How do designers investigate and analyse existing products and the work of others to inform their own design?
Strategies for investigating and analysing the work of past and present professionals and companies and existing products, using specification criteria such as form, function, user requirements, materials, cost, sustainability and marketability.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology 1.15 on investigating and analysing the work of past and present designers and companies and existing products, using criteria such as form, function, materials, cost and sustainability.
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What this dot point is asking
This is Edexcel key idea 1.15, on investigating and analysing the work of past and present professionals and companies to inform design. Edexcel names the strategies for analysing a product against specification criteria (1.15.1) and the study of past and present designers and companies (1.15.2). In the exam this appears as Explain questions on how product analysis and research inform a design, and it is a core skill in your NEA investigation.
Why investigate existing products and designers
A designer rarely starts from nothing. Analysing what already exists reveals what works, what fails, what users value, and where there is a gap in the market. Studying respected designers and companies provides inspiration, proven methods and an understanding of quality and style.
The analysis criteria
- Form and function: the shape and how it works, and how well the two suit each other.
- Client and user requirements: who it is for and what they need from it.
- Performance requirements: what the product must do and how well (strength, accuracy, life).
- Materials, components and systems: what it is made from and why, and how the parts work together.
- Scale of production and cost: how it is made, in what quantity, and at what price.
- Sustainability: its environmental impact, recyclability and ethical sourcing.
- Aesthetics, marketability and innovation: how it looks, how it sells and what is new about it.
Studying past and present designers and companies
Edexcel expects you to study a selection of designers and companies (centres choose from Pearson's suggestions, for example James Dyson, Philippe Starck, Charles and Ray Eames, or companies such as Apple, Braun or Dyson). The benefit is learning their design styles, their problem-solving and technical approaches, and how they meet a market, which inspires and informs your own work without copying it.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20216 marksExplain how analysing existing products would help a designer develop a new desk lamp. (6 marks)Show worked answer →
A 6-mark Explain is levels-marked. Markers reward the analysis criteria applied to the desk lamp.
Analysing form and function: studying existing lamps shows how their shape, adjustability and switch positions work, revealing good features to adopt (such as a flexible arm) and weaknesses to improve (such as an unstable base).
Analysing materials, cost and manufacture: seeing what materials and processes competitors use, and at what price, helps the designer choose suitable, affordable materials and a manufacturable design that competes on cost and quality.
Analysing user requirements, sustainability and marketability: identifying who buys the lamp and what they value (energy-efficient LED, recyclable parts, style) lets the designer target real needs and a gap in the market.
A Level 3 answer applies several of Edexcel's analysis criteria to the lamp and explains how each informs the new design. Markers reward the applied use of product analysis, not a generic "it gives ideas".
Edexcel 20224 marksExplain two benefits to a designer of studying the work of a past or present designer or company. (4 marks)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark "explain two benefits" gives 2 marks per developed benefit.
Benefit 1: studying a respected designer or company reveals successful design approaches, styles and techniques (1), which can inspire the designer's own ideas and help them avoid reinventing solved problems, raising the quality of their work (1).
Benefit 2: it shows how others solved practical problems with materials, construction and manufacture (1), so the designer can learn proven methods and standards and apply or adapt them to their own product (1).
Markers reward developed benefits (inspiration and style, proven technical solutions, understanding the market) rather than a bare statement. Just saying "to get ideas" earns 1 mark.
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Design and Technology (1DT0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2022)