← Design and Manufacture syllabus

ScotlandDesign and Manufacture

Design

10 dot points across 10 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do the way a product looks and the way it fits the user shape its design?

The design factors of aesthetics and ergonomics: the influences on the aesthetics of products, and ergonomics through anthropometrics, psychology and physiology, inclusive design and the use of ergonomic data.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on the design factors of aesthetics and ergonomics, covering the influences on a product's aesthetics and ergonomics through anthropometrics, psychology and physiology, inclusive design and the use of ergonomic data such as percentiles.
14 min answer →

How does a designer resolve the conflicts between factors that pull a product in different directions?

Conflict resolution: the conflict and balance between design issues, between society, economics and the environment, and between consumers, designers and manufacturers, and the methods and activities used to resolve them.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on conflict resolution, covering the conflict and balance between competing design issues, between society, economics and the environment, and between consumers, designers and manufacturers, and the methods used to reach a balanced proposal.
13 min answer →

How does a designer turn a vague opportunity into a clear, testable design specification?

Defining a design opportunity: the purpose of the design brief, why design opportunities occur, the purpose and effective use of primary and secondary research and its techniques, and the purpose and content of the product design, performance and technical specifications.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on defining a design opportunity, covering the purpose of the design brief, why opportunities occur, primary and secondary research and its techniques, and the product design, performance and technical specifications that turn research into testable requirements.
14 min answer →

What does the Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture assignment require, and how is it marked?

Overview of the Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture coursework assignment: a 120-mark candidate-led design folio that defines a design opportunity and develops a commercial-product proposal, applying design, materials and manufacture knowledge and producing a presentation model, marked against ten criteria.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture overview of the 120-mark coursework assignment, a candidate-led design folio that defines a design opportunity and develops and models a commercial-product proposal, marked externally against ten criteria from defining the opportunity to manufacturing a presentation model.
13 min answer →

How do function, performance and safety shape the design of a commercial product?

The design factors of function, performance and safety: primary and secondary function, fitness for purpose, planned obsolescence, maintenance, value for money, and ensuring safety through certification, British Standards and kitemarks.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on the design factors of function, performance and safety, covering primary and secondary function, fitness for purpose, planned obsolescence, maintenance, value for money, and ensuring safety through certification, British Standards and kitemarks.
14 min answer →

How do graphics and models help a designer generate, test, refine and communicate a proposal?

The use of graphics and modelling in the design process to generate and explore, test and refine, and communicate, including physical models (sketch, block, scale, test rigs, prototypes) and computer-generated models and simulations.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on graphics and modelling in the design process, covering how each is used to generate and explore, test and refine, and communicate, and the purpose of sketch, block, scale and test-rig models, prototypes, and computer-generated models and simulations.
13 min answer →

How does a designer deliberately generate a wide range of new ideas rather than waiting for inspiration?

Idea-generation techniques: the use of idea generation in the design process and the key stages and activities of analogy (technology transfer and biomimicry), brainstorming and morphological analysis.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on idea-generation techniques, covering the use of idea generation in the design process and the key stages of analogy including technology transfer and biomimicry, brainstorming, and morphological analysis.
13 min answer →

What market forces decide whether a commercial product succeeds, and how do designers respond?

The market as a design factor: the product lifecycle (introduction, growth, maturity, decline), the influences on it, and product redesign, including incremental and radical change, branding, diversification and the reasons for commercial success or failure.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on the market as a design factor, covering the product lifecycle and its stages, the influences on it such as market trends, branding and technology push and market pull, and product redesign through incremental and radical change and diversification.
14 min answer →

What can a designer learn by taking apart and analysing an existing commercial product?

Product analysis: the information gathered from analysing commercial products, including identifying influences on performance, evaluating performance, analysing manufacture and assembly, and judging impact on society and the environment, as referenced in question 1 of the question paper.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on product analysis, covering the information gathered from analysing commercial products: identifying and evaluating influences on performance, analysing manufacture and assembly, and judging impact on society and the environment, as needed for question 1 of the question paper.
14 min answer →

Why do commercial products change over time, and what drives the turning points?

Product evolution: the key stages in the historical evolution of a commercial product, the influences that drive change (materials, manufacturing, technology, society, designers, safety, economics, ergonomics), the changes products undergo, and their future evolution, as referenced in question 2 of the question paper.
An SQA Advanced Higher Design and Manufacture answer on product evolution, covering the key stages in a product's historical evolution, the influences that drive change such as materials, technology and society, the changes products undergo, and their future evolution, as needed for question 2 of the question paper.
14 min answer →