Background

A light-emitting diode, simply known as an L-E-D, is a light source used in electrical displays and devices of all types. Small LEDs are used in electronics because they are cheap, tough, and reliable, and they come in different colours, shapes, and sizes. A wayfinding system is a collection of direction and information signs used in an urban space such as a park, a private office building, a commercial space such as a shopping mall, or a public space such as a museum or a zoo, and so forth, to give directions, provide useful information, mark emergency exits, and so forth. The goal of wayfinding systems is to assist people in going about their business pleasantly, efficiently, and safely.
​​​​​​​A smart electronic device is a useful instrument, machine, or gadget that is controlled by electronic circuitry microcontroller boards, or sometimes by a single-board computer like a Raspberry Pi, and that perform only a few limited functions. We have many different kinds of devices at home, on our person, or at school to perform useful work for us, or to provide us with information, in order to increase our well-being.

The design brief

Design an LED wayfinding system for your school or other place of your choosing, using simple electronic circuitry, or a microcontroller board like the Arduino. Your wayfinding system may help everyone find their way around the place, such as to find specific rooms or emergency exits and so forth; or it may give them useful information, such as a clock and so forth. Your wayfinding system should use LEDs to ensure that the signs are visible and easy to read in good and bad light. Think about the function of the signs and their appearance too, as they will be visible in a public place. Construct a working prototype of your LED wayfinding system and test it in situ. Work on this project in a small team with a group of your classmates.

​​​​​The design thinking process

Follow the six stages of the design thinking process to ensure that you are thorough and do everything necessary to succeed in your design project. First, you endeavour to understand the design topic and EMPATHISE with the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DEFINE what is essential to the product or system that you are designing. Then you IDEATE, that is, you creatively come up with ideas and develop them. The next step is to PROTOTYPE your chosen design solution in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Then you TEST your design idea to elicit the opinions of users. And finally, at the end of the process, you REFLECT upon your project to benefit from the experience. Use the appropriate methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you proceed along the design thinking process.
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Note for teachers

Undertaking a student design project using electrical parts or microcontrollers such as Arduino requires:

• teachers who are able to supervise such a project;
• laboratories or workshops with electrical and electronic parts and tools;
• ​​​​​​​and students who are trained to work with electricity, tools, and equipment.

Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the PROTOTYPE Stage for Level IV to safely supervise this design project.