Designing for a real person's needs
Design & Technology · Key Stage 1 · The School
Designing for someone else
You are designing a pencil case for your younger sibling, not for yourself. What they like might be completely different from what you like. Their favourite colour. Their favourite animal. What they find hard to open. All of that matters more than your own taste.
Asking, not guessing
Do not guess what someone wants. Ask them. What is your favourite colour? What do you struggle with? What would make this easier for you? A few real answers are worth far more than a whole page of your own guesses.
When it is not for you
A pencil case for a left-handed friend needs the zip on a different side than yours. A toy for a much younger child needs no small parts at all, for safety. Their needs are the real brief. Your own preferences are not part of it.
Designing a bag for a real friend
Ask your friend three real questions. What will you carry in it? A book, a water bottle, and a small toy. What colour do you like best? Green. How will you carry it — over the shoulder, or in your hand? Over the shoulder. Now design the bag using THEIR answers, not your own preferences. Make it big enough for a book and a bottle. Make it green. Give it a long strap. Every single choice traces back to a real answer they gave you.
Checking you designed for them
When you finish, check against their real answers, not against your own opinion. Does it hold what they said? Is it their favourite colour, not yours? If every answer traces back to something they told you, you designed for them properly.