Major Design Project
Project Proposal and Management
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding the criteria to produce a successful project and providing some supporting information that links to the intended project
- presenting time and action plans that have a secondary consideration of the original plans.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- meeting the page limit requirement
- understanding that diaries do not need to be provided as part of the project folio
- not exceeding the viewing time for the multimedia parts of the folio and not including photographs that may be printed as part of the project folio
- including a supporting discussion that is relevant and specific to the intended project, with clear links to relevant actions
- developing projects that do not cause real or potential damage or harm.
Project Development and Realisation
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- providing evidence of realisation in either a table, or a flow chart showing logical steps, including photographs
- documenting progressive design development
- presenting evidence of practical activity using photographs
- applying some testing and experimentation with relevance to the project.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- providing evidence of the design process
- communicating the design process through a ‘3D’ form, for example, using models or prototypes rather than just writing text
- conducting genuine experimentation and testing that indicates specific purpose and future directions in design development
- providing more than images or ideas located from an internet search when communicating a project design.
Project Evaluation
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding the functional and aesthetic aspects of the project
- including positive and negative considerations of the project and the relevant relationship to the proposal in the final evaluation.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- highlighting ongoing evaluation throughout the development of the project
- communicating clearly when attempts to evaluate took place
- using multimedia in the evaluation process
- understanding and focusing closely on the impact upon society and the environment.
Design and Technology – Written
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- identifying WHS practices that are relevant to the production of the lamp prototype (Q11)
- considering the development of the prototype in terms of at least one of these areas: the research of materials, safe manufacturing procedures and the testing of suitable materials (Q11)
- understanding different ways that information storage devices can be used (Q12)
- demonstrating knowledge of some legal issues (Q13).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- understanding the difference between teamwork and collaboration and incorporating relevant uses of information storage devices in these contexts (Q12)
- providing legal issues relevant to the context of the question (Q13)
- supporting a response with clear examples (Q13).
Section III
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding aspects of designing and producing products associated with sustainability
- showing some understanding of the challenges and/or opportunities that designers face when designing and producing sustainable products.
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- developing a deeper understanding of sustainable design practices
- providing relevant examples of sustainable products
- understanding design and production-related activities that have a clear link to sustainable products
- ensuring that both opportunities and challenges are addressed in the response.
