
V|sua| Appearance
Lxp|a|n how you th|nk the
product w||| |ook when comp|ete
- where w||| the product be
used?
Mater|a|s
Lxp|a|n wh|ch of the mater|a|s
ava||ab|e |n schoo| you w||| use
to construct your outcome
Who is my target audience
Lxp|a|n who you are des|gn|ng
the product for - you w||| cover
th|s |n greater deta|| |ater on |n
your coursework fo|der
roduct|on
Lxp|a|n what processes wou|d be
needed |f your standee was to be
commerc|a||y produced
What |s the purpose of
my product
Lxp|a|n the reason for des|gn|ng
your product
Aesthet|cs
Lxp|a|n what the overa|| |ook of
your product shou|d be - d|scuss
|mages you expect to use as we||
as the |anguage]word|ng you
expect to use
1|me constra|nts
ou have 40-4S hours to
comp|ete your pro[ect. Lxp|a|n
how you w||| use your t|me
S|tuat|on, Des|gn 8r|ef and Ana|ys|s
Design Situation
Lxp|a|n the des|gn br|ef |n your own words
What am I go|ng to make
Lxp|a|n exact|y what |t |s you are
go|ng to make
Shape
Lxp|a|n what shape you are
th|nk|ng of mak|ng your product
and exp|a|n why
S|ze
Lxp|a|n what s|ze your product
needs to be and why - th|nk
about how the product |s go|ng
to be used
Cost
Lst|mate the product|on cost of
your product - an approx|mat|on
w||| do!
Safety
Are there any hea|th and safety
|ssues |n the use and product|on
of your product - for both you
and the user
V|sua| Appearance
Lxp|a|n how you th|nk the
product w||| |ook when comp|ete
- where w||| the product be
used?
Mater|a|s
Lxp|a|n wh|ch of the mater|a|s
ava||ab|e |n schoo| you w||| use
to construct your outcome
Who is my target audience
Lxp|a|n who you are des|gn|ng
the product for - you w||| cover
th|s |n greater deta|| |ater on |n
your coursework fo|der
roduct|on
Lxp|a|n what processes wou|d be
needed |f your standee was to be
commerc|a||y produced
What |s the purpose of
my product
Lxp|a|n the reason for des|gn|ng
your product
Aesthet|cs
Lxp|a|n what the overa|| |ook of
your product shou|d be - d|scuss
|mages you expect to use as we||
as the |anguage]word|ng you
expect to use
1|me constra|nts
ou have 40-4S hours to
comp|ete your pro[ect. Lxp|a|n
how you w||| use your t|me
Design Brief
Write out the design context exactly as
the email sent to you.
business card
Image 8oard
What images should I include?
Fill the whole page with images and make sure they are all relevant to the design task. Make
the overlap to create a busy interesting mood board.
Annotation?
Make sure you annotate your mood board making sure you discuss why you have chosen
certain images and how you will use the information you have gained from studying the
images in the product you are designing.
Do not annotate all of your images just
the select few which are most relevant
to the design task!
Example:
I have chosen this image as it is a stereotypical
pictorial representation of the word idea I could
include images like this on my product instead
of words.
Lx|st|ng products
What existing products should I include?
Make sure you choose existing products that link directly to the
design brief choose products that are different from the norm!.
Annotate the products us|ng the fo||ow|ng cr|ter|a:
Use good quality images not pixelated
or blurred!
Aesthetics
now successfu| |s the |ook of the product - the |mages and co|our used and
typography (the font used)
Function
What |s the funct|on of the product? now |s the product used?
Ergonomics
Is any text used easy to read? Is there enough contrast between text and
backgrounds? Are any |mages used su|tab|e? Is the s|ze correct?
Construction
now has the product been put together? If any construct|on deta||s are v|s|b|e
|abe| them!
Materials
What mater|a|s |s the product constructed from. If you are unsure wr|te what
you th|nk the mater|a|s may be.
Example:
The typography used is bold and clear. The sans serif typeface
is simple and uncomplicated. The text is on a white background
making it even easier to read. I could use this idea when
designing my product.
Make sure you say how you will use the
information you have found out when
designing your product!
The company logo is on both the
product and the packaging. I need
to include a logo on both of the
products I am designing and
making.
The inner packaging is made of a
cheaper material as this surface
does not need a high quality print
finish. This would also cut down on
production costs.
The colours used on the packaging
link directly to the item giving a
corporate look to the whole product
The graphics used are simple but
effective and gives the product the
maximum visual impact.
The inner packaging is made from
recycled card - my product will need
to be recyclable and use vegetable
based inks which do not harm the
environment
1arget market]user prof||e
Target market
You need to identify your
target market before you
start to design your Graphic
Product.
You need to identify who
you are designing your
product for
You must find a way to gain
the information needed in
order for you to make a
judgment on the look and
feel of your product
A survey will help you to
identify your target market
and help you to produce a
user profile
Market research
User prof||e
You need to ask specific
questions in order to gain
the correct information to
form a fairly accurate user
profile
Questions should come
from your design brief
analysis and existing
product analysis

Below and to the right are
examples of what is
expected
The example is for a 3D
promotional standee
Type of film Do the advertising
materials encourage you
to see a film
Male aged 25-30 Female aged 25-30
Dramatic and scary
images
Creepy and subtle
images
Large dramatic
images
As well as your market research and target profile you also need to include a
paragraph analysing your research
Bold dramatic type
Interesting tag line
Character based images
Large in scale
3D in format
!
!
Action film
Horror films
Images based on a film
star/icon
Unusual font
Des|gn spec|f|cat|on
|ndex
Your specification should be linked and reflect the research you have
undertaken and requirements of the design context
Your design specification is a detailed description of what the graphic
product must have
Your specification points are often best displayed as a bullet point list
A design specification which covers most of the points that need
to be considered when design a product

If the design context requires you to design more than one product
you will need more than on specification!