Design and Manufacture
This course allows learners to explore the multi-faceted world of product design and manufacturing. Creativity is at the heart and stresses the integration of designing and making. It provides opportunities for learners to apply practical skills and an understanding of the properties and uses of materials and manufacturing processes. It does so in a way that allows learners to inform and refine their ideas and design proposals. It offers them the opportunity to explore design alternatives and consider the manufacturing practicalities that these alternatives bring to light.
The course combines elements of creativity and designing for aesthetic or visual impact with elements of designing for manufacture. It helps learners appreciate the importance of their products form, function, and performance and the impact it may have on the environment.
Learners explore the various factors that impact a product’s design. They consider the life cycle of a product from inception through design, manufacture, and use, including its disposal and/or re-use a key factor in developing a sustainable future.