Creative eduCation aCademiesDesign Programme: Key ConCePts

The Creative Education Trust believes that by putting design at the centre of the curriculum it can set young people on the path to economic independence as creative, practical and enterprising adults.

The Key Stage 3 Design Programme for CET academies combines a conceptual framework with practical skills. This booklet is an introduction to the six concepts that are the foundation for all the design projects in Key Stage 3 (11-14), and which will underpin curriculum development for the later key stages.

As well as underpinning the teaching and learning of design, the Key Concepts permit meaningful connections to be made with other subjects in the curriculum. PATTErn, for example, is an essential concept in Maths, Music and Geography. Much of what is studied in English focuses on the concept of MEAninG. in Science students learn about the PErforMAnCE of matter and materials under conditions of heat, light, stress, humidity and so on. We speak of the structure of atoms in Physics, the structure of revolutions in History, the structure of grammar in languages and the structure of argument – what better way to understand STruCTurE than by building something? The concept of HuMAn inTErACTion has grown in prominence with advances in electronic technology and with the evolving understanding of the ‘user’ as a central concern of many designers. But how people behave - and how they interact with the manufactured and natural worlds - also influences many aspects of Geography, History, Economics and Engineering. finally, fABriCATion links the activity of design with practical creativity in any subject, from an experiment in Chemistry to arranging the words in a passage of English prose.

Beyond the classroom, the students and staff of Creative Education Trust academies benefit from an outstanding range of contacts and partners, from national museums and design companies to local manufacturers; the world-class professionals and businesses that give Britain its reputation for innovation and creative enterprise.

Emily CampbellDirector of Programmes

STruCTurE

PATTErn

fABriCATion

MEAninG

PErforMAnCE

HuMAn inTErACTion

CoVEr The Creative Education Trust mark, designed by Powell Allen, is based on the Golden ratio which has fascinated mathematicians and artists since ancient times.

The physical form of man-made objects and environments is rarely accidental; usually it is a result of people’s decisions.

Decisions about structure, or form, are governed by the material, technology, knowledge, skill and labour available, as well as by aesthetic considerations.

objects and environments can be formed of a single part and/or a single material, but more often they are made up of different parts and materials joined together.

The choice and arrangement of different parts can change the way something functions, the way it is perceived or understood, and its aesthetic effect.

The structure of objects can be flat or three-dimensional; and flat material can be made into three-dimensional objects or environments.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

STruCTurE

‘A fold is like a line on paper: it lets you sketch in bold, simple, rational, uncompromising, three-dimensional form.’ AlExAnDEr TAylor

lEfT Alexander Taylor’s ‘fold’ light for Established & Sons is constructed and made to stand by making multiple folds in a single sheet of aluminium.

ABoVE nature abounds with elegant and purposeful structures; the challenge of structure has inspired design since ancient times.

KEy ConCEPTS | struCture

repetition occurs in most of the things that we see; this repetition is called pattern, or series.

repetition, or pattern, or series, can be created or used to influence recognition or understanding, to signify groups and hierarchies, and to enhance aesthetic interest and pleasure.

Equally, the absence or disruption of a pattern can be deliberate: a means to reinforce it or test its strength.

repetition, or pattern, or series, is used in industrial production to create multiple products, adaptable systems and economies of scale.

repetition in what we see can reveal hidden things about human practice or the natural world that we might want to change.

PATTErn

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

‘The intention was to achieve easy assembly and the greatest possible variability from the efficient manufacture of a small number of parts’ ViTSoE ArCHiVE

riGHT The Vitsoe 606 universal Shelving System, designed by Dieter rams in 1960 was devised by considering the common features of a wide variety of situations.

ABoVE The growth of commercial art owes much to surface pattern design like this 1850 wallpaper by A.W.n. Pugin; patterns occur in nature as well as the manufactured world.

KEy ConCEPTS | Pattern

objects and environments that do not occur in nature have been made, crafted or manufactured by people, either by hand or using tools and machines.

ideas can be shared with other people if you fabricate them; that is, if you make a picture or object that represents your idea and that someone else can see, touch or experience.

We can get better at making, crafting and manufacturing things by practising hand skills and learning to use tools and machines; the better we are at making, crafting and manufacturing things, the better others will understand our idea.

fabrication is always constrained by the resources of material, technology, skill, time and labour available.

fABriCATion

a.

b.

c.

d.

KEy ConCEPTS | FaBriCation

ABoVE Max lamb casting pewter furniture by hand on a Cornish beach.

‘Our ability to fabricate, or to realise our ideas, determines our relevance as designers’ MAx lAMB

riGHT & BEloW The human need to make and manufacture unites the Celts and their primitive tools; the elaborate, decorative craftsmanship of earlier centuries exemplified by the silversmithing of Paul de lamerie; and today’s high-tech additive and digital manufacturing machines like the reprap 3D printer.

objects and environments can signify, symbolise, represent or seem associated with something else, or with a combination of other things.

The physical form of objects andenvironments can be manipulated to change what they mean, symbolise, represent or seem associated with.

Changing what objects and environments symbolise, represent or seem associated with can change the way people feel about or understand them.

Different people may infer different meanings from the same object or environment; and people may infer meanings that were not intended by the designer.

MEAninG

a.

b.

c.

d.

lEfT Mathias Megyeri’s cartoon-spikes change the meaning of security railings.

BEloW The origins of graphic design lie in the making of signs and symbols; even animals have evolved with the power to signify visually.

‘In the attention economy it’s intuition rather than logical thinking that can help us cope with information overload’ MATHiAS MEGyEri

KEy ConCEPTS | meaning

Man-made objects and environments have been produced in order to answer a need or fulfil a function or purpose. They will be judged as successful or unsuccessful depending on the extent to which they answer this need or fulfil this function or purpose.

Materials have properties which affect their performance. The performance of materials can be modified, for example by altering the structure of the material, by combining different materials, and by the integration of motion, light, electronics or other technology.

A need, function or purpose can be aesthetic or emotional, although these are often themost difficult to judge as successful orotherwise. Aesthetic or emotive performance may overrule other performanceconsiderations like ergonomic comfort and safety, legibility, durability, cost etc. in certainobjects (high heels, for example). Just as frequently, ergonomic comfort and safety overrule aesthetics and emotional value (indisability products, for example).

Today, performance is increasingly planned and judged in view of the need to reduce our use of materials and energy.

PErforMAnCE

a.

b.

c.

d.

LEFT Troika’s ‘Palindrome’ mechanical entrance sign for the Victoria & Albert Museum rotates the characters on vertical and horizontal axes.

BELOW The wheel, the archetypal performing structure; one of nature’s performing plants, dionaea muscipula, the Venus Flytrap.

‘Designers and artists have always responded to scientific and technological advances of their time’

SEBASTiEn nOEL, TrOikA

kEy cOncEPTS | PERFORMANCE

All man-made objects and environments will be seen or used by people. it can be argued that such products and environments are only complete and fully-realised in human use.

People’s perception and use of objects and environments is affected by what they have already seen and used, by their tastes and habits, and by what they know.

A product or environment may not be successful if it has not been designed to take account of the way people perceive and use things.

However, the design of a product or environment can also change the way people perceive and use things: the product may influence, as much it has been influenced by, what people are like.

HuMAn inTErACTion

a.

b.

c.

d.

‘Almost everything we use nowadays - a washing machine, the electric windows in a car - is automated in one way or another’ Moritz WaldeMeyer

leFt the ‘lolita’ chandelier by ron arad and Moritz Waldemeyer displays messages sent to it by SMS: it is only fully realised by virtue of interaction.

riGHt We see things that were not intended, and may not see what was intended; there are objects so familiar, like buttons and handles, that we use them intuitively.

key conceptS | HUMAN INTERACTION

The Key Stage 3 design programme is a progression of conceptual and practical skills integrating aspects of Art and iCT with Design and Technology. it begins with short tasks in year 7 that introduce basic visual, making and construction skills linked to the Key Concepts, moving to more complex design challenges in year 8 and holistic projects in year 9 which draw together skills and knowledge from a range of subjects in the curriculum.

We provide substantial resources to support these projects: detailed unit planning documents and inspirational collections of images and information that connect the classroom with the exciting world of design. A number of signature projects have been created in collaboration with some of Britain’s leading designers.

Year 7 projects include the design and manufacture of a simplified shape in two- and three-dimensions, a fibre-based material, a folded structure, a layered structure, a virtual structure (in the digital environment), a composition, a volume, a pattern, a symbol, a campaign, a brand, several message-bearers (bags and boxes) an illuminated shape, a performing structure and an animated character.

Year 8 projects include challenges associated with aerodynamics, repair, display, the meaning of clothes, the engineering of light and the creation of product families.

Year 9 projects address emergency relief, cultural history, storage, landscape, multi-functionality and transport.

FfElTinG

filE TyPES & filE

filES & folDErS

finiSHinG: SMooTHinG

& VArniSHinG

floW DiAGrAMS

frAME & SHEll STruCTurES

gGATHErinG

GluEinG

HHAnD-SEWinG: runninG STiTCH,

BACK STiTCH, BlAnKET STiTCH,

EMBroiDEry STiTCHES

HEAT TrAnSfEr

HEMS

iilluSTrATion

iMAGE MAniPulATion

ironinG

iSoMETriC ProJECTion

JJoinTS: BuTT, MiTrE, rEBATE

& finGEr/CoMB

KKniTTinG

LlAMinATion

linE

linE BEnDEr

mMArKinG MATEriAlS

MEASurEMEnT & uniTS

MECHAniCAl CoMPonEnTS

MECHAniSMS

MiCroSofT ExCEl

MiCroSofT PuBliSHEr

MiCroSofT WorD

aADHESiVES

ADoBE illuSTrATor

ADoBE inDESiGn

ADoBE PHoToSHoP

AnAlyTiCAl DrAWinG

APPliqué

BBATiK

BElT SAnDEr

BloCK PrinTinG

CCAD/CAM for CuTTinG

CAlCulATinG SCAlE

CASinGS

CErAMiC MoDEllinG

CErAMiCS: Coil & SlAB

CollAGE

Colour

Colour MixinG, BlEnDinG

& rEnDErinG

ConSTruCTion for PACKAGinG

& DiSPlAy

ConSTruCTion in rESiSTAnT

MATEriAlS

ConTour DrAWinG

CuTTinG froM A PATTErn

CuTTinG To lEnGTH/SizE

CuTTinG ToolS: SCiSSorS, CrAfT

KnifE, GuilloTinE

DDATA orGAniSATion

DrAWinG 2-DiMEnSionAl SHAPE

DrAWinG 3-DiMESionAl forM

DrillS: HAnD & PillAr

DyE SuBliMATion uniT

DyEinG

eElECTriCAl CirCuiTS

ElECTriCAl CoMPonEnTS

EMBEDDinG filES

KEy STAGE 3 SKillSKEy STAGE 3 ProJECTS

MoDEllinG

MonoPrinTinG

nnETS

ooBliquE DrAWinG

oBSErVATionAl DrAWinG

orTHoGrAPHiC ProJECTion

PPAPiEr MâCHé

PATTErn

PEnCil DrAWinG

PErSPECTiVE

PHoToGrAPHy

Pin HAMMEr

PinninG & TACKinG

PoCKET ConSTruCTion

PoWErPoinT

PrESEnTATion SKillS

PrinTinG & GrAPHiC

rEProDuCTion

PrinT-MAKinG

QquAnTiTATiVE DiSPlAy: CHArTS,

MAPS & GrAPHS

rrEPouSSé

rEnDErinG 3D

rEnDErinG MATEriAlS

rEnDErinG TExTurE

rESEArCH

sSAWS: TEnon, CoPinG, HEGnEr,

HACKSAW

SEAMS

SEquEnCinG inSTruCTionS

SETTinG-uP DoCuMEnTS

SHAPinG WiTH ToolS

SiGn-MAKinG

SKETCHinG

SolDErinG

SPrEADSHEETS & DATABASES

tTExTilE ConSTruCTion

THrEADinG & oPErATinG A SEWinG

MACHinE

THrEADinG nEEDlES

3D PrinTinG

TyinG KnoTS

TonE

TrACinG

2D DESiGn

TyPoGrAPHy

uuSinG A rulEr

uSinG A Tri-SquArE

VVirTuAl CirCuiTS

WWEAVinG

WElDinG

CrEATiVE EDuCATion ACADEMiESThe Creative Education Trust is a registered charity and social enterprise established by a group of experts in the fields of education and design. CET academies provide a rigorous education, inspired by the principles of creativity, innovation and enterprise, and using the concept of design to connect all areas of the curriculum, drive up attainment and increase employability.

THE AuTHorEmily Campbell is Creative Education Academies’ Director of Programmes and the author of this Key Stage 3 Design Programme. She came to Creative Education Academies from the rSA where she directed a programme to investigate how learning design skills could help people and communities become more resourceful. As the British Council Arts Group’s Head of Design & Architecture for twelve years, she commissioned events and exhibitions all over the world on behalf of the united Kingdom’s leading agency for international cultural relations. Earlier, she was a graphic designer at Pentagram in new york, and a pattern-maker for the fashion designer Jean Muir. She studied English at Cambridge, Clothing Technology at the london College of fashion and Graphic Design at yale School of Art.

ACKnoWlEDGEMEnTSSeveral experts in design and design education have contributed their insights to the CET Design Programme: John Miller, Shelagh Wright, Michael Thompson, Dominic nolan, Jo Compton, Attainment Partnership (Kevin Jones and Mary Southall), Kay Stables, richard Kimbell, lea Jagendorf, Dave Davies, Julie Haslam, Helen Charman, Kara Wescombe and ned Campbell. We should also like to thank the Art, Technology and iCT staff of our academies in rugeley – fair oak and Hagley Park – along with their Principal and leadership team; and finally the staff of Abbeyfield School in northampton and Thistley Hough High School in Stoke-on-Trent.

Designed and illustrated by lea Jagendorf© Creative Education Trust 2012

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