Edexcel A-Level Product Design Design theory and context overview quiz quiz

Form follows function

Ornament and surface decoration matter most

More is more, never less

Handcraft chosen over industry

Minimal, geometric and undecorated forms in restrained muted tones

Bold clashing colours, plastic laminates and playful asymmetry

Flowing natural plant-like lines drawn from organic growth

Aerodynamic teardrop forms for speed

Philippe Starck

James Dyson

Dieter Rams

William Morris

Copying competitors closely and matching their features

Avoiding patents so that rival firms can share his ideas

Prioritising surface decoration over practical function

Relentless iterative prototyping to solve a real problem

Touchscreens developed first and then applied to new phone designs

Reusable bottles developed because consumers asked firms to cut plastic

A larger fridge designed only because customers requested more space

A cheaper kettle made to meet existing demand for a budget option

Art Deco luxury styling

Arts and Crafts

Streamlining and machine speed

De Stijl geometry

Appearance is always sacrificed so that practical usefulness can take full priority

The product carries no decoration of any kind, only bare structure

Appearance, emotion or status drives the design even at some cost to usability

Function is treated as the single consideration that matters

Flowing Art Nouveau ironwork on grand public buildings and railings

The first commercially successful pocket smartphone

Streamlined locomotives built for record-breaking speed

Moulded plywood and plastic furniture for mass production

Long supply chains with a large carbon footprint and reduced transparency

Consistently higher prices charged to consumers in every market worldwide

A much narrower choice of products on offer to ordinary buyers

A noticeably slower spread of new products across the world

It is always cheaper to buy than the ordinary materials it replaces

It responds reversibly to a stimulus such as heat, light or force

It breaks down and biodegrades fully in every type of environment

It can only ever be used inside electronic circuits and devices

It has no measurable effect at all on the total number of jobs in factories

It only ever increases the number of manual jobs on the line

It removes some routine manual jobs while creating higher-skilled roles

It always reduces the finished quality of the products being made