Download Understanding Product Design: Aesthetics, Styling, and Regulations and more Summaries Designs and Groups in PDF only on Docsity!
Product Analysis
and Systems
The authors have attempted to use images that are free of copyright restriction however if there are omissions or
inaccuracies please inform us so that any necessary corrections can be made. The authors are also grateful to those
businesses and agencies including Dyson, Blackpool Creative, Rob Law CEO Trunki (images and text provided by
Trunki.co.uk), PROTO 3000 and Matthew Cooke that have given permission for images from their websites to be
used in this work.
FORM and FUNCTION These are the features that have an initial impact on the customer. AESTHETICS How a product looks, it’s appearance. SHAPE COLOUR FORM TEXTURE USING FUNCTION - how you can work it? STYLING FASHION
Think about ABOVE the LINE FEATURES when looking at Visible Attributes—shape, colour, user interface.
Visible Attributes are very important - the visual appearance of a product can affect if the consumer would buy the product.
User Interface - Visible features on how the customer will use the product.
Visible Attributes of Products
These products have unique visual appearance and make them unique. This can affect if the consumer would buy the product
RETRO STYLING
Retro styling is very popular, modern products are based on old designs but include new technology and refinement.
1960 VW Betle 2017 VW Beetle
1940 Roberts Radio 2000 Roberts Radio same design but with modern technology DAB Radio etc
Jonathan Ive was responsible for re-styling the appearance of a computer. The original iMac could be distinguished from every other type of computer because it’s appearance was totally different—this was down to the consideration of styling and the aesthetics of the product. The Apple company is responsible for innovative styling in their product development. The knock on effect of this is that a number of other computer companies and manufacturers have realised that the styling of the product [shape & form] is important to selling their products.
Designers develop and refine their ideas to improve their visual appeal [Styling]
Kite Mark
Products have to comply with safety regulations.
Consumers have confidence in products if they have the kite mark they know that they are safe.
EUROPEAN REGULATIONS
The CE marking certifies that a product has met EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements. Consumers in Europe can have the confidence that the product has passed these tests when buying the product.
BSi - British Standards Institution
British Standards Institution (or BSI), is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services, and also supplies certification and standards-related services to businesses. It serves the interests of a wide range of industry sectors as well as governments, consumers, employees and society overall, to make sure that British, European and international standards are useful, relevant and authoritative.
Products have to comply with this standard before they can be sold to the public.
ISO International Standards
Standardisation in the context related to technologies and industries, is the process of establishing a technical specification or standard among manufacturers in a global market. This will bring benefits to everyone concerned. A M4 threaded screw would be the same in the UK, Europe, USA or China. A hand torch designed and manufactured in China could have a standard AAA Battery holder that would be standard in any country. All of Europe now uses 230 volt 50 Hz AC mains electricity. The metric measuring system is standard across the world.
Most of the products we buy depend on these standardisation—Battery powered products, TVs, nuts and bolts, light fittings, CD Players.
The industry standard is the ISO 9001 —millions of manufacturing companies around the world from over 160 countries have acquired this accreditation. Compaines and businesses use this standard to demonstrate their ability to provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.
Standards associated with Design & Manufacturing
The Kite Mark used on products that have passed BSi safety regulations
"Conformité Européene" translates to European Conformity
2017
Comparing products by
evaluation
2009
iPhone 3 Launched 2009
iPhone 8 Launched 2017
KEY CHANGES REASON
SIZE The size of the iPhone 8 is larger than the iPhone 3 but the iPhone 8 has many more
features and functions of the smaller iPhone 3. Due to technological developments battery size has been reduced. Computer components are getting smaller but more powerful so more features and functions can be incorporated into the product.
SHAPE/FORM Technological developments in manufacturing processes have enabled the designers
to use more advanced materials. The casing of the phone can be formed into a more complex, thinner shape but still have the strength. Glass technology has enabled Apple to make the display with much higher clarity than the original version.
FUNCTION The iPhone 8 has many more features—better quality camera, more memory, superior
display, processor speed.
These developments have occurred by continual evaluation of products and the continual need for improvement.
Improvements come from analysing on features that can be improved.
Feedback from consumers.
Analysing similar products from competition.
Technological development—what are the current technological developments that can be used on a newer version?
Why do products develop or change over time?
1960s electric kettle 2000 electric kettle
Products change over time. This is called EVOLUTION.
The above product has changed over time:-
The main changes are
1.SHAPE 2.MATERIAL USED 3.TECHNOLOGY
SHAPE
This is due to styling - designers are more aware of making their product different from its competitors. This is also possible because of the material. Polypropylene plastics are used for the modern kettle body. Polypropylene can be injection moulded into very complicated shapes and forms. This could not have been done 50 years ago because the material was not available. Due to this material designers can be more creative with their design work. Because mild steel was used 50 years ago the shape was limited to the working properties of the material. Manufacturing techniques have improved and been developed over the years so this has affected shapes and forms of many other products.
MATERIAL
Polypropylene is used for the body which has better insulation properties than steel. Modern plastics can be formed into interesting shapes and forms by using complex injection moulding processes.
TECHNOLOGY
Some modern kettles have Smart Materials or Thermochromic ink in polymer panels that change colours when hot. Sensors inside kettles switch them off automatically when water is boiled to save energy and to be safer. These types of technology weren't available in the 1960’s.
EVOLUTION of PRODUCTS
2017 electric kettle
Government Policies and Legislations
Government policies have an effect on how designers address problems for example:-
Policies state that products must have:-
Eco Labels Low sulphur diesel Lead free petrol CFC free Aerosols Flammability standards on furniture Since 2011 in Wales all plastic bags used at supermarkets must be paid for— 5 p charge. This encourages people to RE- USE their bags. Some retailers are reporting reduction in the use of plastic bags of between 35% - 96%.
Usually if these products do not conform to the government requirements the consequences will result in higher taxes or financial penalties. On the other hand due to the extra work and development involved in developing the product the product can be sold for a higher price.
Some Citys have car free zones to reduce emissions
UK Government have intention of banning the sale of Petrol and Diesel cars from 2040. Designers of all form of transportation will face challenges to develop new practical forms of transportation that will not use oil based fuels.
UK will ban all Petrol and Diesel cars from 2040.
Products carry Labels stating that they conform to legislations
The New Tesla and Nissan Leaf Electric cars are already available in the UK
Intellectual property is a right that is bestowed by the Patent Office which gives legal recognition to the ownership or brand names and gives the proprietor the right to prevent other people from exploiting or copying their property. Intellectual property rights apply to FOUR different areas:
- Registered designs and the design rights
- Registered trade marks
- Patents
- Copyright.
These Intellectual Property rights enable innovators access to a system by which they can benefit from their ingenuity. Typically the rights may be sold, licensed to others or used to safeguard investment in new ventures.
DESIGN RIGHTS
Design is all about the way an object looks: its shape, its visual appeal...it's all in the design.
Registered Design
A registered design is a monopoly right for the appearance of the whole or part of a product, resulting particularly from the features of lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and materials of a product or its ornamentation. These designs could be anything from patterns on textiles or plates to the shape of a car or the design of part of a product, such as a kettle handle.
Protects only the visual appearance of an object.
Lasts for an initial period of 5 years.
Can be extended in four 5-year terms to give protection for a maximum of 25 years.
Becomes a property which can be bought, sold, hired or licensed.
The features of the design can be as follows:
Shape and configuration (three-dimensional);
Pattern and Ornament (two-dimensional).
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The products have DISTINCTIVE external shapes. The shapes are protected by a Registered Design
COPYRIGHT
Copyright protects many types of work, from music and lyrics, photographs, books and knitting patterns.
AUTOMATIC RIGHT
You don't have to apply for copyright protection. So whether you write a book, take a photo, or compose a song, it's automatically protected.
It may help protect your work by displaying the © symbol, your name, and the year in which it was created.
Buying a copyright protected work doesn’t give you the right to broadcast or copy it – even for private use (e.g. making copies of CDs).
Using copyright protected works usually requires contacting the owner or a collecting society who may agree a licence.
PROTECTION
There will usually be more than one copyright associated with a song. If you are the composer of the music you will be the author of the musical work and will have copyright in that music. The lyrics of the song are protected separately by copyright as a literary work and will usually be owned by the person who wrote them. The term of protection for an original musical and literary work is the creator's life plus 70 years from the end of the year in which he/she dies.
If a song is recorded then copyright in this sound recording lasts for 50 years from the end of the year in which it was made or, if published in this time, 50 years from the end of the year of publication. If the recording is not published during that 50 year period, but it is played in public or communicated to the public during that period, then copyright will last for 50 years from when this happens.
PATENTS
Patents protect the features and processes that make things work. This lets inventors profit from their inventions.
Once your invention is patented no one can copy, make, sell, or import your invention without your permission.
A patent protects new inventions and covers how things work, what they do, how they do it, what they are made of and how they are made. It gives the owner the right to prevent others from making, using, importing or selling the invention without permission.
Your invention must:
be new
have an inventive step that is not obvious to someone with knowledge and experience in the subject
be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry.
A patent gives you the right to stop others from copying, manufacturing, selling, and importing your invention without your permission. The existence of your patent may be enough on its own to stop others from trying to exploit your invention. If it does not, it gives you the right to take legal action to stop them exploiting your invention and to claim damages.
The patent also allows you to:
sell the invention and all the intellectual property (IP) rights
license the invention to someone else but retain all the IP rights
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/intellectual-property-office
