Design Project and Folio
What you must understand
The folio is evidence of your design thinking, not a scrapbook. It should show a clear sequence: need identification, brief and specification, research and analysis, idea generation, development, prototyping, testing, evaluation and reflection. Each section must explain why decisions were made and what was learned, supported by sketches, photographs, test data and client or user feedback.
Learn to write a project proposal with scope, constraints and success criteria. Understand project management basics: time planning (Gantt-style charts), resource and risk management, and how to record changes. Show evidence of iteration: identify a flaw, change the design, retest, and report the result. Evaluation should refer back to the specification point by point, and reflection should identify what you would do differently.
Presentation matters: consistent annotation, dated entries, clear labelling and legible sketches. A folio should let a stranger reconstruct your reasoning without asking you questions.
Traps
A common weakness is describing what was made without explaining why. Another is evaluating with opinion rather than evidence; markers want test results and user feedback. Do not present only successful prototypes; documenting failure and redesign demonstrates stronger design capability. Avoid undated or unlabelled work that cannot be verified as your own.
Worked example
A student tests three handle shapes with ten users and records comfort ratings. The lowest-scoring shape is redesigned with a larger radius, then retested, improving the mean rating from 5.2 to 7.8 out of 10. Rule of thumb: every design claim in the folio needs an evidence trail - decision, test, data, response.