Abstract
Ergonomics aspects are usually considered within a product design process from the beginning, and therefore all possible ergonomics issues should be taken into account in this phase. However, designers sometimes use readily designed sub-elements (semi-finished products) like accessories, where the criteria for the evaluation of their ergonomics may differ when they are used as an element of a new design. In this paper, it was investigated how the ergonomics evaluation process takes place when designers tend to use a semi-finished product in their designs. As a case study, furniture handle production and application is researched, and interviews are conducted among handle producers, wholesalers/retailers and furniture designers separately. The aim of this paper is to investigate how ergonomics knowledge is produced and transferred between the phases from the design of handles to their application in furniture design.
Keywords
Design, ergonomics, information flow
Citation
Altıparmakoğulları, Y., and Eroğlu, I. (2014) Ergonomics Information Flow in Product Design: A Case Study About Handles Used by Turkish Furniture Producers, in Lim, Y., Niedderer, K., Redström, J., Stolterman, E. and Valtonen, A. (eds.), Design's Big Debates - DRS International Conference 2014, 16-19 June, Umeå, Sweden. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2014/researchpapers/32
Ergonomics Information Flow in Product Design: A Case Study About Handles Used by Turkish Furniture Producers
Ergonomics aspects are usually considered within a product design process from the beginning, and therefore all possible ergonomics issues should be taken into account in this phase. However, designers sometimes use readily designed sub-elements (semi-finished products) like accessories, where the criteria for the evaluation of their ergonomics may differ when they are used as an element of a new design. In this paper, it was investigated how the ergonomics evaluation process takes place when designers tend to use a semi-finished product in their designs. As a case study, furniture handle production and application is researched, and interviews are conducted among handle producers, wholesalers/retailers and furniture designers separately. The aim of this paper is to investigate how ergonomics knowledge is produced and transferred between the phases from the design of handles to their application in furniture design.