2.6 Assignment

Choose the track for your profile, then complete the version that matches it. This assignment is worth 5 points; submit your deliverable here (text and/or file upload).

Assignment — Choose and Justify a Design Approach

Shared activity objective: learners select one design approach from this chapter, apply it to a real product, and justify why that approach fits the problem they identified and what it does not solve. At least one case from this chapter (Iris van Herpen, Faber Futures, Modern Synthesis or Materra) must be used as evidence.

Version A — VET / EQF 4: Design Approach Check

Duration: 45–60 minutes | Format: individual or pair work | Output: one-page comparison + short reflection. Choose one garment you own and identify one problem it has — it wore out, it cannot be repaired, it could not be recycled, or its production used large amounts of water. Choose two design approaches from this chapter and write one sentence for each on how it would address that problem, and one sentence on what it would not solve.

Assessment focus: correct identification of what each approach changes, and one realistic improvement.

Version B — HEI / EQF 5: Approach-to-Problem Case Study

Duration: 90–120 minutes | Format: individual or studio work | Output: two-page case study. Select one documented case — from this chapter or another verifiable source — and identify the problem the designer addressed, the approach used, the evidence available and one limitation. Then apply the same approach to a product of your own and state which parts of the original solution would not transfer.

Assessment focus: ability to distinguish the approaches and to separate a design claim from the evidence that supports it.

Version C — Professionals / SMEs: Approach Fit for a Product Line

Duration: 2–3 hours | Format: company workshop | Output: one-page decision memo. For one product line, state the priority problem (durability, repairability, material health, recovery pathway or supply-system resilience). Score the five approaches against four criteria: expected effect on that problem, functional and cost feasibility, evidence you can obtain, and partners required. Recommend one primary and one supporting approach, with the first three actions and the evidence needed to verify them. Any examples given are illustrative only — set your own targets from your own baseline.

Assessment focus: quality of prioritisation, realism of the actions and use of evidence.