Design communication — AQA A-Level Design and Technology: Product Design
Verified courseTeaching note checked against the official specification.
Design communication explained
This criterion asks you to know about, explain and actually demonstrate communication and presentation skills.
Read the full explanation
You must be able to convey design proposals and intentions to three audiences: clients, potential users and manufacturers. Techniques include sketching, annotated drawings, orthographic and isometric projections, CAD models and renders, physical models and prototypes, mood boards, presentation boards, and verbal or digital presentations. Each audience needs different information: clients want the concept, cost and brand fit; potential users want usability and appearance; manufacturers need dimensions, materials, tolerances and assembly detail. When reading the specification, note that the list of techniques is introduced by a colon, so check the full official list in your specification and learn each technique.
Your focus
- Identify a range of communication and presentation techniques used to convey design proposals.
- Explain which technique suits a client, a potential user or a manufacturer and why.
- Demonstrate a communication or presentation skill by producing or presenting a design proposal to a named audience.
Design communication exam tips
Examiner Tips
- 💡Read the whole statement, including the colon, and check the official specification for the complete list of techniques before revising.
- 💡For each technique, note which audience it suits best and why, so you can explain your choice.
- 💡Practise producing a short presentation or drawing for a named audience so you can demonstrate the skill, not just describe it.
Common Mistakes
- Thinking that explaining a technique is the same as demonstrating it; correction: you must also produce or present the communication, for example a sketch, model or presentation, to show the skill.
- Using one technique for every audience; correction: match the technique to the audience, giving manufacturers dimensioned drawings while clients may need a rendered concept.
- Ignoring the colon in the statement and assuming the list is complete; correction: check your specification for the full official list of techniques and cover each one.