Have you ever considered how ideas and designs are made into the products we use? Design plays a critical part in most products made today, and it’s important to understand how good design impacts new products.

This Maker Quest lets students design and print their own product prototypes of wearable products. The model files in this lesson provide the pieces for several basic items that can be customized by the students, as well as some complete items that can be printed as-is.

The included pdf document walks students through this 3D Maker Quest.

In addition to the completed wearables files, this 3D Maker Quest also includes model files for parts and pieces of jewelry and other wearable products. Students may use these to design and print their own new products. A free 3D modeling website like Tinkercad is a good tool for importing these files, and using them to create custom products. Students may also wish to create their own designs from scratch. As they work, students should be encouraged to consider questions like:

• Think about the wearable product and similar items you like best. What aspects of those were your favorite?
• Which parts of the product’s design are functional? Which are just for style and looks? Which parts are for both?
• How would people would use, or for what occasions, would they wear your product?
• How easy will the product prototype be to print and assemble? Will it need to be printed in different pieces, or all at once?
• How would your product affect or change people’s lives?
• How would your product inspire new trends or new behaviors?

Teachers can facilitate class discussion about the products by asking the following questions:
• What inspired you to design the model you made?
• What were some issues or problems you had to overcome in designing your model?
• How would the product you designed appeal differently to different types of people?
• What aspects of your design complement existing fashions, or other parts of people’s lives?
• What did this project teach you about how products are designed and made?