DEVELOPING IDEATION & ITERATIVE DESIGN SKILLS THROUGH HUMAN-CENTRED PRODUCT DESIGN PROJECTS

Understanding human-centred design and developing products for diverse populations are crucial skills for product designers to develop. Many UK undergraduate product design students come from diverse backgrounds acquiring varying qualifications at school/college level which are usually further supplemented by Non-Exam Assessments (NEAs). These preparatory courses provide practical skills and theoretical knowledge but often overlook human-centred design and effective ideation/iteration. First-year students typically have limited experience designing for broader populations, usually designing products for themselves or family members. Early undergraduate education must therefore emphasize researching and designing for diverse population groups by connecting research activities to iterative design processes for continual improvement. This involves considering varying factors such as aesthetics, ergonomics, usability, manufacturability, cost, etc. This paper presents a case study on first-year BSc Product Design (BSc PD) students at [Anonymised University] that engage in two projects in the first 10 weeks of their undergraduate education. The first project involves redesigning a power tool using an iterative design process. Students choose one of three preset user personas and select a power tool (electric screwdriver, detail sander, or jigsaw) to redesign using a human-centred approach. The second project is a cardboard lighting project where students design a light for a home based on a user persona they formulate but are required to focus on diverse living populations. Key findings highlight how the quality of student outputs improve when they develop an understanding of product sectors while empathizing with users and identifying their needs using human centred design (HCD) and varying research methods.