Tom Page — новинки

Information was collected in three different ways; a review of the literature, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and quantitative questionnaires. A comprehensive review of current literature showed that usability is just as important as a technological approach for mobile phone design. It was also apparent from the literature that Nokia and Microsoft still value a user centred design approach as they continue to evolve their partnership. Qualitative data was gathered from semi-structured interviews with three design industry experts. Information from this part of the research yielded many important findings in particular the viewpoint that mobile phones will increasingly become a commodity that may hinder the design approach taken by the Nokia and Microsoft collaboration. Finally, 35 participants were also contacted to complete a questionnaire that targets consumers’ attitudes towards aspects of their mobile phone. Results revealed that users still value their user interface style, however when they were asked if they would switch to a different phone, the data indicated that their decision to switch would be due to hardware performance rather than interface style.

The medical industry faces the constant challenge of attempting to improve the compliance of personal medical device users to their medical regime for their own safety. In this book the authors examine emotional responses to medical devices and its application in increasing medical device compliance whilst at home. It underlines the importance of taking a number of considerations into account when new devices are designed including colour, aesthetic form and age/gender.

This research was undertaken to investigate how and why sports products have evolved; the main reasons for their evolutionary change and the effects of these changes within the world of sport. A central difficulty will be in ensuring that every aspect of this subject is investigated to ensure that the correct areas of influence are discovered. This investigation will enable an understanding of the reasons and influences of product change within the sports industry; the direct influences and indirect issues surrounding the design of sports product development.

Existing automotive system is not sustainable, in terms of environment and global economic balance. The End of Life Vehicle Legislation introduced by the European Union is a producer responsibility directive that aims to ensure vehicle manufacturers take responsibility for both the disposal and, more importantly, the recovery of their vehicles. The book is concerned with investigating and concluding the following question: To What Extent Will End of Life Vehicle Legislation Affect Future Car Design? This covers the following sustainability related topics in depth: Context of the legislation, Eco -design, Life Cycle Assessment, Closed Loop, Design for Disassembly and Modularity, Producer Responsibility, and alternative ownership methodologies.

In this research of 59 participants, a relationship between familiarity and correctness was found. Also, that other usability and design factors can have substantial influence over this. An online experiment consisting of search-and -select and icon interpretation paradigms was carried out. Users were asked to type in words their understanding of an icon’s meaning and to indicate a level of familiarity, for 4 icons. Followed by a task to search and select an icon which best represented the one line scenario displayed from an array of 8, for 8 icons. In this research of 59 participants, a relationship between familiarity and correctness was found. Also, that other usability and design factors can have substantial influence over this.

Apps are transforming how people organise themselves and work. Apps can be found that perform some of the most niche tasks and industry specific apps are on the increase. The aim of this study is to explore how apps can become tools to the practicing industrial designer by analysing the design process. Surveys were sent out to both student and professional designers. Two case studies were used to explore two design apps currently available. A third case study analysed the design process of IDEO to provide a detailed breakdown of a typical design process. It was discovered that there are no apps dedicated specifically to industrial designers and most designers were not making use of their smart device as a design tool. It was also learnt that tablet market penetration (UK) is set to increase to 35% by 2015 which could mean there will be an increased need for apps as design tools. The study uncovered many different ideas for apps which could specifically be useful in the product design process. This could mean that when the market is ready, there is a lot of potential for apps to be used as design practice tools.

This study carries forwards research seeking to identify and understand the relationship and links between product attributes and consumer perception, through means of an explanatory study. The research constituted of fifty two people who ranged between 18- 39 year old, all of whom completed qualitative research studies in the form of a questionnaire. This qualitative method utilised locations such town centres and/ or high footfall areas. A further nine participants sat interviews which exploited more open and indicative data. Supporting this, quantitative methods consisting of surveys, looked into studying ‘green products (GP’s) and identifying attributes which focused towards sustainability. Some qualitative data was presented in quantitative form, such as charts. The findings from such data strongly suggested and identified GP’s attributes and consumers perceptions towards them, which, along with the data, also recognised poor correspondence between the two.

The study aim was to assess the impact of Li-ion technology on the power tool field. Lithium-ion batteries were compared to nickel-based batteries, ascertaining their suitability for power tool applications. Li-ion was found to be best suited due to its increased capacity. Two observational studies were completed on outdoor sites exploring the benefits of the technology over mains-powered tools. The increased range of Li-ion tools improved the site experience for the user. All of the benefits recorded were knock-on effects of the increased battery capacity. Five interviews were then completed to determine the impact of the technology on the user. All users agreed the technology to be a landmark and that it has improved their efficiency on site. Finally, a case study was completed investigating how Li-ion has affected the market, and it was found that the technology has been used strategically;encouraging the user to buy from one manufacturer.

This investigation explores the role innovations play in the healthcare system within the UK. Discussions include the debate surrounding the definition of the term innovation, as well as the importance of innovations on patients and the current barriers that halt innovations being implemented. The study concludes by suggesting that the term ‘innovation’ is overused and therefore it is unsurprising that many people become confused, suggestions are made for more detailed definitions and possibly clearer definitions within specific industries. Other conclusions include recommendations on the way innovations are approached by the healthcare industry as well as the believed barriers to innovations.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of technology within anti theft devices. Currently a well-established market has been developed around such devices, however no literature has measured the views of consumers. Consequently this paper discusses the consumer’s views with the development and portrayal of anti theft devices. This study reviews existing literature and conducts primary research in the form of questionnaires and interviews to further discuss the aims through qualitative and quantitative data. Overall anti theft devices that incorporate advancements in technology, are successfully contributing to the reduction in theft along with other factors. Consumers are aware of these effects and as a result respect these devices that they are investing in.

The focus of this research is to explore emerging technologies and the impacts they can have on mobile devices and their applications. Such a study is important in understanding technological innovation within the context of mobile devices. An exploration will be carried out into which technologies have the potential to revolutionise mobile devices and how long until they reach mainstream adoption. Benefits and limitations of mobile devices being at the forefront of technological innovation will also be explored.The main conclusions drawn from this study include designers’ opinions that, Augmented Reality and Gesture interfaces were the two technologies with the highest potential. Haptics will revolutionise mobile gaming and Natural Language Question Answering (NLQA) is seen to have voice recognition issues impeding its current levels of practicality. Flexible screens are now being mass manufactured, but will initially enter the E-reader market before being implemented into other devices. Augmented reality and NLQA will take five to ten years to fully mature. Haptic technologies are verging on entering the consumer market, whilst gesture controls will take five years to reach.

Advances in Science and Technology have brought about greater potential i.e. enabling technologies. However creativity and innovation are subjective terms and it is difficult to pinpoint what is needed in order to “be creative”, the designer is still responsible for the initial ideas, a responsibility which is unlikely to be alleviated. It seems that the design process is not progressing fast enough in order for the benefits of these enabling technologies to become evident in consumer products. In order for this to happen, design firms must ensure that their employees remain educated on new technological developments and software engineers need to communicate thoroughly with designers to ensure that computer based design progresses in the right way.

Existing automotive system is not sustainable, in terms of environment and global economic balance. The End of Life Vehicle Legislation introduced by the European Union is a producer responsibility directive that aims to ensure vehicle manufacturers take responsibility for both the disposal and, more importantly, the recovery of their vehicles. The book is concerned with investigating and concluding the following question: To What Extent Will End of Life Vehicle Legislation Affect Future Car Design? This covers the following sustainability related topics in depth: Context of the legislation, Eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment, Closed Loop, Design for Dis-assembly and Modularity, Producer Responsibility, and alternative ownership methodologies.

This research aims to establish how typing how smartphone typing may inhibit user, and ultimately whether it is a hindrance or help. Chapter 1 aims to discuss the evolution of smartphones. Chapter 2 explores the science and theory behind soft keyboards and how to determine and compare their usability. The following chapter investigates the alternative input methods currently available on smartphone devices. The final chapter discusses the result from testing 6 smartphone users to assess which method is most efficient, and also discusses results from the questionnaire completed by 30 smartphone users. This research concludes that alternative input methods such as Swype and SwiftKey offer substantial benefits to users and are comparable with common typing speeds found on computer keyboards.

Advances in sport shoe design, materials, technology, and their impact on athletes from the early 20th Century are discussed in detail. Research discusses that the involvement of podiatrists (foot scientists) initially sparked the introduction of the first technologically enhanced features. Secondary research consists of a comparison between classic shoes of old and the innovative shoes of today. Touching on the effects they have had on performance as well as the medical impacts Further progression in sport shoe design and their effects on sportsmen and women are discussed. This investigation may provide a history of sport shoe design arid material improvements, and a discussion of experiences and results that show the impacts on athletes.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are well documented for their energy efficiency and usage diversity, but their poor colour rendering and colour temperature has slowed their adoption for domestic use. Expensive per unit in comparison to traditional light sources, they nonetheless dominate the research and development labs of some of the world’s leading lighting manufacturers. This research project explores what it is that has got the lighting industry so excited about this technology that was discovered almost 90 years ago, whetherconsumers will share their enthusiasm and aims to establish the extent to which LEDs have revolutionised the lighting industry. This research project is an insightful, critical and interesting view into a rapidly developing technology which, if its current weaknesses are overcome, could change the way we see lighting and contribute to the slowing of global warming.

Companies large and small spend huge sums of money developing a particular look and feel to their products. A brand image and reputation which is often reflected in the quality of their products. But what happens when a rival company imitates that look to take advantage of the market that the successful product operates in? The imitator can come into the market with reduced development costs and take advantage of the market that now exists for that product that the existing company created. However it is possible to copy an existing product so closely that it is difficult to distinguish the two. This can potentially damage the sales of the proven product already on the market and damage its reputation. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of intellectual Property (IP) in the UK and Europe in both the design process and the competitive business environment. The research will focus on the different methods of protecting ideas and how they are infringed with a slant towards design rights. Case studies will be taken from the smart phone and tablet markets in light of recent (and on?going) litigations in this area.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly more important in this modern age. One of the world’s largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) corporations, Unilever, has sustainability at the forefront of its corporate mission (receiving the ‘Internationals Charter’s ‘Committed to the Environment 2010’ award for environmental management and performance’) and therefore continue to do their utmost to reduce all areas of environmental impact within the business. Astonishingly, 68% of the carbon footprint is caused by consumer use (after Unilever’s products have left the shelves) so it is therefore extremely important that Unilever uses tools, methods and new innovations to help consumers have more sustainable behaviour.

The practice of toy design and the theory behind it is studied with particular interest in the ways in which these areas contribute, if at all, to child development. The assessment of the ways in which we play and the toys we have as children with respect to its influence on adulthood will be studied. As well as literary research an interview with a senior designer is carried out. This concludes that the role of the toy designer is complex and subject to the demands of users as well as regulations. A questionnaire was given to 28 respondent ages 18- 25 years; the subject was a retrospective view of toys and their influences on the respondent’s current lifestyle. The major conclusions draw from this was that toys not only influence the development of key skills, but also of the positive or negative view on our childhood. These findings show that it is important for designers to draw upon academic research, as well as undertaking their own to create influential toys of quality.

This research is an exploration into the influence of mobile apps and mobile devices on the design of products. The research relies on secondary data to demonstrate how mobile device design has changed as well as their usage. The primary data was collected by using a survey questionnaire methodology. The research reviewed the design of the mobile phone as the product in question. Findings show that mobile apps have had an influence on the design of products however; technology has driven this change, not apps themselves. The research contributes to the understanding of the relation between product design and usage of complementary products.