Design for Manufacture
– Jurgen Brand, Designbrand Ltd When receiving the suggestion to write this article I had to make a choice of the right ‘angle of attack’, just as designers’ need to ask the first question to define the way we embark on the product development path. Usually we would ask WHO we are designing for – who, as in the user, because that is ultimately what defines the product in almost all its user attributes. A product will rarely develop in the way one first expects and the WHO of our first question needs to be differentiated further. For example, if you are designing a sleep solution for babies, is it the baby or the parents you are designing for? If you are getting the product right for the baby, you would inevitably win over the parent, yet the emotive quality of the product has got to address the parent first – it is them who make the purchase decision. The design process will constantly enable you to question the design criteria, make changes and even arrange a shift in focus, if the knowledge gained through the design research/investigation justifies this shift. Every project runs through a series of questions before conceptual design starts in earnest. Some projects are far more complex than others. Other products have a set of users and their different objectives have to be considered. So far I have only mentioned the ‘actual’ user. Imagine the case of a care-giver assisted off-road wheelchair for the mobility impaired! The design criteria for the care-giver are vastly different from the criteria of the passenger. However, this is only the very front end of a design development. There are many aspects which will influence a product’s appearance, its user experience, functionality or manufacturing process. Within […]