DEVELOP, ANALYSE, REFINE, R

EPEA

T...

SKETC

H OUT YOUR IDEAS HERE...

At SOLE

we b

eliev

e mak

ing

is ex

citing

, eng

aging

and s

atisfy

ing an

d can

offer

an

altern

ative

to to

day’s

unsus

taina

ble

leve

ls of

consu

mption

.

Creatin

g som

ething

can b

e a ch

allen

ge –

but it

also

prov

ides a

sense

of sa

tisfac

tion

and p

ride i

n a jo

b well

done

, and

a

relati

onshi

p with

the fi

nishe

d obje

ct tha

t

is un

ique a

nd pe

rsona

l.

We h

ave p

ut tog

ether

this g

uide

for th

ose w

ho ar

e con

fiden

t

abou

t their

prac

tical

skills

but le

ss co

mfortab

le with

the cr

eativ

e asp

ect, t

o

lead y

ou th

roug

h

the de

sign

proc

ess.

It’s im

porta

nt yo

u fee

l insp

ired a

nd ex

cited

by yo

ur pr

oject.

Estab

lish w

hat it

is th

at yo

u’d lik

e to m

ake a

nd ju

st as

impo

rtantl

y why

you’r

e doin

g it.

It may

be yo

u’ve b

een i

nspir

ed by

someth

ing yo

u’ve s

een

or it

could

simply

be th

e rea

lisatio

n tha

t som

ething

could

be

bette

r if it

was ju

st a l

ittle d

ifferen

t.

If yo

u’re s

trugg

ling

for in

spira

tion,

look t

hroug

h mag

azine

s

and

newsp

apers

and

/or h

ead

off to

a m

useum

or g

aller

y.

Alway

s car

ry a

pen

and

pap

er –

an id

ea ca

n str

ike a

t

anyw

here,

any t

ime.

Using t

he in

formati

on yo

u

built

up du

ring r

esea

rch, y

ou

can b

egin

to ex

perim

ent. T

here

are q

uestio

ns th

at yo

u’ll h

ave b

een

unab

le to

answ

er by

rese

arch

alon

e.

You m

ay be

unsur

e how

you’r

e goin

g

to mak

e som

ething

wor

k. Yo

u may

be

unsur

e whic

h wou

ld be

the b

est o

ption

from th

e num

ber t

hrown u

p by y

our

resea

rch. Y

ou m

ay be

unsur

e how

someth

ing sh

ould

look o

r how

it sh

ould

feel w

hen t

ouch

ed.

It migh

t be t

hat y

ou’re

mak

ing so

mething

for so

meone

with

reall

y spe

cific n

eeds

.

For e

xample

, if yo

u’re c

reatin

g an

armch

air fo

r you

r blin

d gra

ndma,

expe

rimen

ting –

sittin

g on v

ariou

s cha

irs

with a

blind

fold o

n – w

ill he

lp yo

ur

unde

rstan

ding o

f her

requir

emen

ts.

The b

est w

ay to

find o

ut is

by tr

ying

thing

s out:

doing

someth

ing fo

r you

rself

instea

d of s

imply

read

ing ab

out it

will

give y

ou a

much c

learer

pictu

re. Th

is is

your

oppo

rtunit

y to t

est, e

xplor

e and

disco

ver a

nythi

ng yo

u thin

k migh

t be

bene

ficial

to yo

ur pr

oject.

At this

point

it ca

n be u

seful

to fil

l out

a

‘Cou

ld Be

, Sho

uld Be

, Must

Be’ c

hart.

Write

out

any i

deas

that y

ou’ve

had f

or yo

ur

proje

ct in

the C

ould

Be sp

here;

wha

t the

perfe

ct ve

rsion

of yo

ur

proje

ct wou

ld be

like i

n the

Shou

ld Be

sphe

re; an

d any

requir

emen

ts for

the o

bject

in

the M

ust Be

sphe

re. Th

is will

help

clarify

the p

rojec

t and

prov

ide yo

u

with a

good

summar

y of y

our in

tentio

ns.

Refer

ring b

ack t

o it a

t a la

ter st

age w

ill

help

you g

auge

the r

elativ

e suc

cess

of

your

desig

n.

As you

r res

earch

prog

resse

s and

your

unde

rstan

ding d

eepe

ns, id

eas w

ill be

gin

to tak

e sha

pe in

your

mind. T

ry w

riting

them ou

t, dra

wing th

em or

even

mak

ing

models

from

wha

tever

you h

ave l

ying

roun

d the

house

.

This stage of

your project is

all about research.

A good place to start

is by considering similar

existing products. Work out

what is good and/or bad about

them and think how they could be

improved.

Check out your local library, look

online – make use of all the research

resources available. You need to

understand as much as you can

about the type of object you

want to create.

Spend time working out

the perfect version of

your object. Don’t

worry too much

about

achievability – there will be plenty of time

later for the practical details.

Think through where, when and who will

use your object – and why. This could

provide a useful insight into how your

object could be better than the alternatives.

Work out and write out what your object

should be like and what it should do. This

will come in useful later as principles to aim

for.

Consider the different materials and

methods of making your object, sometimes

picking a material to work with can provide

useful insight.

As your research and understanding

progresses you might find as many

questions as you do answers; use a mind

map to keep track of these as well as all

your other research.

At this

stage

you

shou

ld an

alyse

your

resea

rch.

Org

anise

all

the in

formati

on

you’v

e gath

ered

to mak

e it a

s eas

y

to un

derst

and a

s

possi

ble. M

ind

mappin

g or P

ost-it

notes

stuc

k to a

wall

can b

e grea

t tools

to he

lp with

this

proc

ess.

Look

ing at

your

resea

rch, y

ou

shou

ld be

gin

by w

orkin

g out

what a

re the

mos

t

impo

rtant,

excit

ing

and i

nteres

ting

aspe

cts of

wha

t you

have

lear

ned.

You s

hould

also

set y

ourse

lf som

e

para

meters

at

this p

oint. T

hese

shou

ld be

base

d on

prac

ticali

ties s

uch

as w

hat s

ize yo

ur

objec

t will

be or

what m

ateria

l you

are g

oing t

o use

or

the re

quire

ments

of its

use –

for

exam

ple a

chair

must be

stro

ng

enou

gh to

take

the

weight

of a p

erson

.

Write

out a

brief

objec

tive d

escri

bing

your

proje

ct.

Refer

back

to yo

ur

inspir

ation

as w

ell

as yo

ur ‘C

ould

Be,

Shou

ld Be

, Must

Be’ c

hart

and t

ry

to sum

marise

, in a

few lin

es, w

hat it

is

you’r

e crea

ting a

nd

why yo

u’re

creati

ng it.

Using e

very

thing

you’v

e lea

rned,

now yo

u sho

uld be

gin to

deve

lop an

d refi

ne yo

ur ide

as,

push

ing th

em to

wards

a mor

e pra

ctica

l solu

tion.

You s

hould

cons

ider y

our o

bject

from ev

ery a

ngle

– how

it will

look,

feel, b

e use

d... A

ll asp

ects

are

linke

d and

how yo

u wan

t you

r obje

ct to

functi

on w

ill alm

ost c

ertai

nly in

fluen

ce ho

w it loo

ks.

Sketc

h out

and/

or cr

eate

mock-u

ps of

your

objec

t. Use

wha

tever

you l

ike to

deve

lop th

e

idea –

all th

at matt

ers is

that

the te

chniq

ue w

orks

for yo

u. Try

sketc

hing u

sing a

varie

ty

of med

ia an

d mak

e mod

els us

ing w

hatev

er yo

u hav

e at h

and.

Don’t w

orry

abou

t how

neat

your

work i

s just

as lo

ng as

you u

nders

tand i

t.

Come u

p with

diffe

rent v

ersion

s of y

our o

bject,

vary

ing de

tails

such a

s

shap

e, siz

e, co

lour a

nd m

ateria

l cho

ice. If

you g

et stu

ck, th

ink ab

out it

in

a diffe

rent w

ay. If

, for in

stanc

e, yo

ur de

sign h

as be

en qu

ite ge

ometr

ic

perha

ps tr

y crea

ting a

mor

e org

anic

shap

e. Ev

en if

you d

on’t i

nitial

ly

like w

hat y

ou’re

coming

up w

ith, y

ou m

ight ju

st stu

mble ac

ross

an

idea o

r a de

tail th

at yo

u’d no

t thou

ght o

f befo

re. Th

e key

is

to be

non-c

ritica

l at th

is po

int an

d sim

ply

to ex

plore

what’s

possi

ble.

Once you’ve come up with a variety of options

you should take a step back and carefully

examine each of your designs.

Refer back to your objectives and compare your with

‘Could Be, Should Be, Must Be’ chart. You need

to ensure that your project is moving in the right

direction and will provide the desired solution

while still satisfying all the

parameters you set.

Write out the benefits and

drawbacks for each of your

designs. This should help you

build up a clear picture of

what works.

From your analysis choose three designs and

repeat step 5; this time you should be more

focused and practical in your approach. Instead

of coming up with as many variations as you can,

spend time developing and working on the details

of the objects. Try making small changes to see

how they affect your design. If you struggle or get

stuck use the best parts from your other designs

and combine them with your chosen three.

Continue to assess your designs – be more critical

and rigorous in your analysis. Make a prototype

using whatever material is practical and try it out.

For example, if you’re making a table, prop up

some wood using chairs and books so you can

check that it’s at the right height. Consider the

benefits and drawbacks of the object during use.

This process of developing, analysing

and refining should go on until

you’re certain it can’t get

any better.

Once you’ve

finished developing

your design

this final stage

gives you the

opportunity to make

any changes. Refer

back to your research and

objectives and consider if

you’ve achieved what you set

out to. Ask yourself if your project

will work, if it is engaging and most

importantly if you’re satisfied with it.

If you’re not happy with your design you

need to work out why not. Retrace your steps,

and repeat the developing, analysing and refining

process until you come up with a design that

works for you.

If you are happy and excited with your design now you can

plan how you’re going to make your object, calculate how much

material you will need and create your design plans. These should

contain all the dimensions of each part that you need for manufacture.

See our Guide to Making for some tips on the making process.

Finally spend a little time reflecting on the project as a whole. Think about

which steps you enjoyed the most, what you found easy and what

worked well for you. It’s also as important to take a look at what

didn’t go so well and why, to save finding yourself in the same

situation next time round.

Creating something from start to finish gives you a unique

understanding of and attachment to it – and there’s no

better feeling than ‘I made that!’

STICK

PHOTOS, DRAW

PICTURES

OR

MAKE NOTES

OF WHAT

INSPIRES

YOU

IN THIS S

PACE...

MY KEY

INSIGHTS

WERE:

I ENJOYED...

...WAS CHALLENGING

WILL IT B

E USED

BY...WHO?

WILL THEY

USE IT..

.

WHEN?

WHY?

WILL THEY

USE IT..

.

COULD BE:

MUST BE:

(REQUIREMENTS GO HERE)

(IDEAS GO HERE)

(THE IDEAL GOES HERE)

SHOULD BE:

6

5 10 15 20 25 30 35

GUIDE TO DESI

GNING

BE INSPIRED

INVESTIGATE

EXPLORE

DEFINE

DEVELOP

ANALYSE

FINALISE

2

3EX

PLORE

INVESTIGATE

DEVELO

P

ANALYSE

10°20°

30°

40°

50°

60° 70° 80°

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1

7 FINALISE

BE IN

SPIRE

D

There

will

be

prob

lems t

o solv

e

and d

ecisio

ns to

be

made;

howev

er, w

e

think

you’l

l find

crea

ting

objec

ts as

excit

ing as

we d

o…

4 DEF

INE

At SOLE

we f

ollow

a

strict

set o

f prin

ciples

when w

e are

desig

ning

to en

sure t

hat w

hat w

e’re

workin

g on h

as re

al, lo

ng la

sting

value

and i

ntegr

ity. O

ur pr

incipl

es

are a

s foll

ows:

ECOLO

GY & EN

DURANCE

To us

, mak

ing en

viron

mental

ly so

und p

rodu

cts

is no

t an o

ption

, it’s

a req

uirem

ent. T

heref

ore w

e

use th

e mos

t sus

taina

ble ye

t har

d wea

ring m

ateria

ls

and m

anufa

cturin

g pro

cess

we can

. We a

lso m

ake

ever

ything

here

in the

UK fu

rther

reduc

ing ou

r car

bon

footpr

int an

d of c

ourse

we d

esign

our p

rodu

cts to

last

as

long a

s pos

sible.

HONESTY

& SI

MPL

ICITY

We d

on’t t

hink o

bjects

shou

ld mak

e pro

mises t

hey

can’t

fulfil

. To u

s for

m does

follo

w func

tion a

nd

we fee

l that

simple

often

mea

ns be

autifu

l and

elega

nt.

INDIV

IDUALIT

Y & IN

NOVATIO

N

For u

s it’s

cruc

ial th

at the

owne

r of

our p

rodu

cts m

akes

them

their

own.

We w

ant o

ur cu

stomers

to

perso

nalise

, ada

pt an

d lov

e

our p

rodu

cts.

At SOLE

we b

eliev

e tha

t eve

ryone

should

expe

rienc

e the

joy a

nd

satisf

actio

n tha

t mak

ing gi

ves,

and

that e

veryo

ne sh

ould

live w

ith un

ique,

perso

nal, h

igh-qu

ality

items t

hat e

xpres

s

who th

ey ar

e and

wha

t they

’re ab

out.

So w

e hav

e pro

duce

d two i

nnov

ative

rang

es ai

med

at dif

feren

t skil

l leve

ls:

The A

SSEM

BLE r

ange

comes

flat-p

acke

d and

is si

mple

enou

gh fo

r beg

inners

to pu

t toge

ther,

and t

hen p

ut the

ir own

stamp o

n the

piec

e. W

ith a

hard

wood (

Red G

rand

is) fr

ame,

the

rang

e is m

ade f

rom hi

gh-qu

ality

untre

ated p

lywoo

d so y

ou

can p

aint, w

ax or

oil th

e piec

e to s

uit yo

ur ho

me. Ta

ke a

look a

t www.SO

LE.co

m for a

dvice

on ho

w to tr

eat y

our

furnit

ure an

d insp

iratio

n for

takin

g you

r mak

ing a

step f

urthe

r.

The F

ABRIC

ATE ra

nge o

ffers

more

expe

rienc

ed m

akers

a ra

nge o

f sim

ple

frame c

ompo

nents

that

you c

an us

e to

create

your

own,

besp

oke,

comple

tely

indivi

dual

piece

of fu

rnitur

e.

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