---
title: "Designing Products"
description: "Design purposeful products for yourself and other users: say who a product is for and what it must do, gather ideas from looking and asking, set simple design criteria, and describe or draw a design t"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/design-and-technology/designing-products-mt_fZo-OWjM-T
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/design-and-technology/designing-products-mt_fZo-OWjM-T.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Designing Products

Design purposeful products for yourself and other users: say who a product is for and what it must do, gather ideas from looking and asking, set simple design criteria, and describe or draw a design that meets them

Subject: Design & Technology · Area: Designing & Making · Ages 5 to 8
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/design-and-technology/designing-products-mt_fZo-OWjM-T

## Ready when they can

- State who a design is for and what it needs to do before making it (e.g. 'a boat for my teddy, so it has to float')
- Set simple criteria and check a design against them (e.g. 'the card had to stand up on its own')
- Draw or describe a design idea clearly enough for someone else to picture it

## Lesson: Plan Before You Make

Before you make something, stop and think first. Decide who it is for. Decide what it must do.

**Example.** Mia is making a boat for her teddy. Teddy cannot swim, so the boat must float. Mia thinks of this before she starts.

**Tip.** Look closely at things around you. Ask people what they need. Good ideas come from looking and asking.

*(drawing: Follow these four steps before you start making.)*

A design only helps other people once you can describe it. After you decide who it is for and what it must do, say your idea out loud or write it down: what it looks like, what parts it has, and what job each part does. If a friend can picture your thing without seeing it, your description has done its work. If they cannot picture it, something is missing, and it is usually what the thing is for.

**Recap.** Know who it's for, know what it must do, then draw it.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Describing Material Properties](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/describing-material-properties-mt_auVZZEuXjs)

## Opens up

- [Design That Changed the World](https://lightmysky.com/learn/design-and-technology/design-that-changed-the-world-mt_6PWs6Qp8V6)
- [Design Briefs and Better Products](https://lightmysky.com/learn/design-and-technology/design-briefs-and-better-products-mt_QeNClHE0EG)