| MTD111: Creative Design Fundamentals |
Background & Brief Considerations
Due to the need to Work from Home (WFH) for a while more due to the pandemic, many young parents will be spending many working hours from within the confines and comfort of their homes. For those who have very young children, they will need to split between work and caring and watching over these young toddlers, likely between the age of 6 to 18 months.
As toddlers become more active, it would be ideal for them to be allowed to explore and play within a safe and confined area on their own with lesser supervision. The Integrated Playpen (IPP) is to be designed with the utmost safety of the child in mind. This is to be followed by features that will provide the child with play opportunities. The IPP should also be conducive for the child to begin the process of standing and walking. It should only be used indoor.
The following considerations must be evident in your proposed design.
1. The IPP should have a base area that is no larger than 5.0 metres2. It can be of any practical layout as long as it stays within this base area and ensures the best use of floor space.
2. The IPP should be enclosed by child-safe fences and a single gate with a minimum height of no less than 1.0 metres.
3. You are free to consider and mention the type of material used for the complete IPP but the material(s) must be child-safe.
4. Your adopted design must also be aesthetically appealing, using an appropriate colour scheme.
5. The IPP should be designed for easy assembly and disassembly when required.
6. The IPP must include a space for a simple cot which will provide a place for the child to take naps when desired. Propose a practical dimension for the cot. It should blend into the overall design of the IPP and be safe and functional as well. The cot may be removed from the IPP when not in use to allow more play space.
7. Consider some simple and light storage spaces for the storing of toys when not in play. This is an excellent means to teach young children to return and store toys in their storage spaces when done playing. This feature must also be absolutely child-safe as well.
8. Audio and Visual (AV) features are required to allow the child to see and hear the parent(s) when they are in another location in the same house. This feature should also allow the parent(s) to monitor the child from their remote location as well.
9. You are free to consider adding 2 other playpen features into the IPP as long as they are safe and pose no risk to the physical well-being of the child but can provide play opportunities.
10. No water play features are allowed for safety
Question 1
a. Exploration in Design – Sketches (30 marks)
- Keeping within 40 minutes*, develop your concepts with meaningful and clear sketches allowing your design process to be understood and appreciated as much as possible.
- Consideration for appropriate and appealing color schemes should be evident.
- Express your conceptual/developmental sketches within 1 OR 2 blank A4 sheets.
- Analyze how your final choice of design has met the important consideration of Form and Function i.e. balancing Form and Function considerations.
b. Rationale in Design – Selection
- Keeping around 150 words (spend about 15 minutes*), discuss your design the rationale for your proposed solution in clear (legible) handwriting and an organized flow.
- Help readers understand what were the inspiration(s) or consideration(s) for adopting the specific approaches or choices, resulting in at the final design solution.
- Show your organized design rationale on a single blank A4 paper sheet
Question 2
With the final design confirmed as you complete Question 1, you are to undertake the following for Question 2.
a. Develop a complete Isometric Projection Drawing using as much space on a blank A4 Isometric Drawing paper as possible.
b. In your Isometric Projection Drawing, include the following.
- Using a practical unit of measurement i.e. centimeters, generate a practical scale for your drawing e.g. a scale of 1:2.5, to fit the entire drawing onto a single Isometric Drawing (A4) paper.
- Clearly annotate, using the adopted unit of measurement i.e. centimeters, all relevant parts of the design in your isometric drawing, to give a realistic appreciation of its physical size. See the following visual reference as an example of measurement annotation.
- You may decide to employ an ‘exploded view’ approach in your isometric drawing if that can increase the clarity and appeal of the visual presentation of your design. This is a common consideration where a large part of your design is hidden from view or obstructed visually by other parts but needed to be shown for a better appreciation. See the following visual reference as an example of an exploded view presentation
When using Isometric Paper provided, avoid relying on the grid markings on the paper for measurement as they do not represent precise values. Students should, however, use a regular measuring ruler to do so. The elevated (30°) angle grid line on the paper is however reasonably accurate for referencing and should be used
Attempt to complete your Isometric Projection Drawing within 50 minutes*.
d. Apply your understanding of the Isometric Projection Drawing produced in Question 2 to produce and complete a Two-point Perspective Sketch using as much space of a blank A4 sheet as possible.
e. The Two-point Perspective Sketch must be colored according to the color schemes adopted earlier during the design phase for relevance and appeal.
f. Consider using the best orientation of the A4 sheet to optimize the Two-point Perspective Sketch i.e. Portrait or Landscape.
g. Attempt to complete your Two-point Perspective Sketch within 50 minutes*.
h. For both visuals (Isometric Drawing and Two-point Perspective Sketch), show essential drawing skills as you produce them.
i. On all drawings and sketches (on the answer papers), clearly include your Full Name for identification purposes.
