B.Arch CurriculumFree, forever
A tribute to Amogh N P
Product Design
The architect designs the building; the product designer designs everything that fills it — and the discipline has its own deep method. This elective covers the whole arc: what product (industrial) design is and the principles of good design; the design process and design thinking; human factors, anthropometry and the psychology of use; materials and the manufacturing processes that make a product real; and the meaning, aesthetics and sustainability that decide whether it deserves to exist at all.
Course byAmogh N P· Architect & interior designer
The syllabus
5 units · 5 liveTranscribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. All 5 units are live as full interactive lessons, each with original diagrams, a self-assessment quiz and a studio task.
Unit 1 — What Is Product Design?
LiveThe definition and scope of product/industrial design; a brief history — Arts & Crafts, the Bauhaus, the Ulm School and Dieter Rams; the ten principles of good design; and the product life cycle.
Unit 2 — The Design Process
LiveThe product-design process from need to production; design thinking (empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test) and the Double Diamond; ideation methods; and prototyping, from low-fidelity mock-ups to 3D printing.
Unit 3 — Ergonomics & Users
LiveHuman factors and ergonomics; anthropometry (static and dynamic) and the percentile design rules; verified Indian anthropometric data; and the psychology of use — Norman's affordances, signifiers, mapping and feedback.
Unit 4 — Materials & Making
LiveThe material families and selection criteria (Ashby); the key manufacturing processes — injection moulding, casting, forming, machining and 3D printing — and design for manufacture.
Unit 5 — Meaning & Sustainability
LiveProduct semantics — how a product communicates meaning; aesthetics and colour-material-finish; branding; and design for sustainability — life-cycle thinking, cradle-to-cradle, the circular economy and frugal innovation for India.
Course outcomes
What you will be able to doUnderstand the scope of product design and the principles of good design.
Apply the product-design process and design-thinking methodology.
Apply human factors, anthropometry and usability to a product.
Select materials and manufacturing processes appropriate to a product.
Analyse a product's meaning, aesthetics and sustainability.
Create and present a resolved product-design concept.
The author
Amogh N P
Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.
More about Amogh →Design the things that fill the building.
Good design, the design process, ergonomics, materials and sustainability. Read the five units, study the diagrams, then test yourself.
The curriculum is free, forever