A key part of the design process is knowing how to share your fantastic ideas and work to your friends, family, community, or even the whole world! When asked what their favourite part of their career is, trades people often answer that they get to point out all the projects they’ve helped build – from schools to hospitals to bridges, they take pride in sharing their work with others.
One way to share your idea is to teach others how to make one! Maybe you’ve designed an electronic plumbing system for your grandma’s plants that she can’t reach to water- wouldn’t it be wonderful to share your idea with other students who might want to build the same thing for one of THEIR family members? Maybe you created a wooden case for a coffee grinder with broken plastic exterior, and you want other people to know how easy it is to refurbish a “broken” appliance and keep it out of the landfill?
Watch our “How to Share Your Idea Video” and follow along the steps below as we walk you through making how-to instructions for your project so others can appreciate your work (and even try to make one of their own!).
Teachers, utilize this project to get students articulating their tool and materials choices, as well as sharing and reflecting on their design project, critical steps in the ADST curriculum. (It’s also an easy assessment opportunity for you, too!)
One way to share your idea is to teach others how to make one! Maybe you’ve designed an electronic plumbing system for your grandma’s plants that she can’t reach to water- wouldn’t it be wonderful to share your idea with other students who might want to build the same thing for one of THEIR family members? Maybe you created a wooden case for a coffee grinder with broken plastic exterior, and you want other people to know how easy it is to refurbish a “broken” appliance and keep it out of the landfill?
Watch our “How to Share Your Idea Video” and follow along the steps below as we walk you through making how-to instructions for your project so others can appreciate your work (and even try to make one of their own!).
Teachers, utilize this project to get students articulating their tool and materials choices, as well as sharing and reflecting on their design project, critical steps in the ADST curriculum. (It’s also an easy assessment opportunity for you, too!)
Tools & Materials
Material List
- Completed project from a design challenge
- Completed Design Thinking template handout
Optional
Tool list
- Computer with word processer
Procedure
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If you haven’t already, pick a design challenge and follow the steps in our seven Design Thinking project lessons, starting with Lesson 1: Empathize. Use the Design Thinking template to record your journey and use it as a reference for this part of your project.
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A very basic framework to communicate your project should include:
Project Description – this gives an overview of what the project is and how to use it, as well as a few photos or diagrams of the final product.
Tools List – which tools are essential, which are optional
Materials List – what materials (or “consumables”) are used, and in what dimensions and amounts
Procedure – a step-by-step order of actions to make the project, usually includes diagrams, pictures, GIFs, or video
You can also add other sections as you see fit, such as “suggestions for use”, or “extension challenges” where people can try something a little bit more difficult (perhaps an additional design opportunity that you didn’t try but were curious to). -
To help you figure out exactly how you want to communicate the information from step 2, think about the “who, what, where, when, why, and how” of sharing something, and brainstorm some ideas using the prompts in the following steps.
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Figure out WHO you want to share your project with. Ask yourself, “Who might be interested in making their own version of this project of mine?”, “Who are my end users, and where might I find more similar people (or animals or environments, etc.)?”.
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When you introduce someone to your project, it’s important that they understand exactly WHAT they’re looking at. Sometimes when you make something, YOU know exactly what it is, but it’s effective to try and imagine that you are seeing it for the first time. Ask yourself, “What is this object? What does it do? What are it’s uses? What are the different parts to it?” Use your answers to help you write a “project description”.
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Figure out WHERE you will share your project. Ask yourself, “WHERE are the people from step 3?”, “Where do people look for new and fun things to do, are they browsing online, are they listening to a local radio station, are they looking at posters on telephone poles or on local billboards? Are they browsing at a local farm market or flea market?”. Who might you need to get in touch with to help you do this?
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Figure out WHERE you will share your project. Ask yourself, “WHERE are the people from step 3?”, “Where do people look for new and fun things to do, are they browsing online, are they listening to a local radio station, are they looking at posters on telephone poles or on local billboards? Are they browsing at a local farm market or flea market?”. Who might you need to get in touch with to help you do this?
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Often, when you introduce an idea or project to someone, you want to address WHY they will want to try making it. Ask yourself, “What information do I need to include to entice people to give my project a try?”, “Why is this project important, and how does it contribute to someone’s life, their family, their community, or the environment?” Include this information in the project description.
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You need to also figure out HOW you will get your idea out to others. Ask yourself, “how do I learn the most easily – do I like to watch video tutorials that show me how to make things? Do I like to read printed instructions (with pictures or diagrams)? Do I learn best when I have someone there showing me how in person?”. You want to pick a method to share your project that you think is a clear, usable way for others to understand what you’ve made. For example, you could make a YouTube tutorial video, a leaflet, a podcast, or even make a website like this one where you can share GIFs and photos with your instructions!
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Take all your answers from the above questions and get creative – make a plan for what your project sharing will look like, then share it with your friends, family, community, or the world! Head to our Contact Us form; we would love to hear all about your design challenges and the amazing projects they inspired!