1150GE102 - DESIGN THNKING

Prepared by DIVYA SADHANA.A (Department of Mechanical)

UNIT I PROCESS OF DESIGN

Introduction - Product Life cycle - Design Ethics - Design Process -
Four step - Five Step - Twelve step - Creativity and Innovation in
Design Process - Design Limitation

INTRODUCTION
➢ Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving.
➢ Design thinking can be applied to a wide variety of fields, most
obvious the field of product and service innovation.

Essential Aspects of Design Thinking

• Empathy [ Human-Centred]
• Ideation [Generating a lot of Ideas]
• Experimentation
What is Design?
The word "Design" is often used as a generic term that refers to
anything that was made by a conscious human effort. Design is also a
process that is used systematically solve problems.

What is a Design Process?

A design process is a systematic problem-solving strategy , with

criteria and constraints , used to develop many possible solutions to
solve or satisfy human needs or wants an narrow down the possible
solution to one final choice.
Definition of Design Thinking

Design thinking is an approach to solve complex problems in a user-

centred way. It is a hands on approach , following a structured process
to come to Innovate Solutions. Using an Elaborate set of design tools,
design thinking brings together what is desirable from the users point
of view, Technologically Feasible and Economically Viable.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

There are five stages in the life of a product

➢ Design Phase
➢ Manufacturing Phase
➢ Marketing Phase
➢ User Phase
➢ Disposal Phase

DESIGN

DISPOSAL MANUFACTURE

USER MARKET

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

➢ The marketing phase actually begins during the design phase.
➢ during the marketing phase, teams consider how to sell the
product and for what price.
➢ The user phase begins when consumers buy products, usually
directly from the manufacture or through retail store.
➢ It is important that users fully understand the proper use of the
product and that the product functions correctly.
➢ The user phase is not the end. No product lasts forever.
➢ In the disposal phase, the product is thrown away or recycled.
➢ Today, designers must think how the materials use in a product
can be safely disposed.
➢ Eg: If a product such as battery is improperly discarded , the
toxic chemical can cause environmental damage.
➢ Sustainable design, also called green or eco-design, happens
when designer think about the ecological impacts of the
design solution. Examples of sustainable designs include the
use of wind to generate electricity, hybrid cars, improved
home insulation, and recycling.
 Because most companies understand the different product life
cycle stages, and that the products they sell all have a limited lifespan,
the majority of them will invest heavily in new product development
in order to make sure that their businesses continue to grow.

The product life cycle has 4 very clearly defined stages, each with its
own characteristics

Introduction Stage – This stage of the cycle could be the most

expensive for a company launching a new product. The size of the
market for the product is small, which means sales are low, although
they will be increasing. On the other hand, the cost of things like
research and development, consumer testing, and the marketing
needed to launch the product can be very high.

Growth Stage – The growth stage is characterized by a strong growth

in sales and profits, and because the company can start to benefit from
economies of scale in production, the profit margins, as well as the
overall amount of profit, will increase. This makes it possible for
businesses to invest more money in the promotional activity to
maximize the potential of this growth stage.

Maturity Stage – During the maturity stage, the product is

established and the aim for the manufacturer is now to maintain the
market share they have built up. This is probably the most
competitive time for most products and businesses need to invest
wisely in any marketing they undertake. They also need to consider
any product modifications or improvements to the production process
which might give them a competitive advantage.

Decline Stage – Eventually, the market for a product will start to

shrink, and this is what’s known as the decline stage. This shrinkage
could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all the customers
who will buy the product have already purchased it), or because the
consumers are switching to a different type of product. While this
decline may be inevitable, it may still be possible for companies to
make some profit by switching to less-expensive production methods
and cheaper markets.

Case study:

i. iPhone Versions
ii. Android updates in mobile phones
iii. Fashion Products

DESIGN ETHICS
➢ The impacts of technology are not simple an often involve
ethical dilemmas.
➢ All design professionals should act ethically, as their work
affects individuals, society, and the environment.
➢ Sometimes even the best efforts at design solutions fail.
➢ "The Space Shuttle Challenger" disaster is studied frequently
as an example of a design failure that raises ethical questions.
 ➢ Most engineering societies and business organizations have
published codes of ethics.
➢ A code of ethics describes the behaviour is enforced, or what
happens to someone who acts unethically (NPSE code of Ethics
for Engineers).
➢ National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
Preamble:
• Engineering is important and learned profession.
• As members of this profession, engineers are expected to exhibit
the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
• Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life
for all people.
• Accordingly the services engineers provide require honesty,
impartiality, fairness, and equity and must be dedicated to the
protection of public health, safety and welfare.
• Engineers must perform under a standard of professional
behaviour that requires adherence to the highest principles of
ethical conduct.

Case study: The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle challenger disintegrated

only 73 seconds after take-off. All seven crew members were killed.
The investigation discovered that a flawed O-ring seal in the shuttle's
right solid rocket booster failed to function properly. The shuttle's
engineers created a segmented booster rocket design. The
transportation system required a segmented design because no system
was big enough to carry a single - piece booster rocket to the launch
pad. To join the segments of the rocket together, a rubber like O-ring
was used to create a seal between the segments.

During the second minute of the flight, the O-ring failed an let a
plume of flake leak out and burn through the external fuel tank,
destroying the challenger. They detected that there was a technical
flaw in O-ring. Investigators blamed that this disaster has been
occurred because of unusual cold temperatures, over compression of
the O-rings during assembly, and a lack of proper inspection.

Other Case Study

i. Space shuttle Columbia-February 1, 2003.

ii. The Bhopal Gas Disaster 2-3 December 1984.
iii. RMS Titanic Ship 15 April 1912.
iv. Failure in Wars- Cause of Weapons Used.
DESIGN PROCESS
Design is the process of planned change. Instead of something
changing by accident, design demands that we plan change so that we
end up with results we want. In a design process the goal is to
minimize undesired effects and control risk. Design also refers to the
process used to create something new-to solve a problem.

Problem Solving: The process of understanding a problem , devising

a plan, carrying out the plan, and evaluating the effectiveness of the
plan to solve a problem, or we meet a need or want.

Polya's four steps to effective problem solving:

George Polya a mathematician dedicated to improving mathematics

education through problem solving.,

1. Understand the problem

2. Make a plan

3. Carry out the plan

4. look back on the plan; how could it have been better.

FOUR STEP DESIGN PROCESS

STRATEGY PLANNING BUILD PROMTE

• Design • Sitemap • Site • Online

Brief • Wireframe Production Marketting
• Initial • Design • Web Plan
Meeting Concept Hosting • SEO
• Market • Calls To • CMS Setup Injection
Research Action • Database • Page
• Competitor • Design Setup Optimzatin
Analysis Review • Website • Link
• Keyword Setting Bulding
Research • Social
Media
Setup
FIVE STEP DESIGN PROCESS

ASK

IMPROVE IMAGINE

CREATE PLAN

1. Ask

➢ What is the problem?

➢ What have others done?
➢ What are the constraints?

2. Imagine

➢ What are some solutions.

➢ Brainstorm.
➢ Choose the best.

3. Plan

➢ Draw diagrams.
 ➢ List materials and equipment needed.
➢ Estimate what to do, by whom and by when.

4. Create

➢ Follow your plan and create.

➢ Test it out.

5. Improve

➢ Make your design better.

➢ Test it out.

All design Processes contain three important parts: Planning,

Ordering, and Repetition (or Iteration).

Planning:

➢ Design process is a plan.

➢ Experienced designers take the time to form a plan that lists ,
orders, and prioritizes items.
➢ Eg: Simply you will like deciding what clothing you are going
to wear for the day, you will form a plan in your mind and
implement your plan in a matter of seconds.

Ordering:

➢ Most design process place their steps in a certain order.

➢ This order is a sequential process.
➢ In a sequential process, each step is carried out in order.
 ➢ The five-step design process also follows an order. The arrow
will guide you clockwise through the process.
➢ A NON-SEQUENTIAL process lets designers jump backward
and forward between steps to more effectively develop a
solution.

Iteration:

➢ The third important attribute of a design process is the concept

of iteration.
➢ Iteration simply means repetition.
➢ The fifth step of the five-step process is to "Improve".
➢ This fifth step invites you to iterate either the whole design
process or subsets of the process steps.
➢ This repetition of several or all, of the design process steps, is an
accurate way to understand the implementation of the design
process.

TWELVE STEP DESIGN PROCESS

➢ The simplicity of the five step process makes it a useful
model for a design process.
➢ The 12-Step design process discussed in this section lays
out all of the possible steps for a project.
TWELVE STEP DESIGN PROCESS

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

BRAINSTORMING

RESEARCHING AND GENERATING IDEAS

IDENTIFYING CRITERIA AND SPECIFING CONSTRAINTS

EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES

SELECTING AN APPROACH

DEVELOPING A DESIGN PROPOSAL

MAKING A MODEL OR PROTOTYPE

TESTING AND EVALUATING

REFINING

CREATING OR MAKING

COMMUNICATING PROCESS AND RESULTS

Step 1. Defining the Problem
➢ The beginning of the design process is the identification and
definition of a problem need a solution.
➢ What is the problem? On the surface, this appears to be a simple
question. However, many projects are conducted without clear
definition an understanding of the problem, and are therefore
doomed from the start.
➢ An effective definition of a problem requires careful observation
and objective points of view.

Step 2. Brainstorming

➢ Once the problem is well defined, the design team collaborates.

➢ In Brainstorming, each team member contributes his or her
unique ideas to generate solutions to the problem.
➢ It is important for each team member to remain non-judgmental
and to not overanalyse ideas presented.
➢ In a brainstorming session, often several team members are
assigned responsibilities.
➢ It is helpful to have one or more participants responsible for
recording all important aspects of the meeting, particularly
everyone's ideas and input.
➢ It is also helpful to designate a meeting leader.
➢ The responsibilities of the leader may include setting up the time
and place of the meeting, ensuring attendance, and constructing
an agenda for the team to follow.
 ➢ An agenda creates order in the meeting and begins the
brainstorming process by validating each topic to be discussed.

Step 3. Researching And Generating Ideas

➢ Investigation and research help people to discover prior

knowledge that will be helpful for implementing solutions to
particular design problems.
➢ Often the trick is finding previously use concepts and applying
or modifying them to new situation.
➢ Studying existing devices and solutions, and exploring existing
knowledge also help designers develop new ideas for new
solutions.
➢ Reverse Engineering also helps generate ideas.
➢ This is another phase where innovative, out-of-box thinking can
occur.
➢ Sources of the research are library, Internet , or Documents
from previous projects.
➢ Directly consulting with experts in technologies or devices that
your considering using can also lead to invaluable research.

Step 4. Identifying Criteria and Specifying Constraints

Criteria: Principles or Standards by which something may be judged

or decided.
Constraints: A Limitation or Restriction. A limit to a design process.
Constraints may be such things as funding, space, materials, and
human capabilities.

Design Brief: A written plan that Identifies a problem to be solved its

criteria and constraints. A design brief encourages thinking of all
aspects of the problem before attempting a solution.

➢ This phase requires you to detail what it is you indeed to do and

what the imposed limitations are."
➢ " Identifying Criteria and Specifying Constraints" phase requires
making decisions, sometimes difficult decisions.
➢ There is no need to spend valuable time and resources
addressing unessential criteria.
➢ Documenting and setting constraints also occur in this phase.
➢ It is time to write all this information down in a clear and
concise manner.
➢ The Design Brief summarizes the criteria and constraints for the
problem.
➢ A design brief is meant to encourage open thinking about all
parts of a problem.
➢ A design brief does not list, or even suggest, any methods or
solutions.
➢ Review your design brief to ensure it accurately conveys the
work of the design team up to this point.
 ➢ At the end of this phase, you probably know enough about your
problem to put together a good time frame for all of the major
tasks required.

Step 5. Exploring Possibilities

➢ This phase requires a lot of attention to detail.

➢ In this phase, you should consider all of the ideas from your
brainstorming sessions and your research.
➢ The Explore step is completed when you are ready to move to
the next phase, "Selecting an Approach".
➢ In the explore phase, you will need to work out your alternative
solutions.
➢ Developing a number of different solutions to a problem may
mean considering the size, shape, placement, or choices of
materials at this early stage.
➢ You may even need to complete a more detailed analysis of a
mechanical, electrical, or aesthetic design to see if a solution
works.
➢ This may involve computer modelling or discussing your
problem with a knowledgeable vendor, both being efficient and
accurate methods for exploring.
➢ Engineering Notebooks, used frequently in Industry, represents
legally recognised "hard copy" evidence of Innovation, which
can be a deciding factor for both granting a patent and
successfully defending a patent.
Step 6. Selecting an Approach

➢ The team is now ready to "down-select" from the available

options.
➢ By down-select, we simply mean that the team needs to perform
an assessment and then choose a design path, or possibly a few
design paths if the team has resources to do so.
➢ The design ideas need to be pared down though a selection or
assessment process.
➢ A design team rarely has the resources to try all of the design
ideas, so the team needs to choose only those ideas that may
think will be most successful or useful.
➢ This is often the focal point of risk management-making good
decisions here will be a key contributor to project success or
failure.
➢ There may be several design options that all appear to be
workable, and all may solve the problem, but the team has to
choose the best among alternatives.
➢ The team documents a summary of the reasons for choosing
each particular solution.

Step 7. Developing a Design Proposal

➢ The team needs to complete all preparations to make a model

or prototype.
➢ Here the team will complete a set of suitable documents for
creating a prototype or model of the design.
 ➢ The Documentation Design Proposal, can consists of
computer- aided design (CAD) drawings, text descriptions, or
hand drawings.
➢ The documentation must be clean, legible, and easy to
understand. The final drawings will need to specify all 1)
Materials 2) Dimensions, and 3) Processes to be used in the
construction of the prototype or model.

Step 8. Making a Model or Prototype

➢ The team is now ready to construct a model or prototype of the

solution.
➢ All the designs completed to this point need to be tested.
➢ This is the construction phase. The team collects materials in
this phase, and the physical work of fabrication begins and ends.
➢ A model or "mock-up" is, in many ways, less advanced than a
prototype because the purpose of a model is to test only a
minority of functions or features of the final design.
➢ A prototype is much closer to the form, fit and function of the
final design.

Step 9. Testing and Evaluating

➢ The team uses the model or prototype to evaluate how well

the design meets the criteria set earlier in this project.
➢ The test an evaluation phase should give you the crucial
information about these aspects of the design.
 ➢ In Industry, the testing and evaluation phase for some projects
is so important that a completely separate design team designs
and implements a detailed testing procedure: a "Test Plan".
➢ Most Important phase for Test and Evaluation phase
i. Make a list of attributes that are important to test.
ii. Design a set of Experiments. In this Experiments,
consider testing in two types of conditions: (i)Under
Controlled conditions and (ii) In a working
Environment.
iii. Gather and record your test data. Analyse your data and
compare it to the criteria and specification for the
design.
iv. Conclude by writing a complete summary of your
testing.

Step 10. Refining the Design

➢ Inevitably, problems arise with all design projects.

➢ It is rare that project is successful on the first try.
➢ Therefore, some redesign or "Tweaking" typically is necessary.
There are two possibilities in this phase.
➢ If the result of the test and evaluation phase indicate that all of
the criteria or specifications have been satisfied, then the team
proceeds to Step 11, "Creating or Making " the Design
➢ Otherwise the team works on Redesign.

Step 11. Creating or Making

 ➢ The design process is almost complete.
➢ In this phase, the design or product is mature enough for final
fabrication.
➢ The fabrication requires the necessary tools and materials to
make the design.
➢ Some designs will require only readily available tools and
materials, while other designs will require very special tools.
➢ For commercial application, this phase translates to being ready
for production. There are two general categories of production:
(i) Mass Production and (ii) Custom Production.
➢ It is important in this phase to fabricate the product exactly as
the successful prototypes.

Step 12. Communicating Process and Results

➢ The Communication should include one or all of the following:

A Slide Presentation, Technical Reports, Detailed Design
Drawings, or Sketches.
➢ The final design documentation should communicate clearly and
completely (i)What the design is and (ii) How well the design
works.
➢ Final documentation should include all the necessary Charts,
Graphs, Calculations, CAD drawings, Modelling, and
Simulations that, taken as whole, represent in final design.
 ➢ In Industry, the final design documentation can be very
extensive, consisting of hundreds of pages of information that
comprise a comprehensive description of the final product.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Creativity is the ability to produce new and at times unique
ideas, and innovation is the implementation of that creativity, whether
that be a new idea, solution, process, or product. Creativity involves
breaking down and restructuring our knowledge about a subject in
order to gain new insights.

Creativity is related to ‘imagination’, but innovation is related to

‘implementation’.

Definition of Creativity:

➢ Creativity is the characteristic of a person to generate new ideas,

alternatives, solutions, and possibilities in a unique and different
way.
➢ Creativity is the ability to conceive something unpredictable,
original and unique. It must be expressive, exciting and
imaginative. It is the mirror of how beautifully a person can
think in any given circumstance.
Definition of Innovation

➢ Innovation is an act of application of new ideas to which creates

some value for the business organization, government, and
society as well.

➢ Innovation is closely tied to creativity i.e. putting creative ideas

into action is an innovation, whose consequences should be
positive. It is the process of doing something better for the first
time, which was not previously done by any entity.
Differences Between Creativity and Innovation

The following are the major differences between Creativity and

Innovation:

S.No. CREATIVITY INNOVATION

1. The quality of thinking new The act of executing the
ideas and putting them into creative ideas into practice is
reality is creativity. Innovation.
2. Creativity is an imaginative Innovation is a productive
process. process.
3. Creativity can never be Innovation can be measured.
measured.
4. Creativity is related to the Innovation is related to
generation of ideas which introduce something better into
are new and unique. the market.
5. Creativity does not require Innovation requires money.
money.
6. No risk involved in Risk is always attached to
Creativity. Innovation.

Example: The invention of the motorcycle was the biggest innovation

over scooters. In early centuries, people used to travel with scooters,
for which they have to make lots of efforts to start it like they need to
strike the kick and knee down from either side if it doesn’t start. So,
years and years passed away, and nobody even thought for the
invention of bikes. The invention of the motorcycle makes them
realize that they can also ride bikes without making any extra efforts,
they just have to click the switch and its starts automatically.

Case Study:

i. The Development of the bicycle demonstrates dramatic

Innovation over the years.
ii. Outdoor Sports Equipment offers many challenges
iii. A Weather Station that can measure Temperature,
Humidity, Atmospheric Pressure, and possibly other
weather-related data.

DESIGN LIMITATION
1. Resources (Land, Material etc)
2. Human Resources (Area where humans can be employed,
Places Where Robot can be employed)
3. Materials and Equipment
4. Time (Considered for designing, manufacturing and assembly)
5. Economic Factors (all costs, such as materials, labour, fees, etc)
6. Physical Factors
7. Aesthetics
8. Marketability (Promote your product in the market)
9. Reliability (Component to perform its required functions under
stated conditions for a specified time)
10. Manufacturability (Type of manufacturing facilities available)
11. Safety (Human, Animal and Environment)
12. Ethics