The ULTIMATE Design Considerations and Design Specifications Guide

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Are you a student struggling to create well-formulated design specifications? Look no further, because The ULTIMATE Design Considerations and Design Specifications Guide is here to help!

This guide is specifically designed to be easy-to-use, providing step-by-step prompts and instructions that will guide you through the process of creating effective design considerations and constraints. Simply follow the prompts, and you'll be able to create a set of design specifications that will help you to achieve your design goals.

But that's not all – The ULTIMATE Design Considerations and Design Specifications Guide is also a valuable resource for teachers. 

As a teacher, you can use this guide as a teaching tool, helping your students to understand the roles of design considerations and constraints in the design process. The customizable format in a WORD document allows you to adapt the guide to fit the specific needs of your students, making it a great tool for differentiation in the classroom.

With this guide, you and your students will be able to:

1. Understand the importance of design considerations and constraints

2. Follow a step-by-step process to create effective design specifications

3. Apply this process to any design project

4. Benefit from a dummy-proof template that is easy to use

So why wait? 

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

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Design Considerations & Constraints > Design Specifications > Ideation & Refinement

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Whiteboard Demo (2011)

Class Demo (2011)

Pre-Design Considerations Must Knows

Before you start drafting your design considerations, you must know the outcomes of your design opportunity. 

• Some design opportunities point to improvement(s) of certain functions or safety.
• Others could primarily be targeted at a specific target audience and how they interact with the context. 
• Rarely, but if you are lucky you may find one that aims to solve a bugging problem that seems to have no viable solutions at the present. 
• Some are proposed to simply create fun. Nothing else. There are no particular functional value-added features. Just catering to lifestyle and luxury. 

Knowing precisely what you want out of your design proposal helps a lot in drafting a good set of design considerations. 

Because that will mean you will be very spot on in identifying the areas of considerations. Otherwise yours will simplistically be stating the obvious universal areas like, products should be safe for users and must look good, must be colorful, etc.

Design Considerations

The design considerations phase is where you make a list of factors that need to be considered in broad terms. You do not need to go into the details (i.e. the specifics) at this stage.

The type and number of factors you have is unique for each project. That means everyone will have their own set of design considerations specific to their design brief. A good set of design considerations accurately addresses the unique areas of concerns of your proposal as written in your design brief. 

The design considerations and constraints will sound like, "If I want to (insert your design brief here), what are the areas I must consider and what are the areas of constraints (or limitations)".

I suggest you include a healthy list of 

1. functional requirements, and
2. requirements relating to how you want your users to interact with the product. 

These list will be VERY handy when you start your Idea Generation phase.

Design Constraints (or Limitations)

Design constraints (of limitations) are the extensions of design considerations. 

In every design attempt, there will be limitations or constraints or some form of hindrance. Some projects may be constrained by physical space or budget. Some limited by the choice of materials or colors. And most with a time constraint.

Drafting your Design Considerations & Constraints

To draft your Design Considerations and Constraints, you may begin with asking the following question out loud in your head:

'To (insert your design brief here), what must I consider? I must consider ....'

'To (insert your design brief here), what are are some of the constraints? The constraints are....'

! Research for Design Specifications !

Every factors that appeared in your design opportunities and constraints should prompt and lead you to an area of research. They must be researched to gather relevant data and/or information about them to be written as Design Specifications. 

It is also at this stage where various critical dimensions (product dimensions) and anthropometry data are gathered.

Some examples of researches:

Critical Dimension: If you are designing a ketchup bottle holder, then you will be researching on various brands of ketchup and take measurements off the bottle. You might also be interested in average diameter across all selling brands in Singapore. 

Areas: If you are designing a piece of furniture to be placed in a room, then a possible limitation data would be the maximum area the piece of furniture should take. That specified area will determine the maximum floor area that newly designed furniture should occupy.

Anthropometric Data: If you are designing a chair for a child, then you might need the average bodily dimensions of a child of a certain age group. Which specific dimensions you need depends on what you will be designing. Do not take measurements for the sake of taking them. 

Weights: If you are designing objects to be handled by the elderly who have weak arms, then the product should have a limit to its overall weight. Research might be in the form of experimentations on how comfortable in terms of weight the elderly can carry. Or from any reliable research medical data, etc.

Functionality, usability, costs, time, etc. are other factors that can be researched for drafting the Design Specifications whenever possible.

Remember to include images, photographs and annotations for all your research.

The Design Specifications

This is probably one of the most important phase in your design journey apart from finding a real design need.

The link: The design specifications are 'specific instructions' for the purpose of Idea Generation . In other words, the list of design specifications specifies and details all the functional and the aesthetical requirements of your product. i.e. that your product MUST do.

A good set of design specifications sets the path for Idea Generation. Ideas can be generated to satisfy one specification point at a time and eventually synthesized to include all the specification requirements.

You might be interested to note that the number of points for your list of design specifications happens to be same number of points from your list of design considerations and constraints. 

So you never have to ask your teacher 'how many design specifications must I write?". 

An example showing how a Specification point is created:

A typical thought process for design specifications will be,

"I want to (insert your design brief here). One of my (1) consideration is the internal diameter of the ketchup bottle mouth. I did my (2) research on that and got an average of 25mm from five different brands of ketchup available in FairPrice and Shop & Save supermarkets."

Now my (3) design specification is, 'The product must be able to be inserted into a bottle mouth that is not bigger than 25mm in diameter".

Idea Generation & Refinement

A super brief guide on Idea Generation:

Step 1: 

Focus on one specification point at a time. 

Step 2: 

Generate ideas that satisfy the functions first. 

Step 3: 

Always check the usability of your ideas with the target audiences. Keep on refining the functionalities until it works.

Step 4: 

Refine the aesthetics (styling).

Step 5: 

In no particular order, constantly consider product functionality and usability, refine material choices, number of parts, jointing methods, overall size, suitability of color choices and combinations, type of finishing, suitability and practicality of user-solution-environment use.

Step 6: 

Always summarize your ideas by re-drawing your solutions in context showing the user using the product and the product used in its environmental context.

A reminder to all my students or online students: 

The journal is for you to record your thoughts, thinking processes and your decisions. Recordings can be done with annotations on relevant images (if required).

Pictorial Theme Definition to Design Specifications

*Updated in January 2022*

What you'll see in this post are visual examples on 

1. Theme Definition (Optional to read but NOT NEEDED from 2021 D&T Syllabus)
2. Mindmap on the Theme (exploring the theme)
3. Theme Board (Optional to read but do this ONLY IF needed)
4. Tips on how to use a mind map to identify Design Needs/Situations
5. Identifying and drafting Design Needs/Situations 
6. Selecting Design Need / Situation for coursework
7. Design Brief
8. Design Considerations
9. Design Specifications
10. (a) Pictorial Idea Generation and Development (Using SCAMPER) (Click here)
11. (b) Pictorial Idea Generation and Development (Using Attribute Listing / Morphological Method) (Click here).

Use them as a reference and a guide to start or to improve your journal. Make informed choices on your own on what your takeaways should be after looking at the materials in here. Do not copy. 

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Theme Definition 

!!! Do this ONLY if absolutely necessary !!!

For example if you need to understand terms in more detail in order to progress.

Define the theme using either online or physical dictionaries. Use a variety of sources for richer scope of definition.

Including synonyms and antonyms helps. Antonyms give the opposite meanings of the defined word - which is exactly what you need for exploring design opportunities. 

Add photos and images to substantiate some keywords - images also serve to spice up the page - makes understanding the definitions faster at a glance.

Mindmap on the Theme (exploring the theme)

Every stage in the design journal is build up from the previous section. If you understood them theme perfectly, you will have little problem mapping out the theme.

End the mindmap with identified products / objects followed by a brief description of the problems or issues associated with them. 

These 'comments' at the end becomes your identified design need and situations. Which you simply extract and write them formally in your Design Needs and Situations section.

Theme Board 

(Do this ONLY IF needed)

A theme board is a collage of images/products/activities to illustrate what the theme means. There is no need for annotations or descriptions in a theme board. 

Remember that you got to know and understand the theme first before doing this. Use the keywords you discovered about the theme and find related images for the theme board.

You can use the completed theme board to help you in your mind map later (see below). Use the same theme board to help you identify potential problems or issues.

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Tips on how to use a mind map to identify Design Needs/Situations

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Identifying and drafting Design Needs/Situations

Identifying and drafting your Design Needs and Situation section should not be difficult because all the information you need are already in your mind map (see above tips on how to use a mind map to identify design opportunities).

Pick and choose the information you need and rephrase them in a paragraph or two stating clearly the context and the problems / issues. Finish off with a 'wish list' - that will pave your way to writing a design brief (see below).

Selecting Design Need / Situation for coursework + Design Brief

You may use a modified Plus, Minus and Interesting (PMI) method to help select a Design Situation to work on later. You can use any other decision making techniques to do this.

Here the Design Need and Situation is repeated. Fine tune your paragraph if needed.

A design brief is quickly drafted by rephrasing the 'wish list' at the end of the Design Need and Situation paragraph.

Design Considerations

The design Consideration and Limitations (or constraints) is where you list out general points on what should be considered during the Ideaiton stage. Begin a mind map surfacing very general areas like e.g. functionalities - then move on to describe what do you expect in terms of functions.

The further you are from the core (centre of the mind map) the more specific you become. You'll reach a point at the far end where you need to research for data to be included. e.g. if it has to hold some pens, then research how many exactly do you need. 5 pens?

These quantifiable specific data / information you have at the end of the Design Considerations and Limitation mind map (again) automatically becomes a preview of your Design Specifications (see below).

Design Specifications

Remember you read in the previous sections that whatever comes after in your design journal stage, some, if not most of the information should come from the previous section. 

If you did your Design Considerations and Limitations as suggested above, making a list of Design Specifications is a breeze. All the information you need and want is already available and researched. 

Extract your quantifiable and researched data / information and then transform them into Design Specification points. Categories and order your Design Specifications beginning with Functional specifications. A typical design specification begins with 'The product must...'

Note that these points in turn becomes your guide for Ideation (see below).

Pictorial Idea Generation and Development (Using SCAMPER) 2016 (Click here)

Secondary 2: Dining Storage Accessories Project - Design Considerations & Limitations + Design Specifications

This part of the design process is right after you have written your Design Situation and Design Brief. 

Design Considerations and Limitations

The 'Design Considerations and Limitations' (or Constraints) can be liken as 'what factors should I consider'. Thinking of it in this way will make completing this task slightly easier.

Limitations or Constraints refers to factors that will 'restrict' you in making the product. Some factors that are considered 'limitations' or 'constrains' or 'restrictions' are for example, time, cost, size, technological feasibility (i.e. the available type of machines and tools in the school design workshop), so on and so forth.

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Imagine you need to plan for a class outing. You will need to plan and create a list of stuffs you need to do (or consider bringing). You do not need to go into the details yet but generating an initial list from which you can work out in details later. For example, you'll need to consider to 'bring some bottled drinks', then 'plan the routes to the destination', etc. 

In a similar way, you would have already chosen a particular type of 'storage' or 'holder' you want to design for. Recall your Design Brief. Now think, "I want to design and make a ..." so "what are the things/factors I must 'consider'?"

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Examples of common factors related to a proposed project

'I must consider..."

'functionality': what you want your product to do or how you want your product to work)

'size': this could be the area of the space you want your product to be placed, or the overall size of the product you will eventually make.

'materials': this can refer to the type of materials that you are given or the quantity.

'time': in a project you are usually given a period of time to complete your work. so considering the time you have is important as it will influence the way you spend your time and design your product. so that you can complete it in time.

etc. You can read more about the other factors by referring to your textbook. 

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Critical Dimensions:

The critical dimension is part of research and it is an important one to consider. For example, I want to design and make a 'business card' holder. Before I begin generating ideas and such, I got to have some important data on standby for me to make some design decisions later. 

One common dimension that you must have is the dimensions of the 'things' you plan to hold or store. If I plan to make a holder / storage for business cards, I should research on the sizes of a typical business cards. I might go as far as measuring the thickness of a single card, or multiples of 5 cards all the way to 20 cards, or so. The more variety of ways to measure and better. Because I do not know if I will need them. Who know?

If yours is a straw holder, then measure the straws. A single one and a bunch of them. If yours is a spoon and fork holder, then measure them too. For the rest it is the same. Measure them. Weigh them. Whatever data you can record.

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Design Specifications

I like to think of Design Specifications as a 'wish list'. 

It sounds more 'friendly' and less daunting than 'Design Specifications'. So technical.

The design specifications are a list of very specific instructions that comes from your list of design considerations. Can you still remember design considerations as a 'list' of factors which you need to 'consider'? They were not detailed at all. Or not detailed 'yet'. 

When I say 'I need to consider the quantity of cards for the business card holder', I have not specified 'how many'. In design specifications is where you state 'how many'. In design specifications you will also state how 'big / small' (e.g. area or volume), how 'cheap / expensive'(e.g. cost), how 'long / short' (e.g. time or length), how 'heavy / light' (e.g. weight), etc.

In the example above, I will be very specific to say, 

'The product must hold (at least) 15 business cards'. 

Nothing more than 15. The number 15 is a very specific number.

You can also put numbers on factors that is concerning efficiency, or fast or quickly or ease o use. You use 'time' to quantify efficiency. You can say,

 'The product must be easy to use. The user must not take more than 5 seconds to refill all the 15 business cards into the holder when it is empty'.

Shown above are two examples on how you can complete your Design Specifications. 

Refer to your textbook if you still have problems completing this section.

Dollar Key Tag Project - Part 1 - Design Situation to Research

The Dollar Key Tag Project Schedule

Schedule for Design Situation writing to Research for Idea Generation

You are to write your own Design Situation based on the (given) Design Brief.

Your design situation should include a description of your observation and your own grocery shopping experience and the use of the shopping cart.

You can:

1) Go to a supermarket and observe how people respond or react when they retrieve the shopping cart, and or
2) Recall your own experience when you need a shopping cart for your shopping in the supermarket.

The example above shows one way you can prepare to write your design situation. In the form of a mind-map you can start noting the issues with retrieving the shopping cart and the experience of having or not having a dollar coin.

Notice I sketched a scene of two persons at the shopping cart holding area and their conversation about having a dollar coin for the cart. A simple sketch like this to illustrate the situation (or context) can be extremely helpful in explaning what is actually going on and makes it so easy to understand. Sketches of a sequence of events may be helpful too.

Alternatively you may wish to take photos of the situation. Note: In a public place, always ask for permission from the store before you take any photos. If you are taking people, it is also polite to seek their permission to do so. Otherwise take photos yourself and your friends in the situation.

Above is an example done in 1N1

Below is an example done in 1N2
Design Considerations and Design Specifications

Note: When you prepare to list your design considerations and limitations, always remember to list areas that is consistent with your design situation and design brief.