- •Unit 1 Product Development
- •1. Look at the products below and answer the questions for each product.
- •2. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations.
- •3. Read the following international words and guess their meanings.
- •4. Complete the sentences to show that you understand the meaning of the new words:
- •Tool to launch holistic sketch performance demand
- •To modify to solve problems to stand out design brief
- •Corporate identity
- •Text 1 stages in design process
- •1. Read the text again and put the stages in the right order:
- •Text 2 product design and evaluation
- •1. Designing products to meet the demand from consumers is called________________?
- •3. Are there only two driving forces for appearance of new designs? text 4
- •Societal, cultural and market influences
- •1. Decode the meaning of societal, cultural and market influences.
- •2. Write а definition of ’design statement’ in your own words.
- •3. What does it mean to be aware of consumer demand? Choose the right variant.
- •4. What is market research?
- •I. Choose the suitable title for the text.
- •1. Why do designers and manufacturers need market research?
- •2. What forms of market research are mentioned in the text?
- •The development of the consumer society
- •I. For how long do you usually use things like pens, mobile phones, tv sets, cars, etc. What does it depend on? Discuss the reasons with your group mates.
- •II. Read the title of the text. Can you explain the term “planned obsolescence”?
- •III. Read the text using a dictionary. Check your answer. Planned obsolescence
- •1. Read the text and say whether the following statements are true, false or not mentioned in the text:
- •2. Find the paragraph containing the following information:
- •3. State the main idea of the text:
- •Companies vs consumers
- •Unit 2 Design-led Companies
- •1. Look at the pictures of car prototypes and answer the questions:
- •2. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations.
- •3. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations.
- •4. Complete the sentences to show that you understand the meaning of the new words:
- •Text 10
- •1. Make a list of the most important points discussed in the text.
- •2. Give a summary of the text using your list. Text 11
- •Aston martin
- •Porsche
- •Text 12
- •I. Read the text and name Alessi’s famous designs. Alessi
- •1. Translate the text with a dictionary.
- •2. Give the company’s background. Text 13
- •9093 Kettle
- •Text 14
- •I. Do you have any Apple products? Describe them.
- •II. Read the text and translate it with a dictionary. Apple
- •Text 15
- •Bang & Olufsen
- •Text 16
- •I. Do you know products design in Japan? Can you characterize them? Are there any distinct features of Japanese design?
- •II. Read the story of Sony Corporation and say why these dates are important for Sony?
- •1. Why did Sony have to change its name?
- •2. What is Walkman, Watchman and Discman?
- •3. Sony predicted: "The Eighties was the age of the pc and the Nineties was the age of the Internet, the 2000s will be the age of the robot." - what will be the 2010s?
- •5. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the words below:
- •Text 17
- •2. Render the text in English:
- •Text 18
- •Text 19
- •1. Read the text and say whether the following statements are true, false or not mentioned in the text:
- •2. Find the paragraph containing the following information:
- •3 State the main idea of the text.
- •4. Go to page 82 . Read another story about Lego “Lego is the best brick on the block”. What new information does it contain? text 20
- •Sleek and super-fast: London's new Javelin trains are a design triumph
- •Text 21
- •I. Read the title of the story. Make а list of questions you think the story will answer.
- •II. Read the story. Which questions has the story answered? nokia 6310
- •Text 22
- •A tragedy in tableware
- •1. Read the text again and fill in the table:
- •Text 23
- •Tetra pak
- •Unit 3 Designers at work
- •2. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations.
- •3. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations.
- •4. Complete the sentences to show that you understand the meaning of the new words:
- •Text 24
- •1. What product designers do you know? What designs are they famous for?
- •2. Do you know product designers from Russia or the ussr?
- •1. Find out the same information about the following designers: Phillipe Starck, Jusper Morrison, Jean Otis Reinecke, James Dyson, Luigi Colani.
- •2. Speak about one of these designers. Text 25
- •I) Where do you design?
- •Designing is work
- •Text 26 looking for а job
- •I. Have you decided on the work that is right for you? How do you know it's right for you? Below is а list of things people consider when they are thinking about what kind of work they want to do.
- •Text 27
- •I. Study the cv. It is based on the European Curriculum Vitae format.
- •II. Write your own cv for one of the jobs above. You can invent work experience for this task.
- •Text 28
- •Haus proud: The women of Bauhaus
- •1. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius believed that women thought in two dimensions, while men could grapple with three. Do you agree? supplementary assigments text 29
- •Text 30
- •Convergent design
- •Text 31
- •Text 32
- •Lego is the best brick on the block
- •Text 33 color quiz
- •1. Read the descriptions and match the colors with the characteristics:
- •2. Go to the web page with the quiz and find out your color. Do you agree with the result? If not, read the personal characteristics below and choose the color you fit better.
- •3. Read your results to the group. Do your group mates agree with your color?
1. Designing products to meet the demand from consumers is called________________?
2. Re-designing a product because of changes in materials or manufacturing methods is called __________________?
3. Are there only two driving forces for appearance of new designs? text 4
Read the text. Use a dictionary if necessary.
Societal, cultural and market influences
Obviously designers have to think about what people want from a product. But consumer demand is a complex matter. Consumers are influenced by fashion, by public perceptions, by moral attitudes, and by changing lifestyles. Product designers need to consider all these factors, as well as making sure the product conforms to current laws and standards.
Design is influenced by what people want, and what people want is affected by societal, cultural and market influences. These influences come in the shape of current lifestyles and fashions, and the influence of design from other times and other cultures.
Market influences are partly caused by the fact that people want to have the same products as their friends. You and your friends will have similar interests, which designers have to understand if their products are to fit in with your lifestyle and sell well. Designers of mobile phones know that they have to design phones which will not only meet your and your friends' needs, but also make the right kind of ’design statement’ about you - the users.
At the same time, however, people want to be individuals, to stand out from the crowd, and express themselves by, for example, wearing clothes that look and feel unique. Designers need to understand this desire, otherwise their products will not sell. Mobile phones and clothes make 'design statements' about their owners.
Consumer choice
Consumer choice is the idea that consumers should have a wide range of products to choose from, because different consumers will want different styles, different performance, and different prices when considering a purchase. Consumer choice is an influence on design, because designers need to know what their potential customers are looking for if they are going to design and make successful products.
Car manufacturers, for example, will design and make the same model of car in many slightly different versions, to suit individual drivers' different tastes.
Market research
Companies use market research to find out what people want. Interviews or questionnaires are used to gather people's views on the products they like, the functions and features they require, and the amount of money they would be prepared to pay. Sometimes the research is focused on a particular group of people – eg. women, people of a certain age-range or salary level - who have been identified as key potential consumers.
The results of the research are then passed on to the designer, whose job it is to design products which meet these consumer expectations. When designing your own products, you also need to do some basic market research to find out your potential users' requirements.