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EnglandDesign and Technology

3.2 Designing and making principles

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Why do good designers keep looping back to redesign rather than working in a single straight line from brief to product?

Design methods including the iterative design process, primary and secondary research, writing a brief and specification, generating and developing ideas, and using critical evaluation and feedback to refine a design.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.1, covering the iterative design process, research methods, briefs and specifications, idea generation and development, and using evaluation and feedback to refine a design.
9 min answer →

How have design movements and styles, from Arts and Crafts to Bauhaus and Memphis, shaped the products we use today?

Major design styles and movements and their key features, including the Arts and Crafts movement, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Bauhaus, Modernism, Postmodernism and the Memphis group, and how social, economic and technological change influences design.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.2, covering major design styles and movements from Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus, Modernism, Postmodernism and Memphis, and how change influences design.
9 min answer →

How do you plan a complex project so it finishes on time, and how does the number you are making change the whole approach?

Design for manufacture and project management, including designing for the scales of production (one-off, batch, mass and continuous), and the project-management tools used to plan and control production such as Gantt charts, critical path analysis, just-in-time and lean manufacturing.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.9, covering design for the scales of production and the project-management tools used to plan and control production, including Gantt charts, critical path analysis, just-in-time and lean manufacturing.
9 min answer →

Why do designers build rough models and test prototypes long before committing to expensive production tooling?

The role of modelling, prototyping and testing in developing a design, including sketch models, CAD models, rapid prototyping and functional prototypes, and how testing against the specification and with users drives refinement.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.5, covering modelling, prototyping and testing, from sketch and CAD models to rapid and functional prototypes, and how testing against the specification and with users refines a design.
8 min answer →

How do society, technology and fashion reshape what designers make, and how do you analyse a product critically rather than just describe it?

How technological and cultural changes impact the work of designers, including socio-economic influences, consumer society, fashion and trends, designers as agents of change, and the conflict between fashion and sustainability, together with the critical analysis and evaluation of products against function, ergonomics, aesthetics, materials, manufacture and sustainability.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.3 and 3.2.5, covering how technological and cultural change shapes designers' work, the conflict between fashion and sustainability, and how to analyse and evaluate products critically.
9 min answer →

What can we learn from the work of major designers and companies about how a strong design identity is built and sustained?

The work and influence of major designers and design companies such as Dyson, Apple, Braun (Dieter Rams), Philippe Starck, Charles and Ray Eames and Alessi, and how a company builds brand identity, corporate strategy and a consistent design language.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.3, covering the work and influence of major designers and companies such as Dyson, Apple, Braun, Starck and Eames, and how brand identity and a design language are built.
8 min answer →

How do you design a product that genuinely works for the widest possible range of real people, including those often left out?

User-centred design that puts the needs and wants of the user at the heart of the process, and inclusive and universal design that aims to make products usable by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or background.
A focused answer to AQA A-Level Design and Technology Product Design 3.2.4, covering user-centred design, inclusive and universal design, and how designers research and respond to the needs of the widest possible range of users.
8 min answer →