Task A3 | ​Existing products 

🔎 What? 
 
❗Why? 
 
Analyze a group of similar products that inspire a solution to  You are trying to figure out what makes related products a 
the problem.  success (or not) and you are trying to come up with ideas for 
  your own project.  
 

⚙H
​ ow? 

Inspiration board 
● Choose ​a product idea from this list - ​Choice of Upcycled Product 
● Create​ a Pinterest board of a range of products (at least 25) that are an inspiration to your specific project.  
● Present​ a screenshot of (a large part of) your Pinterest board in your design folder. Include the title and the 
hyperlinked source of your pinterest board. 
● ​ hen creating your inspiration board, choose products that are different from each other. If the 
Consider also​ -​ W
products are very similar, you will gain only limited knowledge and inspiration for your own project, because most 
products will lead to the same conclusions. It is likely that your inspiration will not only come from products that are 
similar to what you have in mind. Quite different products may have features that inspire you as well. 
● Review​ the ​high level example​ and the rubric (below) to ensure you have enough detail. 
● Choose and j​ ustify​ which project plan will be the foundation for your project. You will incorporate elements from other 
projects, but choose 1 that best represents what you want to make. 

Inspiration Board of​: Dust Masks 

Source:​ ​https://www.pinterest.com/wibr2025/up-cycled-dust-mask/ 

PMI analysis​ | Plus, Minus, Interesting 

The command term a ​ nalyze​ is defined as​:  
 
“Break down in order to bring out the essential elements or structure​.” 
 
In this task this means conducting a PMI analysis for the products you identified in your inspiration board. 
 
Tips for analysis: 
● Evidence that you looked closely at the site of the pin 
● Identified properties of the products (size, shape, style, functional effectiveness, appropriate for fabric, 
appropriate for your skill level, appropriateness for client) 
● Bullet points but full sentences 
● Explain why it is a strength/challenge/interesting point 
  

Analyze​ strengths (​plus​) of the products. In your analysis clearly identify and explain specific features that 
⊕  make the product successful. 

● The material of the product was commonly cotton and cotton is easily accessible everywhere. 
Furthermore I have an old garment that I will use to upcycle into a dust mask. 
● Most of the projects on my pinterest board are tutorials therefore it would be easier to upcycle my 
garment into a dust mask. 
● There is a variety of designs in the products and the colors match with the design. 
● Most of the products are the exact same style and they are all similar products. This would mean 
that I would have a better idea of how and what style to create my upcycled product of a dust 
mask. 
● The materials used in my product are easily accessible and easy to assemble.  
● The materials that will be used in my product such as cotton will make my product comfortable to 
wear. 

Analyze​ weaknesses (​minus​) of the products. In your analysis clearly identify and explain specific features 
⊖  that make the product less successful. 

● The products in my pinterest board don’t include a lot of colors.  

● When assembling my product I will need to use a sewing machine which makes my product harder 
to create and more dangerous. 
● Some of the products don’t include an image of the final product which means the final product 
could be something different to what I wanted. 
● The products in my board don’t have a design that my target audience would want. 
● If the color of my product is too bright the dust mask would get dirty. This would lead to the 
consumer either cleaning the product too often or throwing the product away. 
 

Outline​ all take-aways (​interesting​) you have gained for your project by analysing the products. 
ℹ  Take-aways are Ideas that are worth remembering for later in the project. 

● Most products in my board are the same style and have similar outcomes, the only difference is the 
design chosen to be put on to the product. 
● The design on most of the products on my board are plain in color and don’t really show any 
contrast.  
● One of the products really tried to recreate a dust mask including a bottle cap for design while the 
other masks weren’t as detailed and more simple. 
● 50% of the products on my board had a design on the mask while on the other hand the other 50% 
didn’t however, I’m leaning towards adding a design on my mask to give it more contrast and make 
the product more appealing. 
 
 
 

Choose and justify a project plan 

 
Select one of the products from your inspiration board and justify the choice for this product to design in the next 
stage of the design cycle.  
 
Your justification must address the following elements: 

Why did you choose this product over the others in your inspiration board? ​Explain how it is appropriate for: 
● your client  
● the fabric you chose 
● your skill level 
  
I chose this one because the color is simple which would appeal to my client. The fabric I chose is cotton and the 
desired fabric for this product would be cotton since it will be comfortable to wear and durable enough. This 
product also doesn’t require a lot of skill and is simple to create. 
 

   
A3 Assessment 
Level  Descriptor  Typical features of student work 

0  The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below. 

1-2  The student ​presents​ some  ❏ The analysis of the individual products l​ ists​ specific features as strengths 
existing products that inspire a  or weaknesses. 
solution to the problem.  ❏ The inspiration board is ​not completed​, nor a link to your source. 
❏ The choice of final product demonstrates ​limited​ analysis and thinking 
about client, fabric and skill level. 

3-4  The student ​outlines​ features  ❏ The analysis of the individual products o​ utlines​ specific features as 
of some existing products that  strengths or weaknesses and leads to some further insights regarding the 
inspires a solution to the  project. 
problem.  ❏ There is a l​ imited​ number and range of products in your Pinterest Board. 
There should be at least a range of 25 products that are different from 
each other 
❏ The source is included, but ​not in, proper​ MLA format. 
❏ The choice of final product demonstrates ​basic​ analysis and thinking 
about client, fabric and skill level. 

5-6  The student ​describes​ common  ❏ The analysis of each individual product or system d ​ escribes​ specific 
features of similar products  features as strengths and weaknesses and leads to meaningful insights 
that inspire a solution to the  regarding the project. 
problem.  ❏ There is a s​ ufficient​ number and range of products in your Pinterest 
Board. 
❏ The source is cited in p ​ roper​ MLA format. 
❏ The choice of final product demonstrates ​sufficient​ analysis and thinking 
about client, fabric and skill level.  

7-8  The student ​analyses​ a group  ❏ The analysis of each individual product or system e
​ xplains​ specific 
of similar products that inspire  features as strengths and weaknesses and leads to impactful further 
a solution to the problem.  insights regarding the project. 
❏ There is an e
​ xtensive​ number and range of products in your Pinterest 
Board. 
❏ The source is cited in p
​ roper​ MLA format. 
❏ The choice of final product demonstrates ​sophisticated​ analysis and 
thinking about client, fabric and skill level.