- Process of the designer of reviewing constraints and coming up with solutions
- The designer needs to identify what the design needs in a coherent way with limits
- Needs + limits= constraints
- Approach constraints in a positive manner
- A project will be easier if the designer is willing to work with these constraints
- Inherent constraints: directly related to the essence of the object
- Imposed constraints: related to an objects desired design that are not essential to its function
- When identifying constraints, they are determined by the needs of:
- End-User: client’s needs.
- Functionality and form: form follows function. The from should result from its function
- Societal Constraints: focus on the local and particular as well on the global and general, have in mind people’s behaviors are unpredictable
- Safety: common sense can’t always be expected. Be aware of safety factors and the standards and laws of materials.
- Constraints of production: materials, techniques, and capabilities
- In this digital world, a reality check is necessary once in a while
- Working with manufacturing constraints and creating something new
- Constraints of the designer:
- Information: making good decisions by having good information
- Good communication, lack of information may become a constraint
- Time: deadlines
- The tailor’s rule= first do the math: do the math to divide the work before the deadline
- The tailor’s principle= everything takes at least 15 minutes: real timing
- Amendment to the tailor’s principle= plan for lag time: plan the interruptions, time to refuel (couch time)
- Materials: their capabilities and behavior. Materials will be a constant factor. Consider techniques and capabilities. Must be ready to compromise and revise the plans.
- Budgets: clear and realistic. Cost-benefit analysis
Constraints of responsibility= unintended consequences and sustainability
- Planning= expecting the unexpected: murphy’s Law. Alertness and adaptation. Unintended consequences. Not everything can be tested and planned
- Some designs are created in response to the problems of other designs
- Merton’s 5 sources of unintended consequences: Inadequate knowledge, error, imperious immediate interest, person values don’t allow other consequence consideration, and when a prediction of the behavior of a system becomes part of it.
- Guide to see where problems will arise
- 1st identify gaps in knowledge
- 2nd identify possible sources of error: something that worked in the past may not work again
- Question your methods
Sustainability
- Largest issue nowadays
- Designers are in a key position
- Sustainability is both a need and a constraint
- Using resources efficiently: use less to make more. Looking at the life cycle of a product. Waste is unwanted
- Eliminating toxic, persistent and bioaccumulative substances:
- Increasing durability, reuse, and reparability: think of components and commonality of materials. Green design is not lesser in quality
- Devising new models of consumer-producer relationships: is leasing an alternative to owning
- Changing the relationship between developed and developing countries: no more cheap labor
Stage 2: Identification
– Product: what do you need to design
– Description: nature
– Audience: who is it for
– Problem: why is it needed
– Solution: benefits
– Challenge: why is it interesting
– Vision: what will you bring to it
– Method
