49
and requirements and move to the determination of needed
material properties and subsequent material type selection. Materials are seen as a factor to be chosen to implement a desired
objective. Needs, objectives, and constraints are thus first established for a particular design approach, and a material is subsequently selected from among many on the basis of its material
qualities best meeting specific design requirements. This is
a common approach used in a great many design situations,
particularly in engineering and in many product designs with a
technical orientation. Any of several materials might meet requirements, and a design process objective is to find the best among
them. We will look in detail at these kinds of structured design
processes for materials in Chapter 5. An alternative design process approach is the inverse of this process. A designer becomes
familiar, and perhaps even fascinated, with a particular property
or set of properties and then quite literally imagines or identifies
interesting design uses for the material.
3.2 proDuCt Design, arChiteCture,
anD engineering
products
Organizations normally make products to be sold in quantity.
Successful products meet market needs or demands and are associated with general user appeal and satisfaction for market targets,
usability, and technical performance vis-à-vis intended functionalities and costs—all broad categories that also ultimately reflect
factors related not only to direct material characteristics but to the
nature of user interfaces and control systems, manufacturing process
concerns, and other considerations.
All successful products are in some way responsive to a market need
or problem definition. Many needs have been with us for a long
time, and established product forms respond to them. Lighting
fixtures that provide common room illumination serve basic functions that are not likely to go away soon. The performance, control,
and forms of products such as this may change, and the use of
nanomaterials or nanotechnologies might offer significant performance improvements, but many basic characteristics will not be
radically altered. There are, however, many opportunity- or concerndriven forces for change that are incentives for brand-new product
forms. These same drivers for change are then manifested in a series
of forces that characterize different kinds of more specific product
Product Design, Architecture, and Engineering
and requirements and move to the determination of needed
material properties and subsequent material type selection. Materials are seen as a factor to be chosen to implement a desired
objective. Needs, objectives, and constraints are thus first established for a particular design approach, and a material is subsequently selected from among many on the basis of its material
qualities best meeting specific design requirements. This is
a common approach used in a great many design situations,
particularly in engineering and in many product designs with a
technical orientation. Any of several materials might meet requirements, and a design process objective is to find the best among
them. We will look in detail at these kinds of structured design
processes for materials in Chapter 5. An alternative design process approach is the inverse of this process. A designer becomes
familiar, and perhaps even fascinated, with a particular property
or set of properties and then quite literally imagines or identifies
interesting design uses for the material.
3.2 proDuCt Design, arChiteCture,
anD engineering
products
Organizations normally make products to be sold in quantity.
Successful products meet market needs or demands and are associated with general user appeal and satisfaction for market targets,
usability, and technical performance vis-à-vis intended functionalities and costs—all broad categories that also ultimately reflect
factors related not only to direct material characteristics but to the
nature of user interfaces and control systems, manufacturing process
concerns, and other considerations.
All successful products are in some way responsive to a market need
or problem definition. Many needs have been with us for a long
time, and established product forms respond to them. Lighting
fixtures that provide common room illumination serve basic functions that are not likely to go away soon. The performance, control,
and forms of products such as this may change, and the use of
nanomaterials or nanotechnologies might offer significant performance improvements, but many basic characteristics will not be
radically altered. There are, however, many opportunity- or concerndriven forces for change that are incentives for brand-new product
forms. These same drivers for change are then manifested in a series
of forces that characterize different kinds of more specific product
Product Design, Architecture, and Engineering