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​: Mouth Mask Ideas 

Source:​ Li, Chong.. “​https://www.pinterest.com/chli2025/a3-inspiration-board/​ ” Pinterest Board. Feb 2020. 

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 the 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. 

● Figure 1 is an example of something that is good because as you can see, the mask layer is thick and that 
filters much more than a thin layer of a mask. It seems that the mask is made of cotton which is an advantage 
for me because my shirt than I am upcycling is made up of 100% cotton. Since the product is made of cotton, 
it is very comfortable which makes the product successful. 
● All of my ideas are mainly made of cotton which is good because my shirt is made of cotton and the masks 
look cool so that gives a pleasing look to it. This is important because this will make the mask aesthetic and 
more attractive.  
● Figure 4 gives a cute look to the mask while also allowing you to use it as part of a halloween costume if you 
want to be a bear. It also looks like it has and is made of a lighter material which is good because it has smaller 
straps to put on your ears. The smaller straps of the masks give your ears less weight to carry which makes it 
more comfortable and easier to walk around and travel in.  
● Figure 2 has a much more profound and ridged look which is cool because many masks are mostly made of 
material that is much more bendy and need to be shaped, but figure 2 is already in a fixed shape so you don’t 
have to watch how to tutorials to wear a mask properly and can just put it on. 
● Figure 3 is very unique because it has a diamond shape which is an advantage for people who want to block 
dust or dirt in the air because the diamond shape allows the nose to be covered when it has been put on. For 
other masks, you have to pick a spot so the mask can cover it. What this means is that the mask’s form has 
been designed to be able to cover the nose and under your lip so there is no gap for air to come in.  

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

● Unfortunately for figure 2, the mask is actually made of foam sponge which is not a provided material which 
makes it much more challenging to make because I don't have access to the material needed. It looks like the 
foam has to be pre-cut and has to be formed into a mask which will be difficult for someone with little 
experience. It will also be quite complex to get the form and shape right. 
● Figure 1 needs to be made of 2 regular masks sewed together either by hand or with a sewing machine. It also 
has to be stuffed with regular cotton balls which are not accessible. I don’t have any experience with sewing or 
using a sewing machine which makes it challenging and I might mess up and I don’t have a large quantity of 
cotton shirt material. One of the key properties of the mask is that it has a white flower pattern on the front but 
my shirt is white so either I have to color a pattern or dye my mask so it makes the pattern visible. Figure 1 also 
is thick so that gives problems and difficulty with breathing and makes it bad to travel in. 
● Figure 3 has small straps which do put less pressure on your ears but has to increase the amount of sewing 
between the mask and the strap. The small strap would have a higher chance of breaking because it is smaller 
and lighter. The cotton mask is stuffy and makes it hard to breath in the mask because it is made of cotton 
material and isn’t made of the same material of regular one-time material. Regular masks are made of fabric 
while this mask is made of cotton mask that has many layers.  
● Figure 4 can be viewed as a cute design or it can be scary. If you were in a sandstorm, and someone sees only 
the mask it would scare the person. It also has the same thin straps in figure 3 which are much easier to break. 
Figure 4’s width is very short which is horrible because you can’t cover both the nose and the mouth. There 
are also quite a bit of light colors and that is bad because it will get dirty easily.  

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. 

● From all the masks I have seen, I have gotten an idea of using a cool design to be in the center of the mask so 
that it elevates the look of the mask. 
● I think that I should pick a neutral color for my mask like black or white so that it isn’t too colorful but not too 
dull 
● Something interesting that I saw while I was looking at the different mask designs was that many of them 
were based on a theme whether it was cute or scary or maybe based on a famous cartoon so I feel like I 
should make a mask that has a design that connects to something that many people know. 
● One thing I will have to look out too in my design is that I cannot use a very thick material or else it will make 
the person wearing difficult to breathe and so I will choose a light material that can still filter the air but it isn't 
too thick. 
● I will have to base my mask on a cotton fabric because I only have cotton in my shirt but in something 
interesting is that I need to find a way to make cotton a good filtering material 
● Something interesting that I have found is that many masks have these tiny straps but the straps give 
lightweight to the ears but it doesn't have a very strong connection to the mask so that is something I will have 
to look out for 
 
 

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 
Personally, I feel like this mask which is the mask with a neon pink and white X in the middle of it appeals to me 
because of how I like these designs that are flashy and cool but there isn't too much flashiness. I want to take how 
there are using a neutral color in the mask and also take the idea of putting a design in the middle of the mask. So 
my skill level with sewing is currently probably maybe a one or two because I have touched a needle and thread in 
my life but I feel like I don't really have much experience with it even though I have people my family who does 
know how to sew so this mask is the fifth from the left of the top row of my inspiration board. 
 

 
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.