Experiences of a User-Centred Research Approach involving Old People in Early Phases of Design; Reflections from Furniture Manufacturers
(2013) The 10th European academy of design conference - crafting the future p.1-9- Abstract
- The paper concerns the furniture industry’s increased interest in opportunities and challenges to
respond to demographic shifts and to meet future senior markets. A central issue discussed is
how a user-centred approach in a collaborative design research project benefited the industrial
partners. The paper focuses on the perspectives of the participating furniture manufacturers. The
most involved representatives from each of the seven participating companies in the project were
recruited as respondents. Semi-structured interviews were carried out. The results indicate that a
user-centred design research approach with an early focus on old people contributed with
knowledge on a... (More) - The paper concerns the furniture industry’s increased interest in opportunities and challenges to
respond to demographic shifts and to meet future senior markets. A central issue discussed is
how a user-centred approach in a collaborative design research project benefited the industrial
partners. The paper focuses on the perspectives of the participating furniture manufacturers. The
most involved representatives from each of the seven participating companies in the project were
recruited as respondents. Semi-structured interviews were carried out. The results indicate that a
user-centred design research approach with an early focus on old people contributed with
knowledge on a general level that benefited the industrial partners. All respondents stated that
they were strengthened in their presumptions about old people as furniture users and consumers. The majority stated that their understanding of end users improved. Based on lessons learnt three
recommendations for future work in co-operative design research projects are: (1) to establish a
mutual understanding of the different roles and perspectives of the design researchers and the
industrial partners, (2) involve as many stakeholders as possible and (3) use prototypes and
iterative design processes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4389016
- author
- Jonsson, Oskar LU ; Östlund, Britt LU ; Warell, Anders LU and Dalholm Hornyánszky, Elisabeth LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- early phases of design processes, user-centred design, furniture, old people, demographic shifts
- host publication
- [Host publication title missing]
- editor
- Pombo, Fatima
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- [Publisher information missing]
- conference name
- The 10th European academy of design conference - crafting the future
- conference dates
- 2013-04-17
- project
- Development of the Swedish Wood and Furniture Industry for Consumer Oriented and Competitive PLUS-products
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 84db849f-f377-4d99-bbc3-c9209c14067a (old id 4389016)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 09:53:25
- date last changed
- 2020-05-29 16:57:59
@inproceedings{84db849f-f377-4d99-bbc3-c9209c14067a, abstract = {{The paper concerns the furniture industry’s increased interest in opportunities and challenges to<br/><br> respond to demographic shifts and to meet future senior markets. A central issue discussed is<br/><br> how a user-centred approach in a collaborative design research project benefited the industrial<br/><br> partners. The paper focuses on the perspectives of the participating furniture manufacturers. The<br/><br> most involved representatives from each of the seven participating companies in the project were<br/><br> recruited as respondents. Semi-structured interviews were carried out. The results indicate that a<br/><br> user-centred design research approach with an early focus on old people contributed with<br/><br> knowledge on a general level that benefited the industrial partners. All respondents stated that<br/><br> they were strengthened in their presumptions about old people as furniture users and consumers. The majority stated that their understanding of end users improved. Based on lessons learnt three<br/><br> recommendations for future work in co-operative design research projects are: (1) to establish a<br/><br> mutual understanding of the different roles and perspectives of the design researchers and the<br/><br> industrial partners, (2) involve as many stakeholders as possible and (3) use prototypes and<br/><br> iterative design processes.}}, author = {{Jonsson, Oskar and Östlund, Britt and Warell, Anders and Dalholm Hornyánszky, Elisabeth}}, booktitle = {{[Host publication title missing]}}, editor = {{Pombo, Fatima}}, keywords = {{early phases of design processes; user-centred design; furniture; old people; demographic shifts}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{1--9}}, publisher = {{[Publisher information missing]}}, title = {{Experiences of a User-Centred Research Approach involving Old People in Early Phases of Design; Reflections from Furniture Manufacturers}}, url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/5413963/8000895.pdf}}, year = {{2013}}, }