Category Archives: design research

It´s is great how generative design proposals look closer to Nature – organic shapes. Is there any specific reason for that?

Funkifying a Year at MMU - MSc Industrial Digitalisation

For one of the final taught units on the MSc Industrial Digitalisation programme at PrintCity MMU, I was required to perform and document a Generative Design Study using Autodesk Fusion 360 and its Generative Design Workspace.

This was a really rewarding study, having never personally used Fusion 360 before September 2020, let alone exploring the Gen-Design component of the software.

I chose to explore the design of a common medical device – the four-legged Walking Aid.

Device abandonment reported in literature relates to a user’s needs not being met, aesthetically, socially or physically – often leading to complications such an increase in upper extremity joint stress.

Of interest is the potential to factor into the design exact user measurements, such as height and elbow flexion angle, to produce a user centred solution. The resulting design could be produced in a ‘production line of one’, utilising increasingly accessible Additive Manufacturing technology.

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Ergonomics from Ethnography: Inclusive Design Insights

DESIGN CHANGE

P.J. White

Abstract

As user centred design methods become more important for inclusive design, designers increasingly use methods borrowed from other disciplines such as Ethnography to gain insights into user behaviour. But what are the advantages in using ethnography to understand ergonomic requirements? And what form of insights does it result in? This paper offers findings and reflections from a design ethnographic case study of older people. It found that advantages in using ethnography lies in the depth and breadth of findings, resulting in a broad range of ergonomic and usability insights, and a deep understanding of lead users.

Keywords.

inclusive design, user centred design, usability, older people, aging, ageing, lead users, product design, anthropology, ethnographic research

Introduction

Since the 1960s, inclusive and universal design approaches have offered designers strong guidelines to ensure that they include the greatest extent of users (Mace, 1997). These guidelines are commonly used as the…

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Useful resources and organisations promoting equality and justice in design

Organisations and networks

Design Can – campaign to increase diversity in design
Helen Hamlyn Centre for Inclusive Design, RCA – pioneer of the study and practice of inclusive design over the past 25 years
Design Justice Network – international community of people and organisations who are committed to rethinking design processes so that they centre people who are too often marginalised by design
Design Age Institute, RCA – providing strategic design to stimulate the longevity economy

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¿Puede el diseño de una página web excluir a personas con discapacidad?

Una ilustración sobre los problemas de accesibilidad en internet.

¿Qué pasa cuando la página web de un banco no es accesible a todos los usuarios? ¿Y si un portal de empleo es el primero en descartar a algunos candidatos? ¿Qué supone que los obstáculos afectan a las páginas gubernamentales? “El Gobierno utiliza internet para difundir diferentes informaciones, para favorecer la participación cívica de los ciudadanos y para mejorar el acceso a los servicios públicos”, explica Amílcar Paco, un ingeniero de datos del Forum de Asociaciones de Mozambique de Personas con Discapacidad (FAMOD). “Por lo tanto, las personas con ciertas características están limitadas en el acceso a esa información. Es paradójico porque es el propio Gobierno el que promueve la ley de acceso a la información, pero sus páginas web, donde difunden la misma ley, no es accesible para las personas con discapacidad”, cuenta el que ha desarrollado una investigación pionera, no solo en Mozambique sino en todo el continente, sobre la accesibilidad a la web de las personas con diversidad funcional en el país.

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Diseño para las transiciones

Pode ser uma imagem de 3 pessoas e texto

Top tips from designers on finding work during uncertain times

While the design industry has suffered during the pandemic, there are some bright spots for those looking for work – particularly among freelance and digital sectors.

By Henry Wong

The past year has presented many challenges for those working in the creative industry, as widespread cuts resulted in less work and job losses.

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