The introduction of an holistic design approach through a teachingcompany scheme

摘要

Traditional design approaches separate the various functions ofdesign such as material selection, performance modelling and tolerancespecification into discrete entities. Whilst this allows more focusedmethods to be used at each stage, areas of conflict or benefit may beoverlooked, and the designer is left to bring the loose ends together.This paper looks at a synthesis approach that draws upon a number ofcurrent design themes. The design process is considered along withvarious aspects such as product development, design-for-`X'methodologies and material selection. The need for the preservation ofdesign knowledge and reasoning, the so called wh-? questions, within theprocess are considered along with various models of the design process.The paper draws these various aspects together to form a more holisticapproach to design. The application of this technique within theTeaching Company Scheme is briefly discussed