Abstract
Adopting a research-through-design approach we report a study to examine how radical departures from archetypal product form influence product meaning. We then consider implications for product acceptability. To achieve this we employ form theory to drive the design of three conceptual products. The three concepts were then prototyped and used as stimuli to gather participant responses to radical departures in product form from a dominant archetype. Results indicated the necessity of balance between typicality and novelty of form to achieve more acceptable meaning innovations. Specifically, results showed a requirement for maintaining inherent archetypal form characteristics and qualities, while at the same time providing opportunities for meaning change through radically novel form compositions, axis and balance. This approach to form-driven meaning change we tentatively term Referential Form-driven Meaning Innovation (RFMI). Implications for the application of the RFMI approach both in practice
Keywords
Meaning Innovation, Form Aesthetic, Product Characteristics
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.187
Citation
Lee, S., Self, J., and Andrietc, E. (2016) Most Advanced yet Acceptable: A case of referential form - driven meaning innovation, in Lloyd, P. and Bohemia, E. (eds.), Future Focused Thinking - DRS International Conference 2016, 27 - 30 June, Brighton, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.187
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Most Advanced yet Acceptable: A case of referential form - driven meaning innovation
Adopting a research-through-design approach we report a study to examine how radical departures from archetypal product form influence product meaning. We then consider implications for product acceptability. To achieve this we employ form theory to drive the design of three conceptual products. The three concepts were then prototyped and used as stimuli to gather participant responses to radical departures in product form from a dominant archetype. Results indicated the necessity of balance between typicality and novelty of form to achieve more acceptable meaning innovations. Specifically, results showed a requirement for maintaining inherent archetypal form characteristics and qualities, while at the same time providing opportunities for meaning change through radically novel form compositions, axis and balance. This approach to form-driven meaning change we tentatively term Referential Form-driven Meaning Innovation (RFMI). Implications for the application of the RFMI approach both in practice