Subject specific vocabulary
These are definitions of key terms used in our GCSE Design and Technology specification (8552). Students should be familiar with and gain understanding of these terms.
Automation
The use of control systems for operating equipment such as machinery and processes in factories; this reduces human input.
Client
The person/people/audience being designed for and whose needs are being met.
Commercial process
Manufacturing method used to produce products in quantity.
Commercial product
A product intended to make money.
Conceptual stages (of design)
Use of models, sketches and computer aided design (CAD) to show the design of a product as it develops.
Continuous improvement
The identification of improvements and subsequent evolution of products.
Co-operative
A group of people united to meet common social, economic or cultural need through a jointly-owned business.
Crowd funding
A large number of people who raise money for a project or venture.
Ecological
The consideration of the environment and the impact that design can have on it.
Ethics
Moral decisions when designing and manufacturing.
Fabricate
Using processes such as cutting, bending, joining and assembly to produce products.
Finite
A material or source which will one day run out.
Functionality
How well a product carries out its purpose.
Fusibility
How well a material is converted by heat into a molten or liquid state dependent on its melting point.
Iterative design
Design methodology based on a cyclical process of analysing, prototyping and testing to refine a product. Each iteration and result starts the process again.
Lean manufacturing
Reducing and eliminating waste in a manufacturing process.
Life cycle assessment
A technique used to assess the environmental impact of a product at all stages of its manufacture, use and disposal.
Market pull
Products developed to meet the needs of society or a specific section of the market.
Mechanical device
Mechanism which produces and/or changes movement.
Nesting
The tessellation of shapes or nets on a material to minimise the amount of waste during manufacture.
Physical properties
Properties that refer to the actual matter that forms the material (eg insulation, conductivity, fusibility).
Planned obsolescence
Deliberately designing the lifecycle of a product to be short, forcing the user to update their products quickly.
Primary source
Research collected first-hand by a designer to develop a product or idea.
Primary source (of materials)
Where materials originate (polymers from oil etc) and the raw material that needs to be converted into a workable form.
Product
Item or artefact developed for an intended audience to solve a problem or meet a need.
Prototype
An early model or sample of a product used to test a concept.
Schematic diagram
Graphic symbols or simplistic diagrams used to convey a system (eg an underground map).
Social footprint
The impact a product or individual has on society.
Social responsibility
The idea that a designer needs to evaluate the impact their product could have on society and take action to make this better.
Stock form
The standard shape and size of materials as they are bought.
Technology push
Technological discoveries used to drive the development of a product.
Tolerance
The minimum and maximum measurements that can be accepted when manufacturing.
User
The person/people who make use of the product that has been developed by a designer.
User centered design
Design development with the user at the centre of the focus. The designer tries to envisage how the product will actually be used, as opposed to focusing on other areas such as cost.
Working properties
How a material reacts to external forces.