Chris Heape said

"Apropos the range of discussion on this list, I
wonder sometimes if
most people would rather keep the discourse at a
theoretical level
(which I get a lot out of) or whether there really is
an interest in
also discussing specific incidents or cases of either
design practice
or design learning, that maybe don't specifically deal
with a
theoretical stance, but which maybe help reach renewed
understandings.

I'll be interested to see if there is any response."

I thought the following project might interest Chris.
We used to give it to new students at the University
of the Arts to quickly orient them to the field of
industrial design and to uncover something about their
knowledge, interests and skill levels before launching
more creative and open-ended projects.

The Airplane Project: (The very first undergraduate
industrial design project).

(The goals shaping this learning experience were
different from curricular goals today. It is presented
here only to suggest the power of a project to focus
and organize the delivery of information, the social
dynamics and the learning process into an integrated
learning experience.)

The assignment begins very simply. "Go to the store
and buy a scale model
airplane to be assembled in class". On their return
the teams (2 students per team) are asked to
reflect on and explain their decision to buy what they
did; personal economics,
buyer attitudes, marketing, and retail store layout
are discussed. Opening the
packages containing the models then provides the focus
for discussion, instruction
and quick design exercises in how packaging, graphics,
box fabrication and forming
techniques are used to support marketing,
distribution, and retailing objectives.

Applying the manufacturer's instructions to make the
model then affords the opportunity to
discuss differences in individual interpretations,
understandings and abilities, issues of communication
between designer, manufacturer and user, and
production sequence and method. The students rewrite
the instructions to help other avoid the problems they
encountered, learning to describe processes in doing
so. The instructor uses the various parts of the model
to introduce issues of material choice, manufacturing
technology, the industrial process, and planning for
production. Mold construction, plastic flow in the
mold and molding quality are discussed relative to the
mold lines and sprue locations on an injection-molded
part, or printing and lamination are discussed as a
decal is separated from its backing.

Concepts of axial symmetry, wall thickness, and
jointing, as well as the
application and interaction of adhesives, plastics and
paint are introduced as
the students build the model (a new experience for
most women). Making a template model of the airplane
in
cardboard then facilitates instruction in measurement,
sectioning, contours, drafting
and redesign. (Modifications to the design are
encouraged in the template model.)
Beautiful, professionally produced, technical
illustrations of cut-away sections of planes are
presented by the instructor to provide background
lessons in avionics, fabrication and aviation history
and to whet the appetite for drawing.

While this is going on the student teams conduct
research to obtain information
about the development, performance, manufacture and
operational history of their
airplane, its social and economic impact in the
community where it was made, and
the personal histories of some of the people who made,
flew and maintained it.
This information is presented to the class by each two
person team in writing, collages or slides, and oral
presentations.

The three week project is concluded with the design
and modeling of an exhibit
to present the airplane and its background to the
public. This switch to
architectural scale requires different sensibilities,
communication skills, and
model making techniques and introduces issues of
graphic communication, scale, human perception,
environmental character and social behavior.

In this example an impressive amount of information is
introduced in a clear,
immediate experience with a common context and shared
form families to focus the
experience - "just on time" teaching links the
knowledge of different
instructors to the problem at hand in relevant ways.
The student can more easily
see why certain information and skills are needed and
how problems arise for the
manufacturer, designer and user. They also gain a
better understanding of the
social history of aviation, its relationship to
manufacturing, the
characteristics of different planes relative to one
another, and a host of other
knowledge integrated and anchored through the shared
experience.  They are never
bored (once they get over the apparent childishness of
the assignment).

© 1993-96 Charles Burnette


Dr. Charles Burnette
234 South Third Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: +215 629 1387
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