C hapter 3 the Design Context
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to accomplish. Optimally meeting some design objectives might
necessitate a relaxing of others. In thinking yet again about simple
thermos bottles, the function might be thought of as a need to hold
and provide a transport container for hot or cold liquids. Dimensional constraints might exist—for example, such that the bottle
could be carried in a typical bicycle bottle holder. An externally
imposed constraint might initially be that the unit cannot exceed
a certain cost (benchmarked from an analysis of a competitor’s
product). The choice of primary material might be open. Here the
designer might want to optimally meet several design objectives:
minimizing the weight of the container since it is for use by bicyclists, maximizing the length of time a contained liquid would
remain at an initial temperature level, or minimizing the cost of
the whole unit. Meeting all these design objectives simultaneously
(i.e., optimizing all design objectives) is at best a difficult and
sometimes unachievable task. Compromises are often made and
tradeoffs normally occur.
Nonetheless, the designer can choose which of the design objectives is initially most important and which are less so (i.e., rankorder design objectives for optimization). For serious cyclists,
weight might well be most important to the user and thus be the
governing design objective for the designer. Thermal performance
might well have to be compromised, and cost constraints may
simply be ignored for all practical purposes. For everyday cyclists,
costs and thermal performance might well be more important than
absolute weight. Different design solutions will invariably result,
depending on what objectives are most highly valued. Definition
or prioritization of design objectives, therefore, often depends on
the use context or other external driving forces.
Situations with design objectives that are inherently conflicting can,
on one hand, try the souls of designers, but on the other hand they
have provided both the spark plug and the setting for innumerable
innovations in the materials world. Tradeoffs and value stipulations are invariably required to move forward.
unstructured Design processes
In the prior section, material-oriented design processes were seen
to progress from a determination of design objectives and requirements 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
76
to accomplish. Optimally meeting some design objectives might
necessitate a relaxing of others. In thinking yet again about simple
thermos bottles, the function might be thought of as a need to hold
and provide a transport container for hot or cold liquids. Dimensional constraints might exist—for example, such that the bottle
could be carried in a typical bicycle bottle holder. An externally
imposed constraint might initially be that the unit cannot exceed
a certain cost (benchmarked from an analysis of a competitor’s
product). The choice of primary material might be open. Here the
designer might want to optimally meet several design objectives:
minimizing the weight of the container since it is for use by bicyclists, maximizing the length of time a contained liquid would
remain at an initial temperature level, or minimizing the cost of
the whole unit. Meeting all these design objectives simultaneously
(i.e., optimizing all design objectives) is at best a difficult and
sometimes unachievable task. Compromises are often made and
tradeoffs normally occur.
Nonetheless, the designer can choose which of the design objectives is initially most important and which are less so (i.e., rankorder design objectives for optimization). For serious cyclists,
weight might well be most important to the user and thus be the
governing design objective for the designer. Thermal performance
might well have to be compromised, and cost constraints may
simply be ignored for all practical purposes. For everyday cyclists,
costs and thermal performance might well be more important than
absolute weight. Different design solutions will invariably result,
depending on what objectives are most highly valued. Definition
or prioritization of design objectives, therefore, often depends on
the use context or other external driving forces.
Situations with design objectives that are inherently conflicting can,
on one hand, try the souls of designers, but on the other hand they
have provided both the spark plug and the setting for innumerable
innovations in the materials world. Tradeoffs and value stipulations are invariably required to move forward.
unstructured Design processes
In the prior section, material-oriented design processes were seen
to progress from a determination of design objectives and requirements 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