← Design Studies syllabus

SingaporeDesign Studies

The Design Process

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How does a designer turn research into clear requirements, and how do constraints shape a design?

Write a design specification from research and explain how constraints such as budget, materials, audience and time shape design decisions
A focused answer on specifications and constraints for O-Level Design Studies. Writing a design specification, success criteria, and how constraints such as budget, time, materials and audience shape design decisions.
8 min answer →

How do designers generate and communicate a wide range of ideas quickly before committing to one?

Use ideation techniques and annotated sketching to generate a range of ideas and communicate design thinking on paper
A focused answer on ideation and sketching for O-Level Design Studies. Brainstorming, mind-mapping and SCAMPER, thumbnail sketches, annotation, and how to generate and communicate a range of ideas quickly.
8 min answer →

Why do designers build rough models of their ideas, and what kinds of prototype are useful at each stage?

Explain the purpose of prototyping and create low- and high-fidelity prototypes and mock-ups to test and develop a design
A focused answer on prototyping for O-Level Design Studies. The purpose of prototypes, low- versus high-fidelity, paper prototypes and mock-ups, fail fast and cheap, and how prototyping develops a design.
8 min answer →

How does a designer turn a vague request into a clear brief, and what research is needed before designing?

Interpret a design brief and conduct primary and secondary research, including user, market and visual research, to inform a design
A focused answer on the design brief and research for O-Level Design Studies. Reading and interpreting a brief, primary versus secondary research, user and market research, mood boards, and writing a design specification.
8 min answer →

How do designers find out whether a design works, and how do they use that feedback to improve it?

Test designs with users, evaluate against criteria, gather and act on feedback, and iterate to improve a design
A focused answer on testing and evaluation for O-Level Design Studies. User testing, evaluating against the specification, gathering qualitative and quantitative feedback, iteration, and the difference between feedback and opinion.
8 min answer →

What are the stages designers move through to turn a problem into a resolved design?

Describe the stages of the design process - empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test - and explain why it is iterative rather than linear
A focused answer on the design process for O-Level Design Studies. The stages of design thinking from empathise to test, why the process is iterative and cyclical, and how each stage feeds the next.
8 min answer →