MS+Q4+Explore+-+Olivia

= = Design Folder - Olivia



Welcome to Olivia's Design Folder! :D

__**Investigation** __
__ **Unit Question** __ Why and how do societies convey the importance of global issues to its members? Here at AISD how can we promote the importance of global issues so that we can better live the school's vision of “being stewards of a just and sustainable world?"

__ **Unit Question Restated** __ What are some important global issues that AISD students need to be aware of, and how can we make them aware of these issues? Awareness of these issues is an essential part of being a student of a just and sustainable world.

__ **Unit Question Interpreted** __ I believe that the unit question asks us about how we interpret the idea of being a steward of a just and sustainable world and how we can communicate that idea to members of our community.


 * __Unpacking The Unit Question - A Mindmap__**

__ **Guiding Questions** __
 * 1) How big should the product be?
 * 2) How do I ensure that it is a safe product?
 * 3) What should my product look like?
 * 4) What materials should I use?
 * 5) Are the materials I want to use available to me?
 * 6) What message am I going to convey?
 * 7) Is this global issue something that I care about?
 * 8) How do I test to make sure that people understand what message I'm trying to convey?
 * 9) Where should I place my product?

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Research & Development __
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is my research into the problem and how I can solve it. (Sources: Image 1 is from [|http://www.photokayaker.com/Concepts-and-ideas-1/Fillings-and-Emotions/10750352_MNTjBn/747703603_CPHgH#!i=747703603&k=CPHgH] and Image 2 is from [])
 * **Situation Analysis** - The UQ states that we need to find a way to communicate pressing global issues to our community. However, there are no real ways for ordinary students to express their feelings or communicate global issues that they feel are important. I believe that students will benefit from an opportunity to express their opinions.
 * **Market Analysis** - I am planning to create a product made for Middle School students from grades 6-8, whose ages range between 11-14.
 * **Existing Conditions** - In the Middle School hallways, the only bulletin boards that are put up are strictly limited to teacher use only. This can be seen because the teachers only post work and notices from their classes on these boards.
 * **Product Analysis**- I looked at several different inspiration boards online and these are my favorites. Notice how these boars allow people to post freely by using sticky notes or writing.


 * **Research Into Materials and Techniques** - I would either like to make a bulletin board or a whiteboard. My idea is that people will use sticky notes, tacks, whiteboard markers, etc. to post/write about different inspirational thoughts or ideas.
 * **Research Into Time Management** - I have the rest of Quarter 4's DT classes to complete my project.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ **Design Brief** __
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We have posters and bulletin boards all around the school communicating different messages, sayings and thoughts, but there aren't any that really allow the students to express their own thoughts about global issues or other problems, or even just thoughts. This is why I decided to create a product that would allow students to express their views, and would challenge them to express them as well with a motivational message. I shall make a whiteboard, because whiteboards can be drawn and written on, and their smooth surface allows sticky notes to stay on them well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ **Design Specifications** __

 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It should have some type of motivational slogan on it to challenge students to express their opinion.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It must be large enough for lots of students to write/post on it.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Must be safe.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Must be eye-catching and noticeable.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It should be aesthetically pleasing.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It should be able to hang on a wall.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Should be light enough to hang on a wall without falling.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The product should be made of a material that allows people to post things on it (cork, whiteboard, etc.)


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My Designs **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Design #1 - Speak With Conviction (inspired by Taylor Mali)

Design #2 - What do YOU Think?

Design #3 - All Great Things Start With An IDEA (Inspired by a post seen on [])



=__Plan__=

I chose Design #1 (Speak With Conviction) as my final design.

These are the steps I must take in order to successfully manufacture my product- 1. Cut out wood block for mounting the formica 2. Cut out formica 3. Glue the formica to the mounting board with synthetic rubber adhesive 4. Print out the letters 5. Glue the letters to a sheet of acrylic with rubber cream glue 6. Use the scroll saw to cut out the letters 7. Glue the letters to the whiteboard
 * Production Plan**

Parts of the project: a) plywood b) formica c) acrylic
 * A Materials List/ Parts List**

Production materials: a) synthetic rubber adhesive b) rubber cream glue c) scissors

Tools: a) scroll saw b) band saw c) sanding machine

I will try to do at least one step of my production plan per class. If I have time, I will do two or more per class. This means it will take me 7 or less class periods to finish my product.
 * Time Management Plan**

Does it make good use of time and resources? Yes, I believe it does because I only have the minimum amount of steps in my production process, as well as the minimum amount of materials.
 * Evaluation of your plan.**

Could someone else follow it and make your design? They could, because I gave very clear, specific instructions in my production plan as well as in my materials list.

Is it logical? I believe my plan is logical because I only used the necessary materials and parts, I put my plan in chronological order and my time management plan makes sense.

=__Other Assignments__=

Typography - Why is typography important?
I believe that typography is important because it helps put across the message you are trying to convey by turning simple words into something visually pleasing. Different styles of typography affect the way in which you would read the message, and they would also put across different feelings or emotions across with the message. Basically, typography is one of the deciding factors on how one would interpret a given message.

Source: Laura Bonapace (Olivia's Mom)

Inspiration
I get inspiration from tumblr blogs. There are many tumblr blogs out there with inspirational pictures, quotes and videos. My personal favorite is this one - [] because it has many images of well-designed products, artwork, etc.

Process Journal
May 20th, 2012 Day 1: Today I got my mounting board (plywood) cut out, ad well as my formica. I had to change the original dimensions of my product in order to fit the dimensions of the formica available in the DT lab. I also made my letters on InDesign. I took me awhile to figure out the new dimensions of my product, to this was all I got done today.



May 22nd, 2012 Day 2: Today I cut out the paper letters and glued them onto a sheet of red acrylic with rubber cream glue. I decided to use red because I thought red would look nice against the white of the whiteboard.

May 24th, 2012 Day 3: Today I cut out the bulk of my letters. I only have a few left now. I also glued the formica to the backboard with synthetic rubber adhesive

May 28th, 2012 Day 4: I cut out and peeled off my last letters today. Woohoo! Cutting the letters was challenging because it was hard to cut neatly with the scroll saw. Getting the edges to be smooth and concise was difficult because you need to be really precise with the saw.



Evaluate

 * Product Evaluation: **

I am grading my product based on these categories, with a 1-10 scale. 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.
 * Quality - 8/10. When Mr. Hasan cut the formica for me, it cracked in some places, making the quality of the formica go down.
 * Strength - 10/10. While I was putting my product onto the shelf under one of the lab tables, it fell from my hands and crashed onto the floor. I was terrified that it was broken, but when I checked, it didn't even have a scratch. I think it's safe to say that my product is very strong :)
 * Appearance - 8/10. My product looked quite good, especially with the new jagged edges I decided to add, except the cracks did not look very appealing.
 * Function - 10/10. My product functions exactly how I wanted it to.
 * Ease of use - 10/10. The whiteboard is easy to write on and there is enough space for sticky notes and other papers.
 * Appropriate use of materials - 10/10. I used only the materials that were necessary in the making of my product, and I used them well.
 * Cost - 10/10. I did not have to spend too much money making my product. All the materials I needed were freely available in the DT lab, except for the synthetic rubber adhesive, which I had to purchase on my own. However, it only cost around 200 taka, so the cost really wasn't much of a problem.
 * User benefit - 10/10. My product is user-friendly

I was pleased with my product idea. I thought it was quite unusual and it took me a lot of thinking to come up with it. There were several problems I had to face during my creation phase, which namely had to do with material size constraints. There was not enough formica available in the DT lab for the size of board I wanted, so I had to change the size in my design. I followed my production plan quite closely, except I switched around the order of some steps to fit my time at hand. I thought it would take 7 classes or less, and it ended up taking 5, which was very good. Next time, I would have found out exactly what kinds of glue I needed and purchased the adhesive beforehand. All in all, I am pleased with the creation of my product.
 * Process Evaluation ** :