1 of 5
Professor Ann Donar
CCT204 Design Thinking
Assignment 2
Due November 19, 2015 (Due at the beginning of your Lab)
Theme:
Reconsider an existing design issue or problem and propose a new solution, i.e. a
new design. You will examine the crux of the issue or problem and propose an innovative
solution, i.e. either an improved way of doing things or a radically new way of doing
things (incremental vs. breakthrough thinking), or a combination of both.
For this semester (Fall, 2015), the design problem of your choice has to be related to
repurposing or recycling an object or objects for the purpose of child’s play and
must address at least one of the following broad areas of design related to this theme:
• Material objects
Examples: recycling or repurposing an object or objects to become an object or
objects that children can play with. This object can be repurposed as a handcrafted
object or recycled and repurposed through the process of mass manufacturing for
the purpose of child’s play (i.e. a toy or set of toys). You may consider recycling
or repurposing objects of the same kind, e.g. bottles, or combining different
objects, e.g. bottles and tires.
• Complex systems or environments for living, working, playing, or learning
Examples: repurposing an interior or exterior space to become a space for the
purpose of child’s play. This space can be in a small or large scale, e.g. a room or
an entire building, exterior lot or any urban, industrial, or natural environment, or
combinations thereof. You may also consider recycling or repurposing objects to
become a space or environment for the purpose of child’s play.
Examples are not limited to the above.
Format:
A) Research essay (1,650-1,950 words, 6-7pages, double-spaced, excluding visuals and
References; you may exceed the suggested word count, as long as your discussion is not
redundant) based on the seven universal stages of creative problem-solving:
1. Accept situation, e.g. address the design issue in question, introduction.
This is a critical stage of your investigation. By framing your guiding
question appropriately, the subsequent stages would be more focused and
your investigation would flow more succinctly. In other words, include the
question that would define the parameters of your investigation. The
following are some examples:
a. “How can a [insert name of a product] be recycled/repurposed to become a
{insert name of a product]?”
2 of 5
Professor Ann Donar
b. “How can [insert name of a place or building] be redesigned to facilitate
and enhance child’s play?”
Examples are not limited to the above. In this stage, your discussion would
converge to the formulation of a guiding question.
• Analyze, e.g. analyze the statistics surrounding the topic in question, statistics
substantiating the need of a new or improved design to improve your chosen area
of focus. In this stage, your discussion is likely divergent in nature, demonstrating
an objective approach and allowing themes to surface as you present facts and
statistics that are relevant to your investigation. You will do a graph using any of
the Illustrator graph tools to summarize your research findings. When writing this
part of your essay, you may reference the graph with “(See Graph 1.)”. Likewise,
use this format when referencing other visuals later on in the essay. Do not insert
graphs or other visuals in the body of your essay; instead, put them together at the
end of the essay in the “Appendix of Visuals” section. Sources of statistics may
include traditional scholarly sources as well as websites, including online forums
and reviews, blogs, consumer reports, and other trade-related materials. You may
also conduct your own surveys, interviews, or observation studies although these
are by no means mandatory. Should you decide to conduct your own research, be
sure to include documentation of findings, e.g. scanned completed forms, PDFs of
online forms/links, notes taken, emails.
Examples:
o statistics surrounding an object that is constantly being discarded
o statistics surrounding a need in a particular aspect of child’s play, e.g.
physical fitness
Examples are not limited to the above. You may also combine the
discussion of different statistics, e.g. there are so many wasted bottles and
there are so many kids who are inactive, therefore, there is a possibility in
recycling/repurposing bottles to encourage children to be more engaged in
physical activities.
• Define, e.g. identify the key issues in question. These issues have likely already
been identified as recurring themes in Stage 2: Analyze. You may rephrase or
reframe these issues succinctly and concisely. In other words, in this stage, your
discussion is convergent in nature, i.e. clearly stating what the key issues are. You
may go into greater detail from what you have analyzed in Stage 2. For example,
the key issues are safety and durability related to how bottles can be recycled for
the purpose of child’s play, as well as the issue of how to engage children to be
engaged in physical activities with these recycled/repurposed bottles. You will
target these issues as you ideate in the next stage for ideas.
3 of 5
Professor Ann Donar
• Ideate, e.g. brainstorm for as many possible plans, ideas, or features as possible.
You may list ideas or features in a bulleted list. Apply creativity methods learned
in this stage accordingly and systematically; that is, your discussion would
diverge again in this stage because you will let your creativity and imagination
take over. The ideas brainstormed would be potential solutions to the issues
identified in Stage 3: Define. (Tip: What creativity methods have we learned in
this course?)
• Select, e.g. justify your choice of a few ideas or features (from your bulleted list
of brainstormed ideas) to be implemented; why are these ideas or features selected
over others? What constraints are used, e.g. technological, spatial, monetary
constraints? In this stage, your discussion would converge again critically and
analytically.
• Implement, e.g. translate intentions into physical form, provide a written
description of how the selected ideas or features from Stage 5 are configured or
assembled, supported by Illustrator drawings. You do not need to make a
prototype, but rather visualizations, i.e. drawings, diagrams, flowcharts, done in
Illustrator, in addition to the written description within your essay. It is
recommended that you apply some of the design elements and principles learned
in this stage while you are describing how the proposed design is to be put
together. (Tip: What design elements and principles have we learned in this
course?) Your discussion in this stage is again convergent in nature as you clearly
describe exactly what goes where, i.e. how the designed object, environment, or a
system of these things are implemented. In this stage, your discussion should be
concrete and clear as opposed to vague and abstract, e.g. size, colour, placement
of features, duration or scheduling of events.
• Evaluate, e.g. ideally in the real world, you want to collect feedback from a focus
group/survey, feedback from experts in the field; but for this essay, at the very
least, state your own objective recommendations for future development.
Note:
• You will use section headings, e.g. “2. Analyze” to organize your essay.
• Your research must include some literature survey, which may include lecture
slides, textbooks, other books from the library, online journals, newspapers,
magazines, websites etc.
• Clearly cite sources as per APA guidelines.
• Reference your diagrams as needed within the body of your essay. For example,
in the body of your essay, state “The recommended prototype is depicted in
Diagram 1.” Diagrams are assembled separately (see “Appendix of Visuals”).
4 of 5
Professor Ann Donar
B) Appendix of Visuals consisting of a minimum of the following diagrams/illustrations
done in Illustrator:
• Minimum of one graph (using the Graph tools in Illustrator) showing statistics
related to the findings of your investigation.
• Minimum of one diagram/illustration showing your proposed design
Items to be submitted on the Red server (Ann Donar’s Hand-In folder):
• A digital folder with this naming convention: CCT204A2_LastNameFirstName,
e.g. CCT204A2_DoeJane, containing the following files:
o Illustrator files (.ai), each containing a chart/diagram/illustration and
clearly labelled, e.g. DoeJane_graph.ai, DoeJane_Design.ai
Note: Ensure that i) all Illustrator files are compatible and can be opened
with Illustrator CC on a Mac platform; ii) all type is converted to outlines.
o Word document (.doc or .pdf) containing your essay, Appendix of Visuals,
and list of references, e.g. DoeJane_essay.doc or DoeJane_essay.pdf.
o Scanned, digital files of any other miscellaneous documentation, e.g.
additional photographs, completed surveys, notes taken during interviews
or participant observation studies, email communication, only if
applicable.
Criteria for Evaluation:
Concept:
Depth of questioning and insight into chosen topic……………………………………. 10%
Depth and accuracy of research into chosen topic……………………………………… 10%
Appropriateness of new solution, substantiated by research ……………………….. 10%
Innovation in conceptualization and ideation ……………………………………………. 10%
Execution of design:
Effective use of design elements and principles………………………………………… 10%
Effective use of Illustrator skills……………………………………………………………… 10%
Written skills:
Clarity and organization…………………………………………………………………………. 10%
Development of thesis……………………………………………………………………………. 10%
Integration of theories (e.g. from lectures and readings)…………………………….. 10%
Proper use and citation of references, spelling and grammar………………………. 10%
TOTAL: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 100%
(Optional) Teamwork:
To honour the spirit and contribution of teamwork to innovation, you may
1. Work in small groups up to Stage 4 of the design process, i.e. Accept situation,
Analyze, Define, Ideate. Each member of the group must then continue the
5 of 5
Professor Ann Donar
process individually, i.e. Select, Implement, Evaluate. As well, each individual
must write his/her own essay and execute his/her own Illustrator designs;
originality in both must be evident. A separate page containing a list of students’
names in the group and a detailed report of the division of labour must also be
attached to each assignment, e.g. who did what.
(Students will be marked individually)
2. Work in pairs for the entire design process, i.e. all seven stages. The deliverables
will be doubled, i.e. essay (3,200-3,900 words), visuals (minimum of 2 graphs, 2
illustrations of the design). A separate page containing the students’ names and a
detailed report of the division of labour must also be attached to each assignment,
e.g. who did what.
(Both students will share the same mark)
IMPORTANT: If you choose to work in this option, both students are
responsible for submitting the assignment on time. If any of the components
in the assignment is missing, both students will be penalized.
At least two days before the due date of the assignment, a proposal of teamwork must be
submitted to Professor. You must specify the option of teamwork (option 1 or 2) in your
proposal.
Note on Plagiarism:
Please refer to the course outline regarding plagiarism. Please also be aware that you
cannot invent fictional technology in any part of this assignment. Rather, you are
expected to propose a hypothesis that can be substantiated logically with existing
technologies. If a similar design has already been designed, you must cite the source and
discuss how your design is different from the existing design. Sometimes, it is possible
that a method of recycling/repurposing has already been done, e.g. recycling plastic
bottles into pollibricks. This is OK, but your proposed design must be a new or different
application of this method.
All required components of the assignment are due by the beginning of Lab.