Jonathon Allen

Designing desirability in an augmentative and alternative communication device

This paper discusses work carried in the context of a study addressing the design and development of a wearable communication aid for people who are illiterate and cannot speak. People with such disabilities often depend on electronic augmentative and alternative communication devices for interpersonal communication. A central theme of the paper, however, is that such products, and products intended for people with disabilities more generally, have characteristics that inadequately attend to users’ needs—in particular many devices pay insufficient regard to the psychological and sociological impact the devices have upon their users. The paper briefly discusses an empirical case study targeted to design and develop the Portland Communication Aid (PCA). The process of establishing user requirements, and in particular the notion of designer-facilitated participatory design, is discussed. The resulting prototype of the PCA is briefly explained along with a discussion of the importance of product semantics in the design of assistive technology.

Environmentally driven technical innovation by Australian construction SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether technical innovations by construction industry small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an environmental focus, require any specific circumstances for successful marketplace delivery. Design/methodology/approach – A value tree of significant factors was developed from a literature review. This was tested by a survey of established technical innovators within SMEs in the area of Sydney and environs, using analytic hierarchy process methodology. Findings – The regulatory environment was demonstrated to be much more important to environmental innovators than to others. Conversely the influence of clients and end users was less significant for the environmentally focused innovators. Research limitations/implications – The sample size was necessarily small because the subjects were all peer recognised technical innovators. Analysis of variance was used to identify significant differences between environmentally focused and other innovations am...

Changing the Fabric of Society: An Exploration of Smart Textiles in Product Design

There has been a flurry of activity in the area of smart textiles over the past decade or so [Baurley (Per Ubiquit Comput 8:274–281, 2004); Eves et al. (New nomads: an exploration of wearable electronics. 010 Publishers, 2010); Garcia (ed) (Architextiles. Wiley-Academic, 2006); Lupton (Skin: surface, substance, design. Princeton Architectural Press, 2002)], and we are now beginning to see the transition from protypical items, to commercial applications. Yet the uptake of textiles in product design is relatively poor. Whilst there are some notable exceptions [Baurley (Per Ubiquit Comput 8:274–281, 2004); ElekTex (http://www.elektex.com, 2009); Philips (http://www.lumalive.philips.com, 2011)] the majority of applications remain prototypical. Yet why is this, and what can smart textiles offer the field of product design? This paper interweaves some of the developments and applications of smart textiles, drawing examples from other domains, such as art, architecture, engineering and bio-medical fields, as well as materials science, in the process, exploring future applications of smart textiles in industrial and product design.

Beyond Functionality - Product Semantics in Assistive Device Design

This chapter discusses work carried out on a Ph.D. study addressing the design and development of a wearable communication aid for people who are illiterate and cannot speak. People with such disabilities often depend on electronic Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices for interpersonal communication. However such products, and products intended for people with disabilities more generally, have characteristics that inadequately attend to users’ needs - in particular many devices pay insufficient regard to the psychological and sociological impact the devices have upon their users. The chapter briefly discusses an empirical case study to design and develop the Portland Communication Aid (PCA). The process of establishing user requirements, and in particular the notion of designer-facilitated participatory design, is discussed. The resulting prototype of the PCA is briefly explained along with a discussion of the importance of product semantics in the design of assistive technology.

The Immaterial of Materials

Beyond physical and performance characteristics, there are several other, often tacit, criteria that guide or influence designers’ selection of materials. These criteria, or choices, reveal more about the designer – his or her tastes, values and preferences. These are not merely abstract matters, however, but rather the very essence of a designer’s knowledge and experience that shapes and influences our world when applied in designed artifacts. Through a series of illustrated examples, this chapter explores some of the immaterial dimensions of material selection – not immaterial in the English sense of being unimportant, but rather immaterial because it deals with the intangible and deeper philosophical, social, cultural, environmental and political dimensions of material selection.