gcse product design - need ideas

howsmyriding27

i need some ideas please on my gcse product design course. the brief is:

you have been given the opportuinity to start your own business selling a product or products that you have designed and made. you product must be capable of being mass produced.

any ideas on what i can do? (keep it real please)

MentalRaver

dead simple...if you are interested in bikes then do something on bikes.

Keep it basic and make sure your course work is concise and you will get good grades.

don't waste your time doing something that will require millions of parts to be sourced, designed, etc.

Your not being marked for genius skills in future designs, more your conceptualisation and realisation of your idea.

If it was me I would decide to do something like snapped derailleur bodge up trail repair kit thing made out of good strong materials and simple design. Use MBUK readers pages of recent months for research and hey presto, my idea is half way.

baccaman21

Design a rear mudguard that can be cut from a single piece of medium/heavy plastic sheet that can be stored flat in a backpack and attached in seconds using a nifty non bolt/screw solution... something like this

Big Red S

Hm. In general, the way to a bad grade is to do it on bikes - the examiner wont understand and wont try to, either.

In general, the prettyness of the finished piece, and moreso the accompanying paperwork, is more important than the functionality or suitability of the product.

captainchucky

I dunno if things have changed, but i did technology at GCSE, and we had to make a working model of what we designed.

If product design is differant, where you think of a problem, design/create a solution, but dont have to make it work, then go bold i say.

Think of a problem and devise some solution for it. Whether its technically feasible thats not your problem.

(this isnt going to help you much) But personally i have an idea to a problem i have on a bike, and i know alot of people have the same problem.

But there deffintly are simple problems on bikes, with simple solutions, you just have to think.

Next time your out on your bike and you think, wouldnt it be sweet if.... think to yourself, why cant it be sweet, and how do i make it sweet.

deanvw

is this starting yr 10? or yr 11? Is this the product breif where you done the camera in yr 9 or mobile phone then yr 11 you could choose what ever you want. I done a Playstation Game case, a t-shirt, cover for the cd, and a acrylic stand. if you pm me i can show you my coursework. also send an email to mtbdean@hotmail.co.uk (i just left school with a B in Graphic Product design.

howsmyriding27

thanks for the replys - ive done yr 10 and now in yr 11

its a new course i think and so ive just been told wot is above

deanvw

personally i would'nt do bikes as big red s said

the examiner wont understand and wont try to

so do somthing different as in a range of toolboxes, a famous place eg: tourist information , cars etc etc

baccaman21

deanvw wrote:

personally i would'nt do bikes as big red s said

the examiner wont understand and wont try to

so do somthing different as in a range of toolboxes, a famous place eg: tourist information , cars etc etc

why would the examiner not understand...? it's a bit presumptious to think the examiners are not clued up about things isn't it? Stuffy old farts?! After all bikes have been around for a very long time you know... unlike Playstations and CD's... and wasn't it dean who got a B in whatever he did doing Playstation Cases and CD covers? (not exactly blue sky thinking there but it got him a B?)

" I done a Playstation Game case, a t-shirt, cover for the cd, and a acrylic stand. if you pm me i can show you my coursework"

deanvw

well. if its stuff which your parents don't know about my teacher said it aint worth doing, so i done a questionnare thingy on another forum and that is what everyone said to do.

Big Red S

baccaman21 wrote:

deanvw wrote:

personally i would'nt do bikes as big red s said

the examiner wont understand and wont try to

so do somthing different as in a range of toolboxes, a famous place eg: tourist information , cars etc etc

why would the examiner not understand...?

A lack of interest, I presume.

deanvw

yh. they aint traind 2 understand what it is they just look at the design

mistercrabb

I assume that the product doesnt need to be functional?

Make a mobile phone. Make it out of polystyrene or or MDF.
Like i said, i assume the product doesnt need to be functional (so buttons wouldnt have to move, screen could be a sticker, etc). There are lots of phones already on the market for you to research, and they can look very nice and ergonomic <(thats a gcse word there ^_^).


For my design graphics coursework, i had to make leaflets, logos and a point of sale display for a product which i didnt have to make (i photographed my camera using another camera and used that).

Im in year 12 now, and i already get more homework than in year 11

deanvw

i tell you summit...loook at the Casio G-Zone. That was designed in a japansese gcse product. the teachers thought it was so good, they send it to mobile phone manufature and they decided to produce it.! I really want one too!

P66

Big Red S wrote:

Hm. In general, the way to a bad grade is to do it on bikes - the examiner wont understand and wont try to, either.

In general, the prettyness of the finished piece, and moreso the accompanying paperwork, is more important than the functionality or suitability of the product.

Thats where youre wrong, I did the whole course on Marzocchi freeride range and got an A.

Big Red S

P66 wrote:

Big Red S wrote:

Hm. In general, the way to a bad grade is to do it on bikes - the examiner wont understand and wont try to, either.

In general, the prettyness of the finished piece, and moreso the accompanying paperwork, is more important than the functionality or suitability of the product.

Thats where youre wrong, I did the whole course on Marzocchi freeride range and got an A.

I did say 'in general'....

nickcuk

Mudguard with no-contact dynamo, powered by magnets, including recharging for whopping front lights, a gps computer with bluetooth and heart rate monitor.

I'd buy one

mistercrabb

nickcuk wrote:

Mudguard with no-contact dynamo, powered by magnets, including recharging for whopping front lights, a gps computer with bluetooth and heart rate monitor.

I'd buy one

I think it has to actually be reasonably possible to make

nickcuk

mistercrabb wrote:

nickcuk wrote:

Mudguard with no-contact dynamo, powered by magnets, including recharging for whopping front lights, a gps computer with bluetooth and heart rate monitor.

I'd buy one

I think it has to actually be reasonably possible to make

No-contact dynamos exist and all the rest is easy to make - pretty standard I'd say. As for design and size of the finished unit, costs-to-make and the potential market, they are other issues. Depends how much detail the course requires.

mistercrabb

nickcuk wrote:

mistercrabb wrote:

nickcuk wrote:

Mudguard with no-contact dynamo, powered by magnets, including recharging for whopping front lights, a gps computer with bluetooth and heart rate monitor.

I'd buy one

I think it has to actually be reasonably possible to make

No-contact dynamos exist and all the rest is easy to make - pretty standard I'd say. As for design and size of the finished unit, costs-to-make and the potential market, they are other issues. Depends how much detail the course requires.

Hmm.. true.
But he has to make a non working prototype (judging from his first post). How do you make a mudgaurd or lights? In our school we just had basicly mdf, card and polystyrene. Even with decent materials, it would take too long to make to be worth the effort, in my opinion.

A pc game or a dvd in a nice cardboard box would go well. Simple, but they can look really nice. Though that may be more of a Graphics coursework peice.