design & manufacture project
identifying design opportunities
John Lee / Rowan Todd / John Robson / Mark HelliwellNovember 2005
preliminary research contextual analysis
problem abstractiondesign criteriadesign brief
developing a product design specification
time management resource managementcritical path analysis
testing, field trialling and refinement
formative / summative
evaluation & target setting
concept generationconcept selection
empirical research& analysis
modelling, prototyping
development for manufacture
creativity & innovation
“the imaginative leap from present facts to future possibilities….”
J. K. Page – Design Methods
“the problem is never how to get new innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out.”
Dee Hock - ‘The Circle of Innovation’
“you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the Prince – but …… one Prince can pay for an awful lot of frogs!”
Art Fry - Inventor of the Post-It note
innovation a realistic expectation?
Innovative Rethinking’ Pullin (1999)
British manufacturing industry is disturbingly complacent about the process of innovation and few were managing the process at all well
c 70% of the surveyed companies rely on customers for new product ideas
c 50% of companies scan their competitors for inspiration
little evidence that company staff, academia or independent researchers were used to identify opportunities or generate ideas.
New to the
world
New Product Lines
Additions to lines
Improve-ments
Cost Reduction
s
Re-positioning
s
% a
ge o
f N
ew
Pro
duct
Launch
es
Source : Stanley Tools Ltd, 2000
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
new product development
all industries
product analysis ‘under wraps’
product disassembly component /
function analysis
product ‘benchmarkin
g’ product comparison
matrix
identifying design
opportunities ‘bi-
sociation’
product / user
analysis ‘user trip’
problem clarification 635 matrix
task identification, clarification &
definition
ideas generation,
development & selection
project management,
critical reflection &
target setting
designing : a flexible toolkit
market pull
a market opportunity is observed and an appropriate product is developed to meet the user need.technolog
y push
new technological knowledge is put to innovative use(s) in the development of products.
platform product
a new product is built around the same technological sub-system as an existing product.
new product development
starting points
design opportunities : technology push
quantum tunnelling compound (QTC) pills
change from an insulator to a conductor as a direct result of the force applied
used in low power applications where a change in resistance is required to control the function of an electrical system.
3.6mm square by 1mm thick and small enough to be integrated between existing switch contacts
can carry sufficient current for direct switching of low power equipment
cheap and easily available
http://www.youngforesight.org/
design opportunities : platform product
wind up energy ……….
A minute or two wind-up = 30 minutes power. These products use a clockwork generator to charge a battery power source
identifying design opportunities‘bisociation’ : (after Arthur Koestler)
outcomes: develop creativity through the application of lateral
thinking
identify and evaluate potential design opportunities
gain expertise in the framing of design briefs
random word technique – 1 using bridging ideas
stages :
initial stimulus obtain random word
context present the context in a concise statement
bridging idea reflect on the characteristics of the random word when applied to
the context
new proposal developed from bridging idea look atbenefits your random noun
will bringand express this as a
proposal
example 1
random word : SNAIL
context : develop a new idea for dust collection.
bridging idea : snails carry their homes on their backs. The advantage of this would be no power leads.
proposal : a back pack vacuum which uses rechargeable batteries.
example 2
random word : CAT
context : develop a new idea for watering the garden
bridging idea : cats are: agile; have 9 lives; flexible; fast moving; inquisitive; territorial; don’t’ like water; scent mark; camouflage. The advantage of this would be a machine that is self-sufficient.
proposal : a robotic watering system that is: solar powered; operates in a set area; returns to a ‘home’
location to be fed (recharged).
bisociation prompts ………
potential problems
Do not …..
discard the word and replace it with an easier one.
create too many steps between the random word and the creation of an idea.
link the word with an idea you are already familiar with.
context : protection activity : gardening
journey car roadchicken
egg
shell
Design Opportunity :
Explore the egg shell form as a protection system for young seedlings
design opportunity
design opportunity
seed word
seed word
identifying opportunities for design
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/ everything you need to know about contemporary design related issues supported by case
studies.
http://www.totallyabsurd.com/ A compendium of totally useless inventions – or are they? – with a little help from you, maybe not!
http://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/ A snapshot in time – just like the name says, the coolest inventions of 2003 – time for an update?
http://www.02.org/ a site focusing on sustainability issues in design with examples
http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/ a site full of ideas on how to generate ideas …….
http://www.designaddict.cominformation on designers and producers
http://designinsite.dk/ new materials and processes
http://www.baddesigns.com a bit of reverse psychology!
recommended websites
blackboard support
Announcements
Course documents
Briefing
Powerpoints
Weblinks
Contacts
Discussion forum