Design's impact on people and the planet
Every product a designer creates has consequences far beyond its price tag — for the people who use it, and for the planet it is made from.
Part of your national curriculum
- Evaluate: Understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers
Key learning points
- • Impact on individuals and society
- • Impact on the environment
- • Responsibilities of designers
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 14 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 14
Watch first
Design's impact on people and the planet
An English teaching video on this topic from Yi MakesItEasy. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.
In a nutshell
Understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 14
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Impact on individuals and society
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 14
Learn
Impact on individuals and society
New technologies can improve lives — accessible design helps disabled users, and cheaper electronics widen access to education. But they can also cause harm, such as job losses from automation or products designed to be addictive.
Explore the idea
Part 4 of 14
Learn
Impact on the environment
Extracting raw materials, manufacturing, transporting and disposing of products all use energy and create waste. Choices such as recyclable materials, repairable design and reduced packaging can significantly lower a product's environmental footprint.
Quick check
Part 5 of 14
Quick check
What is one environmental cost that occurs across a product's life?
Reset break
Part 6 of 14
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 2 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 7 of 14
Quick check
What does 'designing for a long usable life' help reduce?
Learning cycle
Part 8 of 14
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Responsibilities of designers
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 9 of 14
Learn
Responsibilities of designers
Designers are expected to consider these wider effects, not just whether a product works and sells. This includes being honest about environmental claims, designing for a long usable life, and thinking about what happens to a product at the end of its life.
Quick check
Part 10 of 14
Quick check
Which is a responsibility of designers mentioned here?
Challenge round
Part 11 of 14
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 12 of 14
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
New technologies can improve lives — accessible ____ helps disabled users, and cheaper electronics widen access to education.
Mastery quiz
Part 13 of 14
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Design's impact on people and the planet
3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is one environmental cost that occurs across a product's life?
2. What does 'designing for a long usable life' help reduce?
3. Which is a responsibility of designers mentioned here?
Lesson round-up
Part 14 of 14
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Games
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaDo the work
Your written work for this lesson
This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.
Why the first prototype broke
A team designed a phone stand from 3 mm plywood. The brief said it must hold a 200 g phone at 60° and survive being knocked. The first prototype looked right but snapped at the joint after two knocks.
The team tested again and found the grain of the plywood ran across the narrowest part of the joint, so the wood split along it. They widened the joint from 8 mm to 20 mm, turned the piece so the grain ran along the load, and added a small fillet at the corner to spread the force.
The second prototype survived twenty knocks. It used 15% more material and took four minutes longer to cut — a trade-off the team recorded in their evaluation.
Written for Good Learning Co.
Reading questions
- Name the fault in the first prototype and explain why it happened.
- List the three changes the team made and what each one does.
- Write an evaluation of the second prototype against the brief, including the trade-off.
Design sheet
DiagramSketch two ideas with measurements and notes, then photograph the sheet.
2 labelled sketches
Evaluation
WritingWrite how well your idea meets the brief and what you would change next time.
6–8 sentences
Saved as you type.
Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover
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Understand developments in design and technology, its impact on individuals, society and the environment, and the responsibilities of designers