This paper describes the introduction of a new module to an undergraduate degree programme for industrial designers in the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University. The implementation of the module and its subsequent outcomes will be related to the changing professional needs of graduating industrial designers.The aim of the module is to enable students to practise the use of data collection techniques that provide evidence for their design decision-making. It is also to emphasize the industrial designer's role in the development of the desirability of a product within a given social group, The objectives of the module are to: raise the awareness of industrial design students to the demographic shift towards older consumers and the needs of disabled people; introduce them to more rigorous methods of user assessment; gain an empathy with users outside their personal experience; and provide students with an opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge in the field of user assessment...

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The implementation of a user-centred design approach by student industrial designers when designing for elderly and disabled people

The case study reviews the design and development of an innovative depilatory body waxing system that fulfils an identified market need for a more hygienic method of body waxing. The paper focuses on the value engineering of the waxing system's heater unit and, more specifically, the injection-moulded main housing. Results from focus groups and a market survey questionnaire highlighted the need for quality to be shown through aesthetic detailing. The production detailing of the main housing of the depilatory body waxing system was identified as a critical factor in enhancing the product's chances of commercial success. A conventional method of value engineering was modified to include a weighting for the aesthetic and semantic detailing of the component. A user-centred approach adopted to product development recognized the manufacturer as a stakeholder in the product's success. The study shows how systematic research and development enabled the product to be produced without compromising market research f...

Francis P. O'Hare

Papers

Introducing User-Centred Factors into a Value Analysis Methodology Approach to the Development of a Health and Beauty Care Product