|
The 'Carpenter’s Guide'
is my introduction to design classes.
It is based on more than 40 years of designing and making things and over
half that time teaching. I also have a guide to good writing.
They are written in the hope
that may be interesting and useful.
I left school early and
worked as a carpenter’s apprentice until becoming qualified some years
later. I have worked on lots of building sites, in factories, offices,
and for the past twenty years or so, taught in primary and secondary schools. Unlike
many people, my early school years were not the best days of my life. Somehow
my passion for making things went against me. I was classed as ‘good with
my hands’ as though that also meant I was a bit thick. I didn't think
I was, but left anyway, went building houses, and later, canoes, radio
controlled models, yachts, sports cars, and even an aeroplane. And then
to prove I wasn't thick, I went to university as well. A lot of my success
in schools has been because I want all kids to feel successful - especially
the ones that are good with their hands - because chances are they need
encouraging.
Merv Edmunds
|
The Design Process
The design process starts with a
requirement or problem, and works
towards a solution. Many designers
do not get to make their design, they
leave that for others to do. In many
cases the designer will produce just
one finished product (called a
prototype) or perhaps a scale model,
as an example for other craftspeople
to use. In designing items for the avec esprit projects,
you will be presenting scale models
for the director to approve before
getting construction crews to make
them full size. Another important aspect for
designers to think about is
balancing function - what the product
is to do - and form - what the product
is to look like.
|
The rock concert project
for example,
calls for stage props that have two
basic functions, to enable the
pyrotechnic specialists to be hidden from the audience and to
add to the visual effect. A big
cardboard box will only enable one
of these functions to be met, and to
satisfy both functions, the box could
be painted. However, designers
don't only think about function, they
think about form, or another word is
'aesthetics' from a Greek word
meaning love of beauty. A cardboard box, no matter how well it is painted, would
hardly meet the requirement of 'form'.
|
Here are some simple steps
toward understanding the process.
1. Visualise the problem
In other words, don't go
looking for an answer until you understand the question. Be clear about
what your finished work has to do. Designing is a creative process carried
out within fairly strict borders.
2. Define the problem
Your design brief
will usually set the borders by listing certain aspects your finished work
must have. These aspects are called design criteria: things which help
you define the problem. I once designed a yacht to take my family sailing
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. To define the problem, I listed the criteria
or ‘must haves’.
- it must be trailerable
- it must have room
to stand up in
- it must have a toilet
and shower
- it must have room
to sleep four people
Now you can see why they
are called ‘must haves’ and how they define the problem. They also define
what you can't have. To put the boat on the trailer, means it cannot have
a fixed keel. This aspect is called ‘mutually exclusive’ which means you
must make a choice, you can't have both. If your design needs to fly, you
can’t use concrete, and so on. (Would you like to take a quick look at
our yacht? Degrees
of Freedom)
3. Sifting the solutions
Once you have visualised
and defined the problem, you start to look for solutions. I say solutions,
because there will be more than one, and you need to consider several possibilities.
Some designers have flashes of brilliance and can think of a suitable solution
quickly, but they can't tell me how they do it, so I can't pass the trick
on to you. All I can do is tell you a way that works for me.
I toss the problem around
in my head, work on it 3 or 4 times a day, maybe for days, a week or more.
I might think about solutions when driving the car, under the shower, or
wake up at night, anytime. I think about it, then leave it for a bit, work
on it again, all the time sifting through different solutions until one
seems to have the most going it for it.
When people look at my boat,
often the first question they ask is, “How long did it take to build it?”
I say I built it in my mind first, and that took a couple of years, then
I built it in my garage and that took about two more years. The point I
want to make is, if you don't do some mental homework between classes, your project will be rushed in the final stages to
meet the completion date.
4. Material selection
Years ago, this part of
the design process was fairly simple: wood stone or metal, with maybe some
exotics like skin or bone. So, the designer had to work the ideas within
the limits of the materials available. The present technological design
scene, however, is not nearly so limited. Not only is the range so much
greater, but the designer can choose from a number of materials which combine
the best features of two or more materials into a single one called alloys
or composites. The material chosen for my yacht, for example was a timber
composite made by separating two hardwood veneers with a core of end grain
balsa. It has the strength of timber several times its weight.
As designers today, it is
not a matter of making the design suit the material as in the old days,
but making the material suit the design.
5. Know your material
Some design briefs state
the material to be used, so the selection part of the design process is
done for you. Whether it is nominated for you or you choose it, understanding
the characteristics of the material is very important. The investigation
phase mostly directs you to resources which describe the background, physical,
chemical, environmental characteristics of the various materials, and it
is a good idea to take the process seriously, particularly if it involves
modern materials, because this knowledge will be useful for you with later
design projects.
6. Saving the solution
Up to now, the design process
has been all in the mind. You will need to save your ideas, or you might
lose them. You may also need to communicate your ideas with a classmate
or your teacher, so the solution at this stage needs to be in a form that
can be communicated. My response is to sketch the solution. Not working
drawings, but a process called ‘thinking with a pencil’. Often the solution
or design becomes much clearer after sketching it.
7. Making a start
One of the good things about
design projects at school, is you get to make it. Mostly this does not
happen in the major engineering design fields such as electrical, civil,
structural, mechanical, chemical, the designer or design team basically
finish the design work before actual construction can begin. Not only does
the thinking have to be right, but the design must be communicated to the
various people who need to transform the ideas into reality. Some teachers
of design and technology try to get students to follow this process too,
but I don't. This guide is what works for me.
There is a process called:
‘enacted sense-making’, sounds complicated but it isn't. It simply means
acting on the ideas you have and the solution will start to make sense.
I am not suggesting trial and error, that is a most ineffective and often
wasteful process. I am suggesting, making a start and being prepared to
modify and work some things out as you go along.
8. Making and modifying
Don't think that because
your hands start work your mind can switch off, a sort of mental shift-work
arrangement. We are involved in the design process and the designing
is still part of the making. Don't be afraid to modify your design, because
often better solutions occur to you as you are making it, and you want
to be free to work them into your project. Sometimes faults in the design
lead to what designers call ‘happy accidents’. An aeroplane designed in
the 1930’s had a serious design flaw; it was tail heavy and dangerous.
To move the wings back meant the pilot wouldn't be able to get in and out
of the cockpit. So the designer angled the top wing back on each side,
and the result not only fixed the balance problem, but it gave it snap-roll
ability which meant the bi-plane became one of the most famous aerobatic
aeroplanes. (it's called a Great Lakes, contact
me if you want more details)
9. Recording the changes
Remember to keep a record
of your changes. When it comes time to present your documentation with
the project, you will be able to explain aspects of your design which show
a development of ideas, rather than a single idea which you stuck with.
It also shows that you can handle a ‘thinking and doing’ task well, and
that you were working for the best solution, not just any solution.
Now, you can try this quiz to let
me know if you have a handle on the design process... Design
Process Test
|
