This week, I finally reached the last chapter in our book, about production. A designer has to be available at the stage of production in case any last minute problems arise. Production requires working with a production team. The chapter talks about the different values that a designer should have while working with them, such as respect, listening to opinions, motivating the team, diplomacy and good communication. I think that these are all great, and people should always try to get along as best as they can at work. The book also talks about being able to get feedback. I always love to get positive feedback about my work, but usually it is the negative feedback that is more useful. It points out the problems in my work so that I can go back and fix it, and make it the best that it can be. The book points out that a designer should not be pressured into making changes that they are not happy with.
The next part of production after meeting with a design team is to make a prototype of the design. In the prototype stage, a designer can experiment with different materials to see which one is the best for the final product. The book talks about throwaway prototyping, which I had never heard of before. It is when a designer tests out a certain aspect of the design that could potentially ruin it or work out great. Another type that I had never heard of was evolutionary prototyping. It is when a design needs further exploration to make it finished. I think that both of these are good ideas, and I will try them out in the future.
Another part of the production process is making decisions. Some things that have to be decided are budgets, scheduling, materials and sustainability. After learning about creative briefs in class, I would have thought that a few of those such as budget and scheduling, would be decided early on in the project, not in the production stage. The last thing that the chapter discusses is documenting your work. I would have thought that this did not even need a part in the book, as documenting my work is something that I always do. I always like to have a record or some kind of copy of my work that I can keep.
The perspective section in the book is about Palmi Einarsson, who is the design director of Ossur which is an international manufacturer. He discusses how there are five basic steps that designs go through at the company. They are, a brief introduction to the design, all of the numbers for the project are presented in detail (budget, target market, net value, etc...), the prototyping is done and the design is handed over to production. A set number of the product is then produced and are tested in the market for about two months. If a product reaches this point, then all of the information is reviewed again and any problems are fixed. If there are no problems, then the project is then closed. I would not have expected this to be the process for a large company, but it does make a lot of sense and seems to work really well. The rest of his story did not interest me as much as learning about the process did.
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