Investigate:
How can we create a successful design?

Objectives: During your investigation you should…..

INVESTIGATION

Task specific clarification

A. Identify the problem to be solved

 
  • consider the importance of the problem for life, society and/or the environment
  • Write about the importance of a common identity as students and teachers leave for their Middle school field trip.
  • Write about how a T-shirt design can create this identity and what impact your design could have
  • outline a simple design brief.
  • outline a simple design brief.

B. Develop the design brief

 
  • ask relevant questions at the different stages of the investigation .
  • answer the following questions:
    • What are the needs of my client?
    • What past designs do you feel have been successful?
    • What specific criteria should good design follow?
    • How can your design best communicate your message?
  • include some of your own investigation questions that are relevant to this project
  • In your own words try and answer as many of the questions as you can
  • identify appropriate sources of information and acknowledge these using the MLA format (easybib)
  • include a range of sources (3 + types and at least 5 appropriate sources)
  • acknowledge these sources using the MLA format (easybib)
  • collect and select information,organize it logically and, with guidance, begin to analyse it

C. Formulate a design specification

 
  • consider, with guidance, the value of sources of information
  • consider the reliability / value of your sources of information
  • list, with limited guidance, the specific requirements that must be met by the product/solution
  • create a detailed design specification
  • design, with limited guidance, tests to evaluate the product/solution against the design specification
  • We will do this later - This will be done during the design stage

 

Task 1: The Design Brief

  1. Make sure you have completed the design brief see here if you have not!

Task 2a: Gathering and analysing information

  1. Create mind maps (idea web) showing all your ideas..- You could create four mind maps as follows:
    1. Mekong
    2. Long Hai
    3. Da Lat
    4. General (this is where you can include things like; team building, friendships, MYP. These are things that happen on all of the trips )

    You could include questions if you need to find out some more information about an idea

  2. Collect pictures of T-shirts that are RELEVANT to this project. Explore the internet and magazines to see if you can find other 'event' style T-shirts and research the latest trends. You MUST use a wide variety of sources. You will not get a 6 or even a 4 if you just concentrate on the internet

The winning design for 2008-2009

  1. Evaluate your chosen pictures. What are the good and bad points about these designs. Can you use something similar in your designs?

    A good example of a T-shirt evaluation by Lisa.

    Image Good points Bad points What could I do similar in my designs?

    - I really like the font on this t-shirt. I think it’s creative and cool.

    		 - Although the font looks cool, I think it could turn into a problem because if all the tall letters go up like that it may get a bit distracting. - I think I could use this font on my t-shirt but I would probably make the long parts a bit shorter.
  2. A SURVEY

    Define your client. (The Middle School Community). Create a survey to find out about the fashion likes and dislikes of the Middle School.
    • How much do they care about fashion?
    • Do they normally wear a lot of T-shirts?
  3. What are the similarities between the three different Year Groups and what are the differences?
  4. Read the document on principles good T-shirt design here . Write down the important points that you think will help you in your designs.
  5. Using all the information you have collected so far, what kind of designs do you think will best serve our Middle School community?

Task 2b: Have you used a variety of sources?

  1. Make sure you have a variety of sources. e.g. internet, interviews, books, magazines, surveys, photographs. If not go back to task 2a!

Task 3: The Deign Specification

  1. What are the design constraints? Colours, Materials etc

    Information on screen printing here
    Some design constraints:

    • The shirt must contain the words: Middle School Field Trips 2008 - 2009
    • The design can only be 4 colours ( the colour of the t-shirt + 3 more colours. Black and white count as colours)
    • NO CLIPART
    • NO WORDART
    • 100% ORIGINAL

  2. Create a design specification: It should include:

    The Audience- Who you are designing for (who will use the T-shirt)

    What the successful design must do: taken from the design brief

    Production -

    3. What it should look like (Size/colours/etc)

    Tools/software needed to make the design

    Time needed to complete the design

    How it will be used




    (Grade 7 example here). This will list the sort of things you need to include. You will have to change the words to fit with our grade 8 project.

3.If you have Extra Time Add your comments to our Design Specification Wiki - Lets see if we can create the perfect design aspecification. See the OLC here

 

Task 4: Bibliography

  1. Create a bibliography, outlining ALL the sources of your information (books, magazines, interviews etc.) How? see here

Task 5: Evaluate

  • Evaluation of the Investigation Stage : Evaluate your progress so far, include:
    • The Process - (Approaches to learning)
      1. research skills (information literacy)
      2. organization skills.
      3. Attitude to work (this unit)
      4. suggest improvements.
    • The content of your work -
      1. what level do you think you have achieved in this section? Explain your answer.
      2. suggest ways to improve in the future.

Look at a wonderful piece of Investigation work by Lisa Hildebrand. here. This should give you a good idea about the expectations of this unit.

Rubric here