Materials and Processing Technology Design Level 2

This course offers students the opportunity to develop strong practical making skills through a design-led approach that blends traditional workshop processes with modern tools and creative thinking. Students will explore how materials can be used not just to solve functional problems, but to ask questions, tell stories, or reflect contemporary issues.

Using materials such as wood, plastics, and mixed media, students will choose an everyday product—like a chair, lamp, or speaker—and reimagine it through the lens of contemporary design. Outcomes may be functional, semi-functional, or experimental depending on the student's design brief.

Although assessed through Visual Arts (Sculpture) standards, the course remains grounded in hard materials technology, focusing on how materials are manipulated, constructed, and presented in a professional and thoughtful way.

What students will learn:

• Safe and confident use of workshop tools and machinery

• Understanding the properties and behaviours of materials

• Applying the design process from concept to final outcome

• Using CAD software, 3D printing, and laser cutting to support prototyping and making

• Developing visual communication skills through sketching, modelling, and documentation

• Exploring how materials and products can carry meaning, reflect identity, or challenge convention

Course Focus:

• Students will explore how products are made and how they could be redesigned for a new context or audience

• Emphasis is placed on both the practical making and the conceptual reasoning behind the work

• Projects are self-directed, allowing students to develop confidence, independence, and creative problem-solving

Pathways and Opportunities:

This course prepares students for:

• Level 3 Materials and Processing Design

• Product and Furniture Design

• Creative Industries (Art, ArchitectureDVC, Industrial Design)

• Design-focused trades or applied technologies

• Building a portfolio for tertiary study or apprenticeship applications

Students will leave this course with an understanding of how to work with materials not just to make objects, but to communicate ideas, challenge norms, and respond to the world in creative and practical ways.