The incorporation of User Centered Design and Industrial design [PDF]
Abstract: Traditional Industrial Design (TID) has been an important aspect in the NPD process since last decades. User centered design (UCD) is a growing research field for product innovation start from the end of 20th century. An NPD process needs support from both design knowledge and research methodologies. Both TID and UCD focus on user’s perspective when multi-disciplinary work together. They provide skills and method for designing the style and usability, and balancing user need and reality. The skills from TID help design expression and realization to communicate efficiently with other participants by vivid pictures and real prototypes. The skills from UCD help idea generation and opportunity finding by holding workshop and interview with participants. TID and UCD represent different perspectives of the subjective and the objective respectively. Their methodologies is the essential for designer carry out the design solution, and at the same time the project improves the methodologies of TID and UCD through a reflection process.
