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Year 8 - Design and technology

Empathy

Ergonomic design: accessible controllers

Unit Summary

Pupils will gather and analyse ergonomic and anthropometric data to inform the design of a game controller. Pupils will be introduced to polymer properties and processes. They will develop and apply foam and complex card modelling techniques to manufacture their product.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use empathy to design inclusive products.

Key Notes

  • Empathy means understanding and feeling what users experience, allowing designers to create more accessible products.
  • Simulating impairments helps designers create inclusive solutions by experiencing these difficulties firsthand.
  • Task analysis involves breaking down actions into steps to identify obstacles, which helps designers simplify processes.
  • Adaptive products can be adjusted or customised to meet the individual needs of users.
  • Assistive products are tools designed to help perform tasks they may find difficult.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person
  • inclusive design: designing products that as many people as possible can use
  • task analysis: breaking down a task into individual steps

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Designers can create successful products based on their preferences and abilities.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Empathy means understanding and feeling what users experience, allowing designers to create more accessible products. Simulating impairments helps designers create inclusive solutions by experiencing these difficulties firsthand.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'empathy'

the ability to understand and share the feelings, thoughts, or experiences of another person.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: Designers can create successful products based on their preferences and abilities. Correction: To have empathy for someone helps designers create better products because they understand users' needs, challenges, and feelings, leading to more useful and user-friendly designs.

More Lessons In This Unit

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