Glossary Flashcards
ABS
A thermoplastic commonly used for its impact resistance and strength.
Acrylic
A thermoplastic that is often used as an alternative to glass.
Aesthetics
A philosophy of the nature and the appreciation of beauty. Aesthetics involves our senses and our response. Do we like the look, feel, etc? Aesthetics is an important design factor to consider.
Aluminium
A non-ferrous silver-coloured metal used for its good strength to weight ratio.
Analogy
An analogy is a comparison between one thing and another. In idea generation, an analogy is used to compare your problem to a similar situation in a different field, to stimulate new solutions to the problem.
Analysis
the process of breaking down a complex problem or object into smaller, more manageable parts to explore and gain a better understanding of it.
Annotations
written notes added to further explain or elaborate on an idea.
Ash
A hardwood commonly used for sports equipment and steam-bent products due to the high flexibility of the timber.
Assembly
The process of joining two or more parts together.
Accesible
The degree to which a product is available to the widest range of users. A product could be made accessible in many ways, including size and price.
Beech
A hardwood known for its strength and food-safe properties.
Brief
A statement written at the beginning of the design process by the client or designer specifying the details for a design task.
CAD
Computer aided design
Cedar
A softwood that is resistant to weather and is light-weight.
Circular economy
An approach in industry used to keep resources and materials in circulation, rather than disposing of them. A circular economy builds sustainability.
Client
A person or organisation paying for the services of a professional.
Commercial manufacture
The industrial production of products, made with the intention of being sold. Specialist machines and processes are required to produce a large volume of products quickly.
Communicate
To express/share thoughts, ideas, decisions and reasons. Photographs, models, written comments and sketches are some of the ways in which you could communicate your design work.
Consumer
The person who buys or uses a product or service.
Consumerism
The behaviour of buying, using and disposing of goods.
Copper
A non-ferrous metal used for its conductive and ductile properties.
Cutting list
A written list of materials, parts and sizes needed to manufacture an item, usually produced as a table.
Deforestation
When significant areas of forests are cut down and the land used for other purposes.
Design factors
Factors that influence the design of a product, such as aesthetics, ergonomics and function.
Design process
The name given to the different stages of designing, from problem to solution.
Designer
A person in the design team who produces design work, often in response to a design brief.
Development
The process of exploring and refining an idea towards a design solution.
Dimension
A size indicated on a drawing.
Ductile
Material property: the ability of a material to be stretched without breaking.
Emery cloth
Abrasive sheets with a fabric back, used to rub down metals. Similar to sandpaper, different grades of coarseness are available.
Ergonomics
The design factor that looks at how people interact with products and their environment.
Evaluation
The process of judging ideas against a criteria or specification.
Exploded
A pictorial drawing type where all the parts of an object are separated to show how they should be assembled.
Explore
To investigate aspects of your design, considering alternative solutions to identify the best one.
Function
The design factor covering everything related to what a product does. Can be divided into Primary and Secondary functions.
Hardwood
Wood that comes from a broadleaved tree. Hardwoods are used often for furniture and flooring.
HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)
A thermoplastic commonly used for its strength and stiffness.
Injection moulding
Commercial manufacturing process whereby molten plastic is ‘injected’ at high pressure into a mould. Used in high-volume production.
Idea generation
The process of creating ideas.
Iron
A hard, heavy and brittle ferrous metal.
Knock-down fittings (KDF)
A group of fixtures commonly used in flat-pack furniture to join parts together. Makes products quick and easy to assemble.
Lateral thinking
Looking at a problem from a different perspective and producing unconventional ideas.
Lifestyle board
A collection of images used to communicate the lifestyle of a target market.
Mahogany
A dark brown coloured hardwood.
Market
A group of people who are potentially users of a product or service.
Modelling
The process of producing a three-dimensional physical artefact that can demonstrate, for example, the size, proportions and materials of an idea.
Mood board
A collection of images, materials or text that communicates the intended style or theme of a product.
Morphological analysis
An idea-generation technique that allows ideas for products with many combinations of features to be produced.
Oak
A commonly used hardwood known for its hard and strong properties
Obsolescence (Planned)
Condition of manufactured items becoming discarded or outdated in a set time, for reasons including new technology or the manufacturer discontinuing production of the product or its spare parts.
Performance
How well a product carries out its job and meets the expectations of the user in ease of use, operation, maintenance and value for money
Properties (of materials)
attributes used to describe the characteristics of materials, e.g. ductile.
Pictorial
A type of drawing that appears to be three-dimensional on paper. Examples include isometric and two-point perspective.
Pine
A light yellow coloured softwood commonly used in furniture. Normally cheaper than hardwoods.
Polypropylene
a thermoplastic commonly used in domestic appliances, furniture and medical applications due to good chemical and heat resistance, good fatigue resistance and its integral hinge property.
Procedure
a step-by-step list detailing the process of manufacturing a prototype.
Prototype
A full-scale model of a developed design, made from final materials and used to test and evaluate against a specification.
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)
A thermoplastic commonly used for its toughness and durability.
Questionnaire
A paper-based research method used to gather information from a target market, user or client.
Refine
Part of idea development; when the finer details of the design are established.
Research
The process of finding out a range of information relevant to a design task.
Sequence of Operations
A list of steps, devised pre-production and in a logical order, that are required to manufacture a product.
Softwood
Wood from a fast-growing conifer tree, often from sustainable forests and usually less expensive than hardwood
Specification
A list of requirements for a design solution.
Stain
A coloured, protective finish that can be applied to wood. Usually applied with a brush or cloth.
Steel
A ferrous metal used for its hardness and tensile strength (available as mild, stainless and high-carbon steel).
Survey
A list of questions asked by market researchers to gather specific information abou market, consumers, retailers, etc.
Sustainability
Using the Earth’s natural resources in such a way that they are not depleted for future generations.
Thermoplastics
A family of plastics that become soft and malleable when heated, and which set when cooled.
Thermoset plastics
A family of plastics that can only be formed once through heating.
Thought shower
A group-based idea-generation technique whereby thoughts and ideas are quickly shared and recorded. No ideas are discarded.
Technology transfer
The process of transfering existing technologies into new products or applications.
Urea formaldehyde
a durable thermoset plastic commonly used for its good thermal and electrical resistance.
Wet and dry paper
An abrasive coated paper used on plastics and wood. Similar to sand paper but much finer.
Working drawing
A technical drawing of a product, with information such as dimensions, scale and orthographic views.
Walnut
a hardwood known for its dark colour and tight grain, traditionally used for Carved furniture