New
New
Year 8

Developing a vector product

I can plan and design a vector product for a given project.

New
New
Year 8

Developing a vector product

I can plan and design a vector product for a given project.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. You can plan a design for a vector product by sketching ideas or listing what shapes and tools you will use.
  2. A vector image can be created by using a mixture of shapes and tools.
  3. To evaluate a product you should check whether your final design meets the goal you planned at the start.

Keywords

  • Logo - an image that represents and relates to the organisation it belongs to

  • Illustration - an image that clearly represents the thing it is

  • Icon - an image relevant to the navigation or menu it represents

Common misconception

You don’t need a plan before starting a vector design — you can just make it up as you go.

Planning helps you focus your design and choose the right tools and shapes before you start. Without a plan, it's easy to miss the goal or waste time making unnecessary changes.


To help you plan your year 8 computing lesson on: Developing a vector product, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Before pupils begin creating their vector product, ask them to annotate their plan with the specific tools or shapes they intend to use (e.g. “ellipse for wheels”, “Bezier tool for roof line”). This encourages purposeful design decisions and makes evaluation easier later on.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is a layer in vector graphics?

a tool for resizing
a type of shape
a colour palette
Correct answer: a level for placing objects above or below others

Q2.
What does grouping objects allow you to do?

change the colour of one object
Correct answer: move or change several objects at once
delete all objects
export the image

Q3.
What does the combine function do in vector graphics?

Correct answer: joins two or more objects together as one entity
changes the background colour
rotates objects
duplicates objects

Q4.
What do we call the points that mark the start, end, or bends in a path?

Correct Answer: nodes

Q5.
Arrange these steps for editing a path:

1 - select the path
2 - choose the node tool
3 - move nodes to change the path
4 - deselect when finished

Q6.
What does freehand mean when drawing in vector graphics?

using only straight lines
adding layers
duplicating objects
Correct answer: drawing freely without the use of any tools

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is one benefit of planning your vector design before you start?

It makes the file size bigger.
It forces you to use only one shape.
It prevents you from using colour.
Correct answer: It helps you focus and choose the right tools and shapes.

Q2.
Match each keyword to its correct description:

Correct Answer:logo,an image that represents an organisation or brand

an image that represents an organisation or brand

Correct Answer:illustration,an image that clearly shows what something is

an image that clearly shows what something is

Correct Answer:icon,an image used for navigation or menus

an image used for navigation or menus

Q3.
What do we call the preparation step where you sketch ideas or list shapes and tools before starting a vector design project?

Correct Answer: plan

Q4.
Which statement about planning a vector design is correct?

You should always make it up as you go.
Correct answer: Planning helps you choose the right tools.
Planning is only for experts.
Planning stops creativity.

Q5.
What is the process called when you check whether your finished vector design meets the goal you planned at the start?

Correct Answer: evaluation

Q6.
Arrange these steps for evaluating a vector product:

1 - look at your finished design
2 - compare it to your original plan
3 - decide whether it meets the goal
4 - make notes for improvements