84611 Integrated Product Design
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Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Description
Products are increasingly encountered as interconnected elements within larger systems and megatrends. Integrating technologies, such as the Internet of Things, advanced material properties, and new manufacturing methods, has revolutionised how products function within these systems. As these technologies become more prevalent, designers need to consider safety and impact when incorporating integrated technology into their designs.
This subject introduces students to the challenges of designing with integrated technology. Building upon their experience in product design (introduced through 84610 Inside Design), students navigate a design process that addresses the requirements of an integrated product design brief. Emphasising the importance of safety and considering user experience, students explore how integrated technology can enhance product functionality and user experience.
The subject focuses on the process of designing to meet the demands of integrated product design, following the double-diamond design thinking process. It is important to note that this introductory subject primarily focuses on generating propositional designs. The top design concepts will have the opportunity to develop their designs in the Advanced Fabrication Research Laboratory (AFRL). Students gain valuable insights into the designer's thinking process, enabling them to generate innovative propositions oriented to the technological advantages of integrated products for improved human experiences in the modern world.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
| 1. | Apply design thinking processes effectively to identify and solve a problem. |
|---|---|
| 2. | Integrate research skills to create innovative and well-informed design solutions by gathering, analysing, and synthesising relevant data, user insights, and industry trends. |
| 3. | Develop the ability to critically reflect on design propositions and engage in iterative improvement processes. |
| 4. | Develop the ability to seamlessly integrate product design skills to effectively communicate design propositions with clarity, precision, and persuasiveness. |
| 5. | Apply effective communication skills through written, verbal and image-based delivery. |
| 6. | Develop an understanding of ethical and cultural perspectives |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:
- Demonstrated engagement with ideas and learning (A.1)
- Value for alternative points of view (A.3)
- Effective visual communication skills (C.2)
- Demonstration of versatility, curiosity and imagination (I.2)
- Accuracy, rigour and care (P.2)
- Acquire a comprehensive knowledge of cultural, historic and contemporary contexts that influence the lives of Indigenous Australians (P.5)
- Identify and execute research methods appropriate to the project (R.1)
- Reflective critical analysis (R.4)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:
C = communication and groupwork
A = attitudes and values
P = practical and professional
R = research and critique
I = innovation and creativity.
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).
Teaching and learning strategies
This subject uses an inquiry-based learning strategy that involves students researching and developing their own solutions to complex design challenges. The design process and strategies taught in this subject are relevant to current professional practice in a global context. Students work in collaborative teams to develop research-based understandings of product user contexts and experiences, drawing on material developed within and between classes. Individual design propositions that reference these research-based understandings, are iteratively developed by students over the course of the semester. Studio leaders offer ongoing, in-class support and guidance for the development of these integrated product design propositions. It is therefore imperative that students attend all classes. Regular verbal feedback is provided in class by peers and studio leaders. More formal feedback will be provided by studio leaders in response to student in-class presentations of task-work. This formal feedback will be delivered via Canvas.
It shall be the students' responsibility to record any feedback provided in studio. During presentations students will be expected to actively participate in collaborative peer review feedback exercises. Students will also be supported by the level 2, Faculty Workshop in the construction of presentation models and/or prototypes. Grades, marks and feedback on task submissions will be provided through Canvas.
Content (topics)
This subject addresses the following issues and topics:
- design thinking
- user research
- design problem analysis – problem framing
- concept development, prototyping and testing
- evaluation of design propositions
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Designing the Right Thing
| Intent: | For Assessment Task 1, you will individually research and design either a helmet, goggles, or mobility aid. Your task is to thoughtfully integrate and align emerging technologies with societal values that push innovative boundaries to enhance user experience, safety, and performance, present your findings in a poster, and subsequently develop your own design brief that will guide Task 2. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2 and 4 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): I.2 and R.1 | ||||||||||||
| Type: | Project | ||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 40% | ||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Design Things Right
| Intent: | Using your design brief from Task 1, you will choose a concept to develop and communicate through a user journey and contextual portfolio to demonstrate your understanding and ability to resolve design problems innovatively. | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 3, 4 and 5 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.1, C.2, P.2 and R.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Type: | Project | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 50% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Designing with Country
| Intent: | In your table groups, assess the effectiveness of incorporating Indigenous design principles into sustainable design through an evaluation of cultural relevance, ecological impact, and community engagement. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1 and 6 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.3 and P.5 | ||||||||||||
| Type: | Project | ||||||||||||
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 10% | ||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.
Recommended texts
Pheasant, S & Haslegrave, CM 2006, Bodyspace: anthropometry, ergonomics, and the design of work, 3rd edn, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, Fl.
Ulrich KT & Eppinger SD 2020. Product Design and Development (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw- Hill/Irwin ISBN-978-2600-43655
Powell, D 2010, Presentation techniques: a guide to drawing and presenting design ideas, Fully updated and rev. ed. edn, London : Little, Brown, London.
Kroemer, KHE 2017, Fitting the Human: Introduction to Ergonomics / Human Factors Engineering, Seventh Edition, 7th edn, CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton.
Bridger, RS 2008, Introduction to ergonomics, 3rd edn, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton.
Grandjean, E & Kroemer, KHE 1997, Fitting The Task To The Human, Fifth Edition : A Textbook Of Occupational Ergonomics, 5th edn, CRC Press, Boca Raton.
Kroemer Elbert, K, Kroemer, HB & Kroemer Hoffman, AD 2018, Ergonomics: How to Design for Ease and Efficiency, Elsevier Science & Technology, San Diego.
Stavri?, M, Si?anin, P & Tepav?evi?, B 2013, Architectural scale models in the digital age: design, representation and manufacturing, Springer, Wien, Austria.
Schey, J. A. (2000). Introduction to manufacturing processes (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Weinschenk, S.M. 2011, 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, New Riders, Berkeley, CA.
Buxton, W. A. S., 2007, Sketching User Experiences - getting the design right and the right design. Morton Kaufmann
Heufler, G. 2005, Design basics: from ideas to products, Niggli Verlag, Zurich.
Kolko, J. 2014, Well-designed: how to use empathy to create products people love, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, MA.
Kumar, V. 2013, 101 Design Methods, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey.
Verbeek, P.-P. & Slob, A. (eds) 2006, User behaviour and technology development: shaping sustainable relations between consumers and technologies, Springer, Dordrecht.
Cooper, A. 2014, About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, Wiley, Indianapolis, IN.