Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's design and technology lesson.

My name's Mrs. Fletcher and I'm here to help and guide you through this lesson today.

Today's lesson is called research interviews, and it's part of the Textile Pattern Pieces, Hats and Caps unit.

In this lesson, we'll be looking at all the information a designer needs to collect before they start the design process.

We'll be looking at how they collect that information and then how they use it to plan out their design.

Let's have a look at what we'll be learning about today.

The outcome of today's lesson is, "I can generate ideas by carrying out research through interviews." So that means the designer can speak to the person who will be using their product in order to gather the information that they need to make their design plans.

So there are some key words and phrases that we're going to see in today's lesson.

So let's have a look at those together before we get started.

So first of all, we've got the word research.

Can you repeat that after me? Research.

Well done.

And when we talk about research, we mean finding out information about something.

Then we've got the word interview.

Can you repeat that? Interview.

Well done.

And an interview is where you ask somebody questions in order to find out certain information.

Then we've got the phrase made-to-measure.

Can you repeat that? Made-to-measure.

Well done, and made-to-measure means that it's a product that is made to a person's exact requirements, including measurement.

So it's something that's made very specifically for a very specific user.

And then we've got the phrase design specification.

Can you repeat that? Design specification.

Well done.

And that means a list of things that a product must have or do.

So it's from that information that the designer has gathered.

They write a design specification that sets out the product that they're going to make.

Today's lesson will be split into two parts.

First of all, we'll be looking at research interviews, how to do them, and what type of information they can help us to gather, and then we'll move on to looking at writing a design specification for a hat design.

So let's get started with those research interviews.

Most fashion items, including hats, are made in general sizes to fit lots and lots of different users.

Some items though are what we call made-to-measure, and that means they're made for a very specific user using their exact measurements.

So they wouldn't necessarily be used or fit another person.

Designers must research the product that they're going to make and the user in order to make sure that it suits their exact needs.

In order to get the information that they need.

A designer can interview a user to find out exactly what they want from a product.

Now, that key word interview is a series of questions designed to find out information from someone.

The information from the research interview can then be used to write a design specification.

And remember that's a plan of what will be designed and why.

Jacob and Sofia are working together on this project.

And Jacob is asking what type of questions should he ask in a research interview? So that's a really good question.

What do we want to know? So we'll need to find out what style of hat the user wants.

So he'll be asking Sofia what type of hat she would like him to design for her.

We need to find out what they're going to use it for, and we also need to find out any preferences or likes such as the colour or fabric choice that the user would want to see in their design.

The user may not know exactly what they want.

So the questions that we ask should help us to get more information so that we can make those design decisions for them.

To what type of styles Sofia might like for her hat design, Jacob could ask questions such as, "Do you have a favourite hat style? Have you seen anyone wearing a hat that you liked? Or what type of hats do you already own?" And by asking those types of questions, he can start to get an idea of the type of hat that Sofia would like.

To find out more about what Sofia will be using the hat for, Jacob could ask questions such as, "When do you usually wear a hat and is there a specific activity or time when you would want to wear a hat?" And by asking those types of questions, it can get a better idea of what Sofia wants to use her hat for.

She may not have a specific time that she wants to wear a hat, so he might ask a question that's more like, "When or where do you see other people wearing hats?" So this might give him an idea of when she expects to be able to wear the hat that he designs for her.

To find out more about what Sofia likes her preferences, Jacob could ask questions such as, "What are your favourite colours?" or "What type of fabrics do you prefer?" And this will give him an insight into the types of styles and colours and fabrics that Sofia already likes so that he might be able to make the hat in the similar style so that she will also like that design as well.

So Jacob carried out his research interview with Sofia.

First, he asked, "Have you seen anyone wearing the style of hats that you like?" And Sofia answered that she likes the floppy hats that she's seen her mum wearing when they go on holiday.

He then asked when she usually wears a hat, and she answered that she usually wears them out in the sun so that she doesn't get.

So he's starting to get a picture of the type of hat and when it's worn that Sofia might be expecting to have made for her.

He then asks what her favourite colours are.

So he's trying to get a feel for her preferences, her likes, and she says that she likes bright colours like yellow, orange, and purple.

And then he asks what type of material she likes, and she answers that she would prefer something soft or something natural like straw, so very specific types of material she's expecting her hat to be made out of.

For a made-to-measure hat, the milliner, So that's the person who would make the hat must take some very specific measurements of the user so that it will fit them perfectly, and that's what makes it made-to-measure.

It's not a general size that will fit a lot of people.

It's a very specific size that will fit the exact user's measurement.

The milliner must take exact measurements of the user's head because if we're making a hat, those are the measurements that are going to be important.

And they can use a tape measure because it's very flexible.

So a ruler wouldn't be very useful in this case because it wouldn't be able to bend around the shape of the user's head.

So a tape measure is a really useful tool for a miler to have to take these types of measurements.

A quick check then before we move on.

Why does the miler use the tape measure to take those measurements? Is it because it measures straight lines very easily? Is it because it's flexible and follows the head shape, or is it because it's rigid and doesn't follow the head shape? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said it's flexible and follows the head shape.

That was answer B.

Exactly, we need to be able to use a tool, a measuring tool, that's flexible so that it can measure around the shape of a person's head.

Well done if you got that right.

Now Sofia is working with Jacob, and she's going to take four measurements of Jacob's head.

First of all, she's going to take a measurement of his head circumference, and that's the distance all the way around the head at the widest part.

And this is usually where it crosses above around the forehead and above the ears.

So the tape measure's going to be in that position in order to measure that widest part of the head.

And it's very important when you're using a tape measure that you read those measurements carefully.

So read where the tape measure starts.

It might be a zero or it might be the very edge of the tape where you need to start.

And that needs to line up with the measurement on your tape measure in order to read it accurately.

So then Sofia moves on to the second measurement, and this is where she's measuring the head or crown height.

And this is a distance from the top of the head to where the hat will sit, which is usually above the ear.

So she's starting at the top and she's measuring to where the hat is going to sit, which will be above the eyebrows, above the ear, that kind of place.

So that's the measurement she's measuring now.

So this tells Sofia how tall the side panels or band of the hat will need to be, 'cause it will need to reach from the point where it sits to the very top of the head.

Then Sofia moves on to the third measurement.

So this is the width of the head, and she's going to measure from one, ear over the top of the head, to the other ear, just above the ear.

This will give her the width of Jacob's head.

And you need to make sure, when you're taking this measurement, that you allow a little bit of room.

If your user has very thick or curly hair, don't pull the tape too tight so that you have a little bit of extra room to allow the hair to fit inside the hat once you come to make it.

And then the final measurement that Sofia needs to take is the length of the head.

So she's going to measure the distance over the top of the head again, but this time from the forehead over the back to the middle of the back of the head, and this will tell her how wide Jacob's head is.

Again, don't pull it too tight if your user has very thick or curly hair like Jacob does.

So those width and length measurements will help Sofia make the hat fit comfortably on Jacob's head.

So now she's got those four measurements.

She needs to make sure that she's recorded them so that she can use them later on when she comes to make the hat.

So you can either record them in a table.

Quite clearly here, you can see the circumference, crown height, the width from ear to ear, and the length from front to back.

And she's recorded those in a column or you can put them onto a drawing.

So you can draw the rough shape of a head or you can draw a circle which represents the head looking down on top of the head, and you can record those measurements.

So we've got the circumference that goes around the head that goes around the circle.

We've got the width that goes across the circle, which is what would be across the head.

We've got the length which goes top to bottom on that circle, and that would be what went from front to back on the measuring.

And then we've got that crown height, which was from the ear to the top of the head, which will be half of the circle, the measurement of half of the circle on that diagram.

So whichever one is easiest for you, you can record your measurements like that, just like Sofia has done there.

A quick check then before we move on.

Research interviews let the designer tell the user what they are going to design.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said false? So a research interview does not let the designer tell the user what they're going to design.

A research interview allows the designer to ask questions to find out what the user wants from a product.

So it's a chance to get that information from the user.

Well done if you got that right.

So that leads us to our first task in this lesson.

So you are going to be conducting some research interviews.

So first of all, we need to know what types of questions we are going to be asking.

So, in pairs, you're going to write down three questions.

The questions should help you find out the answer to each of these points.

So you need a question that will help you find out what style of hat the user wants.

You need a question that will help you find out what they're going to use the hat for, and you need a question that's going to help you find out any preferences.

That's the likes or even dislikes of your user in terms of colour and fabric choice.

So you need to know what they like in that area, but you might also want to know what they don't like.

Pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? So you should have three questions now at least that you're going to ask your partner when you interview them for part of your research, and that's the second part of the task.

So you're going to carry out your research interview for the new hat design that you're going to be making.

So in pairs, you're gonna take it in turns to interview each other, ask the questions that you planned in the first part of this task to find out what style of hat the user wants, what they're going to use the hat for, and what colours or fabrics they would like, or even which ones they would not like to see in their design.

Take it in turns to make sure you've both been interviewed.

So you've both got that information ready to start your design process, pause the video while you complete that task and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

So for the final part of this task, you're now going to take some exact measurements of each other of your user to make sure that the hat that you make fits them perfectly.

So use a tape measure, follow the steps that we talked about earlier to take those four measurements of your partner's head, and record them either in a table or in a diagram so that you have those measurements ready to help you make your hat product.

Pause the video while you complete that step and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? So, hopefully, you've taken all the information that you need now, just like Jacob and Sofia.

So first of all, they came up with the three questions that they were going to ask.

Those three questions were, "Have you seen anyone wearing a hat you like? Where will you want to wear the hat?" and "What is your favourite colour?" So they kept it quite straightforward to get that information.

Then in the second and third parts of that task, they interviewed each other, took the measurements that they needed, and recorded all that information onto a table.

So we can see from Jacob's interview here, he's recorded that Sofia likes bucket hats or sun hats with a brim, that she wants to use it for playing outside or for when she's on the beach, that she likes bright, fun colours like yellow, orange and purple, and that she would like a hat made of a soft cotton or straw.

And then he's recorded the measurements of her head in another table there.

So he's got all the information he needs from his research interview to start to plan the hat that he will design for Sofia.

Well done, Jacob.

And well done if you manage to complete that task as well.

That leads us onto the second part of the lesson.

So in this part of the lesson, we're going to use that information to help us write a design specification for our hat products.

The information from the research interview can now be used to write a design specification for your hat product.

A design specification is a list of product requirements, that's the needs, that are decided before a product is designed and made.

So it's things that the product has to include, and that information can come from those interviews that we have just conducted.

A design specification can include information on function, so that's what the product is going to do; the user, so who is going to be using it; the performance, so that's how it's going to work, how it's going to complete the task or job that we want it to; the appearance, So that's what it's going to look like; the materials, that's what it's made from; and environmental effects, so that's how to reduce the negative impacts we might have on the environment through waste or things like that.

Jacob used his research interview with Sofia to write his design specification.

He used the answers to decide what type of hat he should make to suit the user's exact needs.

The measurements that he took as part of that research interview will form parts of the design specification as well, because that's important information about what the product will need to have.

It will need to have those specific measurements.

A quick check then before we move on.

Why are those head measurements included in a design specification for a hat? Is it A, so it will fit anyone, which is what Jacob is saying? Is it B, to get a rough idea of head size, which is what Sofia is saying? Or is it so it will perfectly fit the user, which is what Laura is saying? Pause video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you agreed with Laura.

Exactly, we take those head measurements as part of that research interview to make sure that the hat is going to fit the user perfectly.

Well done if you got that right.

So this is a design specification for Sofia's made-to-measure hat.

So this is what Jacob needs to include in his hat design in order to make it exactly what Sofia wants and is recorded all down using those categories that we talked about before in terms of what can be included in a design specification.

So the function, that's what it should do.

It needs to protect the face and neck from the sun.

So Sofia wants a hat she can use outside or on the beach when she's in out in the sun.

So it needs to protect her from the sun.

The user, that's who's going to be using it, it's made to measure for Sofia in this case.

The performance, that's how it will work.

It will work by having a large brim.

So he's thinking about a hat with a large brim, so that's that part that extends out from the hat.

That will help to shade Sofia's face and neck.

So that's how it will protect her from the sun.

The materials he's going to use, he's going to use a natural cotton.

The appearance, that's what it's going to look like.

He's chosen a bright orange colour because Sofia specifically said that she liked bright colours.

And then the head measurements are recorded on there as well to make it exactly fit Sofia's head.

A quick check then before we move on, which of these things would not be included in a design specification? Is it A, the materials you're going to use, B, the questions you asked, C, the performance of the product, or D, the appearance of the product.

Pause the video and have a think.

Welcome back.

What did you think? Well done if you said questions exactly.

We had to think about questions in our research interviews.

We asked those questions in order to get the information, but the information that's recorded in the design specification are the answers to those questions.

So we would not be including any more questions in the design specification.

Well done if you got that right.

So that leads us onto the final task in this lesson.

So this is where we are going to be writing the design specification to make sure we know exactly what type of hat you're going to be making.

So you're going to start by using the information you gathered from your research interviews to decide a few things about your hat design.

First of all, you're going to decide what the hat is going to be used for.

What did your user want the hat for? Then you're going to think about, what type of hat would suit that use? What type of hat could you make that would be good for that use? You need to decide what features it might have.

So it might have a large brim or a peak.

You're going to decide what material it could be made from, and you're going to decide what colour it will be.

So your user may not have told you specifically what they wanted, but they should have given you enough information for you to make a decision about something that will suit what they would want.

Once you've decided on that information for the second part of the task, you're going to write up that information as a design specification just like Jacob and Sofia have done.

Pause the video while you complete those tasks and come back when you're done.

Welcome back.

How did you get on? Your design specification should set out the specific details of the hat that you are going to design and make for your partner who is the user.

Jacob here has decided very specifically using all that information that is going to design an orange-colored floppy hat with a large brim, which will keep the sun off Sofia's face and neck.

So you should be able to summarise what you are going to make similar to the way Jacob has done there, because you should have made the decisions about the style of hats, the colour of the hat, the material it's going to be made from that will suit your user.

Well done if you manage to complete that task.

We are at the end of the lesson now.

We've had lots of fun today conducting our research interviews, finding out that information that's very important to help us write design specifications to make sure the product we make exactly suits the user's needs.

We found out that designers need to find out what user's needs are through research, and that research interviews are a good way for them to collect that information from the user.

We've learned that research interviews can be developed into design specifications, so we can take the answers to the questions we ask in those interviews, turn them into a list of things we need the product to have and do.

And we've also learned that research interviews can include the sizing information for a made-to-measure prototype or product, so that makes it very specific to the user we're making it for.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson today.

I hope to see you again for another lesson.

Goodbye for now.