Product Design and Technology

Unit 1-4

Product design is a solution-focused approach that engages with the diverse needs and opportunities of individuals, society and the environment in which we live. Product designers aim to improve welfare, which includes quality of life, by designing innovative and ethical solutions. Product design is enhanced through knowledge of social, technological, economic, historical, ethical, legal, environmental and cultural factors. These factors influence the form, function and aesthetics of products.

Central to VCE Product Design and Technologies is a design process that encourages divergent and convergent thinking while engaging with a problem. The design brief identifies a real need or opportunity and provides scope for designing, making and evaluating. Investigation and research inform and aid the development of designed solutions that take the form of physical, three-dimensional products.

VCE Product Design and Technologies offers students a range of relevant practical and applied experiences that can support future career pathways in design fields. These include industrial design, textiles, jewellery, fashion, interior spaces and exhibitions, engineering, building and construction, furniture, and transport. Future pathways also include careers in specialised areas of arts and design at professional, industrial and vocational levels.

Aims

This study enables students to:

understand sustainability and other ethical responsibilities that a designer addresses to embed social, environmental, economic and worldview considerations when designing and creating for identified needs and opportunities with the end users
use design thinking strategies - critical, creative and speculative - in the process of product development
employ a design process to generate and communicate multiple creative ideas, concepts and product design options, using a range of visual techniques and prototypes to develop viable solutions to needs and opportunities
explore, test and use a wide range of materials, as well as explore the characteristics and properties that inform their use in a variety of contexts
practise methods of sourcing, processing, producing and assembling materials, and acknowledge their environmental, social, economic and psychological implications
develop, document and follow safe methods of working with technologies, across a range of materials, tools and processes
apply project management techniques to ensure production is delivered according to budget and timelines
analyse, evaluate and critique the appropriateness of designed products.

Structure

The study is made up of four units.

Unit 1: Design practices
Unit 2: Positive impacts for end users
Unit 3: Ethical product design and development
Unit 4: Ethical production and evaluation

Each unit deals with specific content contained in areas of study and is designed to enable students to achieve a set of outcomes for that unit. Each outcome is described in terms of key knowledge and key skills.

Entry

There are no prerequisites for entry to Units 1, 2 and 3. Students must undertake Unit 3 and Unit 4 as a sequence. Units 1–4 are designed to the equivalent standard of the final two years of secondary education. All VCE studies are benchmarked against comparable national and international curriculum.

Design Brief

In VCE Product Design and Technologies, a design brief is formulated to facilitate the design response to a real personal, local or global design need or opportunity. A design brief is developed to clarify this need or opportunity so that a viable solution may be developed to address the need or opportunity of the end user(s). It is a summary of the analysis of research into the nature of a need or opportunity and should not solve the problem at this stage. The design brief should provide enough detail for the student to be able to explore a range of possible ideas.

Design process

A design process is a framework that supports students to employ design thinking. In VCE Product Design and Technologies, the Double Diamond design approach is used to support students to apply design thinking when creating an intentionally designed product. The Double Diamond design approach is an extension of a process known to students in the Victorian Curriulum F–10 Design and Technologies curriculum. It recognises when students are creating their own design brief and intent, and it also acknowledges the necessity for a non-linear process that best facilitates creative and critical thinkers.

First diamond	Second diamond
Activities	Activities
Investigating and defining End user needs and opportunities Synthesis of data	Generating and designing Graphical and physical product concepts Prototyping, testing, trialling, experimenting, iterations
	Producing and implementing Products
Evaluating Existing products	Evaluating Graphical and physical product concepts Processes to make physical product concepts and product Finished product
Planning and managing Organisation of research	Planning and managing Organisation of designing Organisation of production through development of scheduled production plan: timeline that includes production steps, estimated times and quality measures; materials and costings list, tools and processes; and risk assessments and safety control measures

Developing and conceptualising products

Students develop product concepts that are based on a real need or opportunity which is identified in the design brief. A product concept is a product idea that is not yet in production; product concepts are shaped by the design process and their intent is shaped by a design brief

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Design specialisations

In VCE Product Design and Technologies, students design and make three-dimensional products using a range of materials, tools and processes. The available resources will vary between school settings; however, where possible they should emulate current design industry practices.

Design specialisations and examples	Examples of materials, tools and processes
Engineering Steel fabrication for indoor, outdoor and recreational use Metal products Assistive products Furniture Indoor and outdoor, home and workplace furniture Storage solutions and combination furniture Health, medicine and agriculture Personal/medical aids Assistive devices Products to improve agricultural production and labour Industrial design Biophilic design Casings for consumer electronic products, home entertainment, personal grooming products, appliances Wearable technology Furnishings Physical homewares for bedroom, bathroom, laundry and kitchenware Lighting (low voltage) Jewellery Goldsmithing and silversmithing Resin Lapidary Enamelling Wax and slip casting (using traditional lost methods and/or 3D-printed methods) Jewellery for functional multi-purposes including aesthetic adornment Music products, accessories and instruments Musical instruments Stands, cases, brackets and fixtures/fittings Sports, travel and recreation Sporting equipment Toys and games Textiles - apparel and non-apparel Garments Wearable accessories Soft furnishings Sports accessories Toys and recreation	Students should have a breadth of experiences across a broad range of: materials tools processes. They should be encouraged to experiment in making or reusing materials and integrating traditional techniques with available technologies and experimental processes to innovate and test while developing their products. Materials Timber: hardwoods, softwoods, repurposed and reclaimed, manufactured or composite boards that comply with safety requirements and sustainably sourced materials Fabrics: commercially bought and reused, repurposed, synthetics and natural; knitted, woven, non-woven; fibres like roving or yarns, felt, leather Plastics: extruded, bioplastic, thermosetting, polymer, resin or those sourced through repurpose or disassembly Bio-materials: vegetable skins or plant products, alternative materials such as symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) leather or mycelium Metals: Ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, alloys, coated metals, or metals sourced sustainably through repurpose or disassembly Dyes and finishes: natural and plant-based, acrylic/oil-based paints, coatings and clear finishes Tools Machinery and equipment such as 3D printer, laser cutter, vinyl cutter, sewing machine, scroll-saw, battery and pedestal drill, joints/joining techniques tools to cut and shape such as a chisel, rasp, file, and tools to finish such as overlocker or sander, computer numerical control (CNC), computer-aided manufacture (CAM) and digital or traditional fabric printing The above list illustrates the broad range of tools available but is not an exhaustive list. Processes: prototyping methods and production processes Testing making samples, e.g. joinery and seams Prototyping using cardboard, foam, scrap box materials, e.g. toiles and partial models Developing a final proof of concept that looks like a working model(s) or scaled sample(s) Modelling using computer-aided design (CAD) Automated manufacturing, e.g. computer numerical control (CNC) milling and similar production techniques Production processes, e.g. low volume such as hand-sewing and high volume such as rapid 3D prototyping and laser technology

Design specialisations and examples

Examples of materials, tools and processes

Engineering

Steel fabrication for indoor, outdoor and recreational use
Metal products
Assistive products

Furniture

Indoor and outdoor, home and workplace furniture
Storage solutions and combination furniture

Health, medicine and agriculture

Personal/medical aids
Assistive devices
Products to improve agricultural production and labour

Industrial design

Biophilic design
Casings for consumer electronic products, home entertainment, personal grooming products, appliances
Wearable technology

Furnishings

Physical homewares for bedroom, bathroom, laundry and kitchenware
Lighting (low voltage)

Jewellery

Goldsmithing and silversmithing
Resin
Lapidary
Enamelling
Wax and slip casting (using traditional lost methods and/or 3D-printed methods)
Jewellery for functional multi-purposes including aesthetic adornment

Music products, accessories and instruments

Musical instruments
Stands, cases, brackets and fixtures/fittings

Sports, travel and recreation

Sporting equipment
Toys and games

Textiles - apparel and non-apparel

Garments
Wearable accessories
Soft furnishings
Sports accessories
Toys and recreation

Students should have a breadth of experiences across a broad range of:

materials
tools
processes.

They should be encouraged to experiment in making or reusing materials and integrating traditional techniques with available technologies and experimental processes to innovate and test while developing their products.
Materials

Timber: hardwoods, softwoods, repurposed and reclaimed, manufactured or composite boards that comply with safety requirements and sustainably sourced materials
Fabrics: commercially bought and reused, repurposed, synthetics and natural; knitted, woven, non-woven; fibres like roving or yarns, felt, leather
Plastics: extruded, bioplastic, thermosetting, polymer, resin or those sourced through repurpose or disassembly
Bio-materials: vegetable skins or plant products, alternative materials such as symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) leather or mycelium
Metals: Ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, alloys, coated metals, or metals sourced sustainably through repurpose or disassembly
Dyes and finishes: natural and plant-based, acrylic/oil-based paints, coatings and clear finishes

Tools

Machinery and equipment such as 3D printer, laser cutter, vinyl cutter, sewing machine, scroll-saw, battery and pedestal drill, joints/joining techniques tools to cut and shape such as a chisel, rasp, file, and tools to finish such as overlocker or sander, computer numerical control (CNC), computer-aided manufacture (CAM) and digital or traditional fabric printing

The above list illustrates the broad range of tools available but is not an exhaustive list. Processes: prototyping methods and production processes

Testing making samples, e.g. joinery and seams
Prototyping using cardboard, foam, scrap box materials,
e.g. toiles and partial models
Developing a final proof of concept that looks like a working model(s) or scaled sample(s)
Modelling using computer-aided design (CAD)
Automated manufacturing, e.g. computer numerical control (CNC) milling and similar production techniques
Production processes, e.g. low volume such as hand-sewing and high volume such as rapid 3D prototyping and laser technology

Levels of achievement

Units 1 and 2

Procedures for the assessment of levels of achievement in Units 1 and 2 are a matter for school decision

Units 3 and 4

The student’s level of achievement in Units 3 and 4 will be determined by School-assessed Coursework (SAC), and a School-assessed Task (SAT) as specified in the VCE study design, and external assessment.

Percentage contributions to the study score in VCE Product Design and Technologies are as follows:
Units 3 and 4 School-assessed Coursework: 20%
Units 3 and 4 School-assessed Task (student folio & project): 50%
End-of-year examination: 30%

Please visit VCE Top Designs for inspiration.