Question 1

What is NCEA AS 92002 about?

Accepted Answer

AS92002 is an externally assessed Level 1 Design and Visual Communication standard worth 5 credits. Students develop product or spatial design ideas (think furniture, a room, a shelter, a fashion item, a landscape feature) with a focus on how real people will use and experience the design. The key word is 'develop' — you're not just sketching one idea and stopping. You need to show your thinking growing and changing over time, using drawings and visuals (not mostly written notes) to communicate your design.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 92002?

Accepted Answer

1. Choose a design context that is meaningful and manageable — something a Year 11 student can realistically explore in depth (e.g. a specific piece of furniture, a small outdoor structure, a particular room feature — NOT an entire house). 2. Generate multiple design ideas that think about both how the design looks (aesthetics) and how it works for people (function). 3. Show your design progressing and improving across your work — change things, try different versions, make decisions about what works better for the user. 4. Use visual communication techniques (freehand sketches, 2D and 3D drawings, CAD, models, renders, floor plans, etc.) as your main way of communicating ideas. Written notes should only support your visuals, not replace them. 5. Keep the focus on people throughout — show who will use your design, how they'll interact with it, and how your decisions improve their experience. 6. Curate what you submit — only include pages that are relevant to developing your design ideas, not research pages or broad brainstorming done for a different standard.

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 92002?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: You show some design ideas connected to a context and real people, use sketches or CAD to communicate them, make some basic decisions, and present a final design. However, your idea may not have changed much from your first sketch — there's little sign of the design being improved over time. Merit: You visually show your design changing and progressing, most clearly in how it looks. You make some decisions linked to the user and context, and occasionally show people interacting with the design. However, functional improvements (how it actually works for people) are often basic or not clearly shown visually, and detail about how the design is used can be lacking. Excellence: You clearly progress your design both in looks and in how it functions for people. Your visuals show in detail what the user will experience, and every decision you make is clearly connected to improving that experience. Your final outcome is convincing, shown in context with people, and your chosen design brief was focused and manageable enough to allow deep exploration.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 92002?

Accepted Answer

1. Relying too much on written commentary instead of drawings and visuals — in a design subject, the visuals must do the heavy lifting. 2. Submitting work made for a different internal standard (AS92000) that contains too much research and broad brainstorming and not enough focused development. 3. Choosing a design brief that is too large or ambitious (like designing a whole house or cabin), then only managing to place furniture in a room with no real thought about people or how the space works. 4. Using stock CAD warehouse models instead of developing your own design — the more pre-made models you use, the less the work is actually yours. 5. Copying or closely imitating existing products or designs found during research rather than generating original ideas. 6. Showing no progression — presenting one idea that never changes, with no evidence of improving or refining the design. 7. Declining quality in basic sketching skills (crating, 2D/3D construction, rendering to show form) which makes it hard to communicate design ideas clearly.

User-centred design

Your assessment resources

Videos & study resources

More in this subject

Other Technology - Design and Visual Communication standards · Level 1 · Year 11

Next year — Technology - Design and Visual Communication Level 2 · Year 12

Related standards