In the context of new product development (NPD), research has shown that not having a common understanding of visual design representations (VDRs) has affected collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers. The aim of the research presented in this paper was two-fold. Firstly, to identify the representations employed by industrial designers and engineering designers during NPD from a literature survey. Secondly, to define and categorize these representations in the form of a taxonomy that is a systematic organization of VDRs that are presently dispersed in the literature. For the development of the taxonomy, four measures encompassing orthogonality, spanning, completeness and usability were employed. It resulted in four groups consisting of sketches, drawings, models and prototypes. Validation was undertaken by means of an interview survey and further, presenting the taxonomy at an international conference. The results showed that no issues were raised by the respondents con...

/pdf/a-taxonomic-classification-of-visual-design-representations-2ujqa0vuv4.pdf

A Taxonomic Classification of Visual Design Representations Used by Industrial Designers and Engineering Designers

Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in New Product Development (NPD). As such, interactions between industrial designers and engineering designers have become increasingly important. This research project aims to build a shared understanding between the two disciplines during NPD. Following empirical research that revealed collaboration-related problem areas, as well as collecting data concerning the use of design representations, a card system was developed to provide information on the role and significance of design representations, leading to joint understanding, improved communication and creation of shared knowledge. When asked in the validation study if the system would foster collaboration, 68.2% of industrial designers and 63.2% of the engineering designers gave a good and excellent rating, indicating that the system could play a significant role towards the support of multi-disciplinary teamwork.

/pdf/development-of-a-tool-for-building-shared-representations-4pe9jw6qh7.pdf

Development of a tool for building shared representations among industrial designers and engineering designers

Consumers rely on signals, both extrinsic and intrinsic attributes, to solve their asymmetric information problem regarding product quality. In this study an experiment is designed to evaluate how consumers assess quality perception in terms of specific product characteristics,
namely colors and shapes in product labels. According to the cue consistency theory, the prediction is that multiple sources of information are more useful when they provide
corroborating information than when they offer disparate conclusions. In this sense, particular colors and shapes combinations which are consistent are expected to enhance consumers´ product quality perception, while other combinations that are inconsistent will decrease it.

https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11142/1/Consumer_Behavior_Product_Characteristics_and_Quality_Perception.pdf

Consumer Behavior: Product Characteristics and Quality Perception

Drivers for material development in the 21st century

The work and life of Vladimir Hubka is considered in the context of the historic situation. Hubka's work relates especially to design engineering, which shows distinct differences to other forms of designing. With a brief outline of his life from 1924 to 2006, the main theories developed by Hubka, and the methods derived from those theories are summarised. Continuation of this work, especially by Ernst Eder, has resulted in some improvements.

Charles H. Flurscheim

Papers

Industrial Design in Engineering