Design unit 3 terms

Design elements (7)

Basic components that are used to construct a design composition
i.e., line, shape, tone, form, space, colour, texture

Design principles (12)

Describe how elements are applied to a composition
i.e., balance, contrast, emphasis, repetition, movement, scale, unity, variety, pattern, harmony, alignment, hierarchy

Gestalt principles

Describes how people group and interpret visual info

Explains how this affects perception and behaviour

Helps optimise design for audience impact

Semiotics

Study of symbols, signs and images

Explores how they create meaning

Used to influence, connect and communicate with audiences

Sign

Conveys meaning through signs

Combination of the signifier and signified

Symbol

No obvious resemblance between the signifier and signified
e.g., letters and numbers, red octagon = ‘stop’

Index

Shows evidence of what’s being represented
e.g., paw print = animal

Icon

Has an obvious physical resemblance to what is being signified
e.g., male and female pictograms to indicate toilets

Signifier

The form the sign takes

Signified

The message or concept that the signifier communicates

Design lifecycle

The total environmental cost or impact of a design over its useful life

Stages of design lifecycle (6)

Pre-production, testing and use of prototypes

Acquisition of raw materials

Manufacturing, processing and formulation

Distribution and transportation

Use, re-use and maintenance

Recycling and waste management

Strategies for reducing environmental impact (DREAMS MD)

designing for reliability and durability

reducing resource consumption

extending the lifespan of materials or products

adaptable, multi-functional or modular designs

making repair or maintenance easier

selecting low-impact resources and processes

making items easy to disassemble or break down

designing for eco-efficiency if power is required

Copyright

A legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution

Gaining copyright

Automatic and free in Australia once documented

Copyright duration

70 years after creator’s death for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works

70 years after creation for sound recording and films

Trademark

Protects a company's unique brand, products or services

Gaining trademark

Min cost of $250

Min registration time of 7 months

Lasts for up to 10 years before renewal

Benefits of trademark

Business asset (more successful the business, more valuable the trademark)

Legal right to place ® next to it

Exclusive rights

Ability to deter others from using it

Ability to sell or license it to others to use

Patent

Protects any device, substance, method or process that's new, inventive and useful

Gaining a patent

Min registration cost of $110 for a provisional patent (up to several thousand for full protection)

Min registration time of 6 months (up to several years)

Lasts for up to 20 (standard) to 25 years (pharmaceutical)

Benefits of a patent

Receive commercial rights (can monopolise the market)

Freedom to license others to manufacture item without risking them stealing the idea

Right to take legal action that stops others from manufacturing/using/selling invention without permission

Design rights

Protects the overall visual appearance of new and distinctive products

Gaining design rights

Min registration cost of $250 ($420 for certification)

Min registration time of 2 months (4 months to certify)

Lasts up to 10 years (can renew at 5 years)

Benefits of design rights

Exclusive right to use design and authorise others to do so

Right can grow in value and be sold and licensed

Able to apply for same design right overseas

Right to take legal action against someone who uses design without permission

Gestalt principles (5)

Figure-ground

Similarity

Continuity

Proximity

Closure

Figure-ground

The perception of visual elements as either the main object or background

Creates emphasis, establishes clear distinction, draw attention to important elements

Similarity

The tendency of the brain to group together elements that share similar visual characteristics

Establish consistency and unity, cohesive and harmonious, reinforces overall message

Continuity

The human eye's preference for smooth and continuous lines or patterns

Guide viewer's eyes and create visual flow, establish clear visual path and organisation, no abrupt changes in direction

Proximity

The tendency to perceive objects that are close together as belonging together

Organise info, create visual hierarchy

Closure

The mind's tendency to perceive incomplete or fragmented elements as a complete whole or pattern

Engage viewers' imagination, creates visual interest, viewer encouraged to actively complete image

Typeface

The overall design of a set of characters (century gothic, comic sans, times new roman)

Font

Specific variations/styles within a typeface (bold, italic, regular)

Serif

More traditional style, have feet

Sans serif

More modern style, don't have feet

Script

Cursive, more decorative

Display

Decorative, good as design focal point

Hue

Name of colour

Saturation

Intensity/purity of colour

Value

Lightness/darkness of colour

Tonal range

Levels between image's lightest and darkest points

Linear design process

Comprises of defined steps in a specific sequence, proceeding through each step, to develop a single solution

Linear process limitations

Narrow focus

Limited options

Inflexible and static

Problems can't be found

Problems can't be fixed

Redo and repeat

Iterative design process

Involves repeated cycle of prototyping, testing and refining ideas based on stakeholder feedback

Iterative process features

Open ended

Endless variations possible

Flexible and adaptable

Problems identified early

Problems resolved

Define, test and refine

Convergent thinking

Process of finding concrete and familiar solutions to problems

Uses logic and multiple facts to converge onto an answer

Divergent thinking

Creative process of generating original ideas and possibilities

Process of exploring an issue more widely or deeply

Uses imagination to diverge from a question and come up with multiple ideas

Discover

Helps people understand the problem

Involves speaking to and spending time with people affected by the issues

Define

Insight gathered from the discovery phase can help define the challenge in a different way

Develop

Encourages people to give different answers to the clearly defined problem

Seek inspiration from elsewhere and co-designing with a range of different people

Deliver

Involves testing different solutions at a small-scale

Those that don't work are rejected and those that do are improved

Communication strategies

Strategies/devices strategically used to engage/persuade the audience (shock, humour, emotion, metaphor)

Target audience

Specific group of people that a product, service, marketing campaign is intended to reach

OSH

Occupational Safety and Health

The legal responsibility of all workplaces to protect the safety, health and welfare of employees, customers and the general public

Ergonomics

Ensures designs are compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of the user

Safe design

Consider hazard identification and risk assessment to eliminate the risk of injury throughout the life of the design

Safe design considerations

Equipment, materials, working conditions, distribution and marketing and use and maintenance

Sustainable design

An approach to design that consists of a variety of sustainable design principles, centered around extending product lifespans and avoiding the depletion of natural resources

Product life cycle

The period of time from when the product is introduced to the market to when it's taken off shelves and no longer available to consumers

Circular economy

Prioritises the reuse of products and materials and the overall reduction of waste

Greenwashing

Any unsubstantiated claims about a product being produced sustainably or other eco-conscious practices

Standardisation

The practice of using universal parts in products' designs

Benefits of sustainable design

Less waste/emissions/energy used

Connect with eco-conscious consumers

Potentially receive gov subsidies/tax incentives

Drawbacks of sustainable design

Higher material costs

Sustainable materials are often recycled or sourced in sustainable ways -> more specialised equipment, source from different regions, less materials sourced, different packing and shipping

Linear design process steps

Design brief, research, ideate, develop, refine, produce

Double diamond

hello

Line

Directional - lead the eye through artwork and draw attention to certain parts or focus points

Organic - appear natural and imperfect

Implied - created when the eye connects a composition’s elements to suggest a perceived line

Shape

2D - can only be measured by height and width

Geometric - enclosed figures formed by joining a certain number of points lines or curves and are usually simple and symmetrical

Abstract - symbols that might represent abstract ideas or simplified versions of more complex ones

Tone

Tonal scale - the range of lightness or darkness in the composition

High key - limited range of dark values

Low key - limited range of light values

Form

3D - can only be measured by height, width and depth

Proportion

Space

Positive - subject or areas of interest in a composition

Negative - area of the composition that’s left empty

Organised

Colour

Psychological effects - can affect the emotions and moods of people

Additive (RGB) - created by mixing different amounts of light colours, begin as black and become more white as colours are added

Subtractive (CMYK) - created by completely or partially absorbing some light wavelengths and reflecting others

Texture

Visual - illusion of physical texture

Tactile - how the composition surface physically feels

Design thinking

Approach for identifying, redefining and solving problems

Way of thinking and working that includes a set of strategies and methods for testing concepts and ideas

i.e., design mindset, empathy map, needfinding

Empathy mapping

Visual representation of the attitudes and behaviours of a user

Captures and represents a user’s emotions and thoughts based on first-hand data

Demographic characteristics

Used to identify and develop a complete target audience or end-user profile

Statistical info used to influence and support design decisions to ensure their designs meet the needs of the end user

Psychographic segmentation

Used to identify and develop a complete target audience or end-user profile

Internal psychological characteristics used to influence and support design decisions

Discover methods

Empathy mapping

Needfinding

Collaborative brainstorm

Define methods

Design brief

Develop methods

Concept maps

Visual brainstorm

6 thinking hats

SCAMPER

Synectic triggers

Deliver methods

PMI

SWOT analysis

Compare and contrast

6 thinking hats