Product Form

Instructor

Peter Pfanner

The form of a product is a result of resolving technical conditions, organizing the product for use, and a means for communicating. In this course students examine what technical and social dimensions impact product form and conversely, how product form can be controlled by the designer to improve the product�s performance. Topics include the relationship between a product�s form and corporate identity, visual trends, new materials, manufacturing techniques, semantics, product architecture, ergonomics, specific industries, and others.

Goal
This course is being offered to establish an explicit set of topics that students can use when evaluating and managing aspects of the form of a product during the product development process. This course relates to courses in communication design and diagramming where specific dimensions of communication form and purpose are examined.

Desired Outcomes
Students should be able to relate a product�s form to the topics covered in the course such as trends, material use, corporate identity, technology expression, ergonomics, manufacturing methods, cultural preferences, and others.
Students should be able to evaluate the form of products and speak clearly and intelligently about why the product is configured and formed in a certain way.
Students should be able to assess the form of alternative product concepts during development, identify the differences between them and articulate the relative merits of each direction.
Students should be able to suggest changes to product form to increase the value it brings to the product or product line.
Students should be able to create materials that help a development team understand, discuss and agree on form direction for a product that is being developed. (Archetypes, form anatomies, trend boards, historical reference)

Format & Grading

Class format

7/8 classes, 3 hours each Tuesdays 6.30 pm � 9.30 pm (possibly 6pm - 9pm
1.5 hour topic lecture and discussion
1 hour case study discussion of weekly topic in relation to the students chosen product case study
.5 hour for weekly for student �presentations� on specific product (3 mins each student)
Classes will consist of topic lectures, discussions, case studies and student presentations. Drawing on the instructor�s and guest lecturer�s experiences, Assignments will include readings, form analysis exercises, and an in depth project to analyze a specific product in terms of form.

Grading
class involvement 25%
project 75%

Final project
A written and visual analysis of the form of a set of products based around the weekly topics (plus any others that may be relevant) replicating as close as possible a professional situation
This analysis needs to include other products that may have influenced the form of the product (corporate portfolio/market) and the effect that the case study product had on influencing other product.
A synthesis to include how the form could be improved or what would the next or a different version of the product could be.
The deliverable is a multi page document and a single page poster
Projects need to be worked on weekly
submitted digitally (PDF)