Completing Your D&T Design Journal for Submission - Design Features and Modeling

By now, many students might be busy patching up work in the design journals or rushing to complete their prototypes. 

However, if you've been consistent with your work, this last week or two before the coursework submission should be much more relaxed. 

Ideally, this time would be spent confidently and casually checking what else might be good to include in the design sheets to help the assessor understand the work and intention of the design process better. 

Below are two main areas I focused on today with my students to help them complete their work effectively:

1. Elaborating on Design Features

This targets the ideation and sketching component, which is crucial for students who are still lacking in these areas. Here's a step-by-step approach:

• Review Design Sheets: Start by thoroughly reviewing both the design sheets and any models or mock-ups you have created. Identify any gaps in your ideation process.
• Recreate Missing Options: Draw detailed sketches of each part, exploring different ways to make the parts and joints. Show various shapes and forms to demonstrate exploration.
• Annotate Your Work: Finish by adding annotations that note your decisions and conclusions. This helps to clarify your thought process and design intentions for the assessor.

2. Improving Models and Mockups

Some students might show a lack in this component by not providing sufficient evidence of how a model or mock-up was used for ideation and development. Follow this generic process to ensure your documentation is complete:

• Study Your Model: Carefully examine your model. Have you tested it? If so, ensure there are photo evidences of the tests.
• Annotate Findings: Note what aspects are not working and what needs improvement. For example, if something is too big, clearly state this in your annotations.
• Sketch Improvements: Draw the necessary improvements on your design sheets. For instance, if a part was too big, show a revised version that is smaller.
• Update the Model: Either update the existing model or create a new one to reflect the improvements. Repeat this process until your model evolves into a working mock-up that resembles the final prototype.

By following these strategies, you can ensure that your ideation & development, and modeling phases are comprehensive and well-documented. 

Consistency is key to avoiding last-minute rushes and ensuring a smooth submission process. 

Good luck!

How to Independently Improve Your Design Journal: A Comprehensive Guide for Teachers and Students

Purchase the guide here.

As coursework ends, ensure your design journal is thorough and complete. Missing parts and areas needing improvement can hinder your assessment. Here’s how to refine your journal authentically.

Why This Guide is Essential?

For Teachers & Students:

• Promotes Independence: Empowers students to take ownership of their documentation process.
• Streamlines Assessment: Clear insights for easier assessment and targeted feedback.
• Encourages Comprehensive Learning: Fosters critical thinking about design decisions.
• Enhances Documentation Skills: Apply systematic documentation in the Design Journal.
• Clarifies Decision-Making: Articulate and justify design choices.
• Boosts Confidence: Structured journaling approach builds confidence.

What's Inside?

• Identify Decisions and Features: Document all aspects of your solution or prototype, from environment and users to colors and jointing methods.
• Locate Evidence: Include sketches, descriptions, and justifications for each decision.
• Verify Completeness: Ensure all aspects are documented and the problem is clearly defined.
• Identify Gaps: Address any missing or unclear information with clear sketches and research.

By following these strategies, improve your design journal systematically, ensuring all decisions are well-documented.

Conclusion

A well-maintained design journal reflects your creativity and problem-solving skills. Transform your Design & Technology journal with our guide. Purchase today and elevate your learning and teaching experience.

© 2024 Daniel Lim. All rights reserved. Share this guide to foster a community of skilled designers!

MODeling for Design Situation & Ideation

MODeling = MODEL + model. How to pose? How do you get the best and most effective photo of your model for coursework? Who should be the photographer (aka the DIRECTOR) and who should be the model(s)?

While it may seem like common sense that the person taking the photographs should be the director and owner of the project. The opposite is actually true. All the time. It is not rare to see students playing the role of the MODEL, modeling their own solution, while their friends take the photographs for them.

More often than not you get very lousy quality photos that does not show well the intention of the activity. The person taking the photo (if not the creator of the solution) will not know the best angle or perspective the photo should be. And will not be able to advice the ‘MODEL’ as so. And will never be able to.

In the video I’ll explain who the MODEL(S) should be and why it should not be the owner of the solution / model. And will attempt to explain to you the best possible types of scenario you should strive for. One that best describes the intention of the action of the model, by the user, in the right context.

Hope you liked the video and learned a thing or two.

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Let me know in the comments what else you like to learn and watch.

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Stress-Free Coursework is NOT a Dream. Learn more about this and how this can be YOU in this post.

Stress-Free coursework? Yes it is totally possible. But you say the coursework is often stressful and time-consuming for many students, it is time this must change.

In this video I’m going to show you that a stressful coursework need not be so, and how you can achieve a relatively Stress-Free coursework for yourself. 

I will not guarantee a 100% stress-free coursework because there got to be some degree of tension and challenges.

By being stress-free, essentially that meant not needing the unnecessary ‘stress’ like a regular student who does not know what is going on in coursework.

All you need is to understand a few things on how the coursework works. And the objectives of each and every design process steps. Make sure you get your objectives clear and complete, before you move on to the next step or design phase. If you do that I can almost guarantee you a Stress-Free journey.

Learn how you can be Stress-Free in the video above

And if you like the video and the contents I produce for you, let me know in the comments below what else you like to watch and learn. And I’ll make them for you.

Let me know in the comments what else you like to learn and watch.

FOLLOW and LIKE on Facebook to get updates as soon as a new post is up: https://www.facebook.com/designjournalsos

Support me, support my work? Buy me a Coffee? https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mrdanielsos

Thoughts on the 2020 D&T Syllabus - Coursework

I sense the ground as some expressed uncertainty on what to do for the new Design & Technology Coursework 2020. Some worried that their current proficiency in gaming the coursework might not work anymore. 

I can quite safely say that what is expected in the past and what should be done in the light of the new syllabus - remains the same - provided the motivation had not been one to game the system for maximum score - but to provide a unique practical exposure to solving real-world ill-defined problems as well as to tease out the potential of design'ability in our students.

We need to move forward with the new syllabus with a pair of new lens. The non-essential information and 'paddings' that are used to make the journal look good need to be filtered and are the first to be out in the trash. Clean that rubbish out and we are left with what is good to go. 

"What must we do so that the students can score in their coursework?" 

Answer: That's not a right question to ask. Instead it should be "How should I facilitate my students' coursework so that time spent and work done is as meaningful and authentic as it can be that aims to solve a real-world ill-defined problem."

Everything else essential and necessary for the beginning and ending is still present in the entire coursework. 

The following needs some getting used to but not entirely mind-boggling - an updated emphasis on sketching to design and the down regulation of the need for perfect technical working drawings and glossy prototypes. Some re-allocation of marks for the various coursework components (e.g. GDI, P.Boards, etc) and the relocation e.g. working drawings from PB to journal. 

So really, nothing to worry if you had been doing things right. 

Reframe and relearn if necessary about what is not required anymore, e.g. the paddings and the decor - aka the non-essentials. Hit the nail on matters that are absolutely essential and necessary for moving forward. 

Research when necessary. Sketch when necessary. Annotate when necessary. Mock-up and test and evaluate when necessary. Prototype test, evaluate and improve when necessary. That's really it - the New 2020 D&T Syllabus to Coursework.

My mind is clearer now that I put into words what I had been thinking. Hope this helps you in some way too. Let me know if this had helped you. Let me know if you have new thoughts or have alternative / opposing views.

Design Journal & Prototype | Complete Set of Post links for Design Journaling

To all 'N' and 'O' Level D&T Students, 

If you do find my blog and reading this now, you could be wondering how you should begin. I know this because I have already received a few emails from students asking from what do to with the 'N' and 'O' Level theme, what project they should do related to the theme, how to start, etc. 

If you are reading this now and have the same questions just mentioned, may I suggest you scroll further down this post and click on point #2  Theme: Definition + Exploration & Study. This will give you an idea how to begin your project with the theme that you have received before you email me for help.

It is important to tackle coursework in a consistent manner with a deliberate conviction to do quality work. 

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A) Being consistent means to keep up to the planned schedule. 

B) And quality? We have quality when we repeat the evaluation and improvement process, with or without help, until we believe that further attempts at improvement are not worth the effort. At this time, we believe we have done what deserves to be called quality.

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Know the design process inside out. Have the conviction to identify and solve real problems. Good problems need not be complicated. Good solution need not be difficult or complex to realise. Begin with a good and realistic Project Schedule and stick to it. Get your teacher's help, consider their suggestions for you.

This year I've decided to layout all previous links to complete your Design Journal, rather than updating them along the way like in 2014. This post you are looking at now is an updated version that was last posted on 3rd October 2014. 

Without further ado, the following are links extracted from within this blog that might be helpful for starting and ending your project:

Project Starters and Essentials

1)   PROJECT SCHEDULE and Design Activities, and 

2)   Theme: Definition + Exploration & Study

Design Need and Opportunity

3) Understanding Design Needs (Cheat Sheet HERE).

4) Understanding Design Outcomes

5) Understanding Design Needs & Opportunities and How to Write Them

6) Research Outlining and Research Techniques

7) Design Brief

8) Design Considerations and Constraints (or Limitations)

9) Design Specifications

Idea Generation and Development

10) Idea generation and Idea Generation Techniques

11) Concept Development (or Refinement) and General Making Processes

Presentation Boards and (Towards) Realisation

12) Working Drawings

13) Production Schedule

14) Presentation Drawings and Presentation Boards

15) Realisation and General Making Processes

Note that some of the links may take you to a lower secondary write-up on the same topic. However the ideas within are not far from the techniques you need to be competent in when you do a graduating class coursework. For other helps, visit the labels on the right hand side. Or simply type in the 'search' bar. You'll find it on the top right. If all else fails, email me.

All the best.

mrdanielsos.

TEN Points Common Mistakes in Design Journal (2012)

for Part A - The Design Journal

1.     P&M lacked realistic timed stages and evidence of on-going evaluation and monitoring of time.

2.     Lack of 'feel' on the theme. Presentation of what the theme is and the identified problem is unclear.

3.     Majority of researched facts, data, images and annotations are meaningless, i.e. they do not have any 'follow-up' and do not lead to further investigations or decisions being made after they are being 'researched'. Much of the research contents did not have any impact or any influence on Ideation & Development (I&D) to meet the Needs (or Problems) identified.

4.     Decisions and important points may be present but not obvious. They do not stand out.  They are difficult to spot within the pages that are full of writings.  

5.     Contents presented in I&D do not have clear (sub-) headings to represent the I&D being attempted. That makes understanding the intention difficult.

6.     Most I&D attempts throughout shows ONLY the product but hardly shows the corresponding props or the users or the environment being integrated-in to 'test' or 'evaluate' if the solution meets the List of Specification (LoS).

7.     Most (if not all) I&D are attempted as if the LoS never existed. Most I&D are not 'evaluated' against the LoS. Many (if not most) also lose touch with the Needs (or Problems) highlighted in the Design Need (or Situation) and Brief as I&D progresses.

8.     Idea Generation lacked comprehensive exploration and on-going evaluations to surface the most desirable concept for development. Most attempted as if the LoS never existed (see Point 7).

9.     Weak Development. Lacked evidence to show how material, jointing, color and finishing choices, jointing methods, final dimensions, production methods and sequences, etc. are explored, evaluated and decided.

10.   Overall lack of flow of information from section to section. It is as if reading a book compiled with random chapters from various books. Note: The lack of (sub-) headings may also have contributed to this. See Point 5).

The journal should not contain information only you can understand. It’s about how the marker can understand without a question being asked. To do this you must anticipate vague contents and make them idiot proof.

The compositions and contents herein are not to be copied, reproduced, printed, published, posted, displayed, incorporated, stored in or scanned into a retrieval system or database, transmitted, broadcast, bartered or sold, in whole or in part without the prior express written permission of the sole author, who is, unless otherwise denoted, Daniel Lim. Unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited and is an infringement of National and International Copyright Laws.

Design Journaling Common Mistakes to Avoid

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Download a copy of common Design Journaling Mistakes which

you can avoid as you work on your design journal.

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Good and Not-so-Good (Yet) Design Journal

Good Piece of Work

A good piece of work is meaningful. It is clear and is produced with clear objectives. The process from 'need' identifications to the completion of the product or a prototype is informative and lively. The piece of work shows the unique character of the person and his approach to solving the design challenges or opportunities he has identified.

To do this, you need to first have the desire for quality work, and secondly, in addition with adequate dialogues with your teachers, to continuously refine the best approach for your coursework. You may end up having to do less that you expected.

Difference between Facilitation and Spoon-Feeding

You also need to understand the difference between being 'facilitated' and being 'spoon-fed'.

Spoon-feeding is easy. Being 'facilitated', you need to do some thinking and analysis on your own for things to work.

You will expect questions being asked about your approach, your rationale of doing things in a certain way, etc. The objective is to tease out your understand and your 'style' and approach and then to lead you to make progress. Basically, you are being 'helped' to arrive at 'what is right or wrong, 'what to do now', 'what to do next' or 'some possible solutions' on your own through 'facilitation'.

Not-so-Good (yet) Piece of Work

On the other hand, mediocre pieces of work usually lacked rationales and evidences on why things are done they way it is. Researches and contents are touch and go - with the mindset of doing work just to get by. Usually the sections within the journals from one design stage to the other hardly flow from one to the next. Nor are they being 'arrived at' from the previous sections. The requirement to think to work things out is quite a chore.

Download a copy of common Design Journaling Mistakes which you can avoid as you work on your design journals.