Robert C. C. Chen

From Adaptive Design to Adaptive City-Design in Motion for Taipei City

Taipei has officially become the World Design Capital 2016 with the slogan of “Adaptive City”. Taiwan economic development is a fusion of Dechnology (Design-Technology) and Humart (Humanity-Art) which is also a process of design evolution showing an “Adaptive Design” in Taiwan design development. Therefore, this study proposes a design conceptual approach not only for Taipei to meet the requirements of WDC 2016, but also for Taiwan to establish a design strategy for the future. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to provide designers, companies, organizations as well as Taipei City with an approach for applying design thinking and with an idea for how to direct their efforts to meet the requirements of a new proposed design strategy.

Cognitive-based approach for assessing accessibility of e-government websites

The importance of internet and other communication technologies play a vital role in modern life. Websites are inherently designed for a targeted group of users, normal sighted or for the whole population including those who are visually impaired. Blind and visually impaired people often face accessibility and usability problems while accessing websites. Related literature did not consider the interaction mechanism and cognitive features of visually impaired people when testing for accessibility. In this study, a novel user centered, task oriented, and cognitive approach is proposed to evaluate the accessibility problems faced by blind people. An e-Government website will be used as a case study for evaluating the proposed methodology considering practical user tasks and the WCAG guidelines.

A MPCDM-enabled Product Concept Design via User Involvement Approach

This article reports how designers manipulate a collaborative and reliable process, which is more directly in contact with users and is different from the traditional design approach for interpreting and satisfying users’ specific needs. The approach user involvement for product concept design is proposed, from a multi-professional design knowledge-handling viewpoint. It comprises three phases, namely, user needs elicitation and transformation, product definition diversification and design concept specification, which integrates the means end chain technique with systematic analysis and design technology to develop the multi-professional collaborative design model (MPCDM) for product concept design (PCD). Basically, this approach is a method of making design decisions via user involvement, that is, a strategy for transferring user preference into a specific product concept. A case study on designing an assistive eating device for patients with cervical cord injuries is used to illustrate the performance of the proposed prototype MPCDM-enabled PCD, which has demonstrated its effectiveness in user involvement issue and explained how designers are able to identify with a good degree of certainty attributes for creative product development, by collaboration with users via Internet.

Analysis of Application of Digital Archives to Value-Added Design in Cultural Creative Products

With the development of technology, we see more and more possibilities in the methods of conservation and application for traditional culture. Currently, the content in the data base of digital archives information in Taiwan is quite extensive and versatile. It is necessary to study future applications to add to its value. The purpose of this study explored the issue and procedure of value-added design on the basis of digital archives transformed into cultural creative. The research includes two phases. In the first phase, we had interviews with experts exploring the current application issues of digital archives in the design fields. By this way, we created the transforming model by collecting theories and principles of design and combining the experts’ opinions. In the second phase, we carried out the design and application to review the possibility of digitally archived cultural instruments as applied to the design.

An assessment into touch screen input devices for cervical spinal injured computer users

This study began with interview and contextual observation survey of computer users among SCI including higher-level cervical spinal injured (CSI) subjects for their limitation of human body motion and function during working. Following the findings of the initial surveys, the usability assessments were developed and undertaken in order to understand the limitations and difficulties of SCI and CSI subjects in the use of the research team’s input prototype for future design improvement recommendations especially on size/dimensions factors, which can lead to the differences in users’ skill performance, productivity, mobility, and cost. A touch screen input device of an appropriate dimension is therefore proposed with the aim of providing a better alternative for people with physical disabilities who are unsuited to the traditional computer keyboard.

Interactive Stress-Free Toy Design for Students Studying Overseas.

The aim of this project is to create a relaxing product to release East-Asian international students’ stress in order to be in a better health. The direction of this project focuses on handling the students’ negative emotions produced by stress to avoid negative consequences happening such as depression. This project begins in secondary research about stress followed by case studies of the existing products along with an interview with the target users. The case studies use the KJ method to find the design elements of existing relaxing products. Moreover, there is deeply understanding of the students’ stress and the effective method of releasing the students’ stress through the interview of East-Asian international students. After the research, the author transfers the information from research into design rationales and decides the design direction of this project with the design rationales. The design direction of this project is to design an interactive robot to increase the interaction between the students and their family to achieve the goal of relaxation. There is an initial focus group to gain the user’s feedback from after the initial design, and a redesign with the feedback. Finally, there is a final focus group to evaluate the final design and the final design uses the user’s feedback as the reference to amend and develop in the future.

A Study to Improve Education Through Gamification Multimedia in Museum

The purpose of this paper is to study a game-based multimedia design promote museum education. The museum is an important contributor to the social education function, which should build a modernized public cultural service by using modern technology and new environment. The research methodology mainly adapted on three approach. (1) A literature review of the relationship between people and museums, digital media education and game-based learning. (2) An observation of the target groups behavioral habit in the in specific British Museums. (3) A summarize of the particularity and the popularity of the group. This paper focuses on three aspects to evaluate the practical significance of the various theoretical results and discussed these theories permeate the game-based multimedia design development in the museum.

Demands and needs of elderly chinese people for garment

The purpose of this paper is to determine the elderly peoples consumer behavior, demands and needs about the garment. The sample consists of 106 aged people all around china. A questionnaire was prepared and given to these people to determine their consumer behavior, demands and needs. It was found that most elderly people would like to choose comfortable, pastel, loosely or a little loosely casual clothing. The garment with natural material and some special design on details will be favorable. Meanwhile, most of the interviewee complained about there is no enough suitable size to choose. Therefore, the height, neck circumference, shoulder width, bust, waist, abdominal circumference, hip circumference were measured, and these data would provide theoretical reference for apparel products to meet the needs of the elderly.

A study of cognitive behavior in relation to the elderly visual experiences

Makepeace in his 1998 article describes how enjoyment and pleasure also factor into the function of an object [1]. Since visual impression is the first occurrence of visual perception, and all human visual experiences are determined by design, the quality of product design is closely associated with the effect an object has on a viewer and may determine their understanding and experience of it. Since China will have the most aged population in the world by 2050, this study takes into consideration the rapidly growing elderly population globally and how currently design practice ignores the changing perceptual habits caused by physical aging. It explores the necessity of evaluating these changes, and the relationship between the visual experience and emotional reflection. A data collection methodology, comprised of two analytical assessment tools, was utilized to determine results. The first approach, Tasting Board System (TBS), was created by the author to gauge subjective preferences. The second, Eye Tracking (ET) Device, evaluates objective reflection. The results of the study identify the common cognitive features of the elderly so that it may positively affect design practice and enhance pleasurable visual experience.

Universal conceptual design solution for built-in orthopaedic rocker-bar device

Gout is an acute inflammatory joint disorder (Arthritis) caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals around joints, tendons, and other tissues. According to data from the Survey [1] of Taiwanese Epidemiology in 1999, residents have a 0.4% chance of developing gout disease with a rise of about 7.5% every year in Taiwan. In the UK, Gout affects about 1 in 200 adults. Men are more commonly affected than women and first attack of gout typically develops in middle age and there is a family history of gout in about 1 in 5 cases. In spite of being unacceptable in style, rocker-bar is always an effective treatment, this research is, therefore, focused on a universal design concept and fitting assessment in relation to the design of orthopaedic rocker-bar with new universal hidden built-in construction, which provides the best way to improve the appearance, comfort and strength, it is suitable not only for gout disorders, but also for those patients with standing, walking or shoe-fitting corrective requirements.