AHFE Open AccessInterdisciplinary Practice in Industrial Design
Editors: Cliff (Sungsoo) Shin, Yong-Gyun Ghim
Topics: Interdisciplinary Practice in Industrial Design
ISBN: 978-1-964867-98-4
DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007241
Table of Contents
A Design Space for Peripheral Interaction: Evidence Mapping and Transferable Implications
Peripheral interaction research spans ambient displays, glanceable mobile cues, and emerging spatial/XR mechanisms, but design knowledge remains fragmented across devices and contexts. We present a two-stage synthesis that constructs a unified design space and derives cross-device transferable implications. First, we perform macro-level evidence mapping using two primary axes—attention demand (D1) and spatial placement (D10)—and locate 188 strongly relevant studies (Tier 1) in a D1×D10 grid. The map reveals a highly skewed landscape dominated by background environmental systems, while sparse regions indicate underexplored opportunities for far-field and spatially anchored peripheral mechanisms. Second, we extract actionable transfer rules from a deep set of 43 papers selected through maximum-difference coverage sampling across the D1×D10 grid. We apply a 12-dimension codebook (D1–D12) covering signal, interaction, temporal, and governance properties. Cross-dimensional coupling analysis reveals recurring tension structures (e.g., detectability vs. disruptiveness, aesthetics vs. legibility, and adaptivity vs. user control) and supports seven reusable implications expressed as operational transfer rules. Together, the unified design space, evidence map, and transfer rules provide a systematic foundation for cross-device peripheral interaction design and future periphery-aware HCI research.
Haopeng Wu, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Human-Centered Explainability for Industrial Inspection: A Scenario‑Responsive Framework
The use of AI-driven vision systems is rapidly becoming a core component of quality assurance in smart‑manufacturing environments. However, the usefulness of these systems depends not only on their detection performance but also on how their outputs are conveyed to operators on the production floor. This study introduces a scenario‑responsive Kansei–XAI interaction framework designed to align explainable visual feedback with human‑centered design attributes such as transparency, confidence building, and operational control. Drawing on insights from two practical industrial contexts, periodic tray inspections and continuous conveyor‑line monitoring, the framework defines a Scenario Rhythm–Risk Profile Matrix together with a risk‑modulated explanation strategy that adjusts the level of explanatory detail according to uncertainty levels and operational hazards. Two graphical interface prototypes demonstrate how the framework can be implemented, and a systematic evaluation methodology is outlined to support future deployment and validation efforts.
Ari Aharari
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Understanding Information-Seeking Behavior Through Visual Cues: UX/UI Design Perspectives for Social Media Interfaces
When browsing information-rich environments such as SNS, users intuitively select content and assess information value based on visual impressions. Visual cues, including icons and text on image-centric user interfaces, attract users' attention and serve as signifiers that indicate the value and nature of underlying information, supporting information selection during browsing. This research focuses on visual cues within SNS to clarify the information selection process of users navigating image-centric interfaces and to identify the visual cues that facilitate this process. Specifically, we examined the information selection process by investigating the relationship between user-information engagement types and visual cues. The results showed that users follow a two-stage information selection process: initial screening based on visual characteristics, followed by content interpretation. Three engagement types were identified: “behavioral engagement,” “passive engagement,” and “emotional engagement.” Content that relied only on image information was unstable for interpretation, as it depended entirely on individual sensibilities. We then conducted a verification experiment using prototypes with text labels and icons to compare their effects. The results indicated that visual cues function differently depending on the engagement type. In passive engagement, text labels tended to promote selection behavior by conveying meaning and context, providing a sense of information. In contrast, for active and affective engagement, the visual appeal of content rejection was more influential than text or icons. Therefore, to support information selection, optimizing visual cues according to the user's engagement type, rather than applying uniform cues to all content, can help prevent information oversight and encourage serendipitous information encounters.
Haru Kameda, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Optimization of Interface Design Based on User Behavior: Focus on the Adoption of Touch-Based UI in Home Appliances
The rapid transition toward touch-based UI in modern consumer products has created a notable mismatch with mental models that users have cultivated through long-term interaction with physical controls. This cognitive discrepancy often leads to operational confusion and a significant decline in overall usability. Consequently, to enhance the efficiency of product interactions, it is crucial to approach digitization in a manner that aligns with the user’s established mental model. This research focuses on specific "tasks" during product use to clarify the UI format that best corresponds to various operational characteristics. The investigation involved a detailed functional analysis of existing microwave ovens and washing machines, leading to a comprehensive classification of their operations. Based on these findings, ten different UI patterns were derived to represent various stages of digital integration, which were then evaluated through rigorous user testing. The results indicated that, for microwave ovens, a fully digital UI format was the most effective, suggesting that interface consistency increases usability. By contrast, for washing machines, physical buttons received the highest evaluation. This suggests that tasks requiring complex decision-making are better supported by a physical UI, which enhances the user’s sense of control. These findings aid the creation of design strategies that balance the convenience of digitalization with the user’s inherent mental model and product-specific characteristics. Ultimately, this study contributes to the realization of safer, more intuitive, and more ergonomic UI designs for future household appliances.
Kaito Nozaki, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Investigating Integrative Visual Expressions in GUI Design: Icon Design Utilizing Combined Visual Elements
Digital devices, particularly smartphones, have become deeply embedded in everyday life—people routinely search for information and make selections and decisions on screens. In such an environment, the process of understanding information and performing an action strongly shapes user experience; therefore, GUI icons are widely used as a space-efficient means of presenting information while reducing cognitive and learning load. Meanwhile, as apps and services become more feature-rich and integrated—and as usage contexts expand to smaller displays, such as wearable devices—the number of situations in which single-element icons cannot sufficiently convey meaning is increasing. This research focuses on compound icons, which create new meanings by combining multiple visual elements, and examines how the visual structure between elements—specifically relative size and spatial arrangement—influences semantic interpretation. A survey of existing designs found that compositions combining two elements (a large primary element plus a small secondary element) are common and that their semantic relationships can be organized using a part-of-speech-like framework. In an experiment on relative size, configurations of action or status (small) + object (large) tended to be perceived as “easy to understand and less likely to cause hesitation,” with familiarity and physical metaphors supporting comprehension. However, judgments about element hierarchy sometimes vary depending on factors such as the importance of the conveyed information. In an experiment on spatial arrangement, lower-right placement received the strongest overall support, although exceptions were observed owing to directional cues and tool metaphors. These findings suggest that an effective compound-icon design requires a hierarchy aligned with semantic relations, structural decisions that consider placement-driven reading order, and consistency of metaphors.
Shunto Haneishi, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
The Effect of Paperboard Packaging Impression on Purchase Intentions for Chocolate
Boxed confectionery products are often purchased on the spot in everyday settings, and packaging serves as an important cue for product understanding and impression formation. However, it remains unclear how differences in the dimensions and proportions of simple rectangular boxes relate to impression formation and purchase intention. Therefore, this study examined the effects of box shape on impression formation and purchase intention for self-consumption, focusing on paper box packaging for chocolate products. Fifty-four men and women in their twenties were presented with shelf-display photographs of nine uniformly white samples and asked to rate seven impression words, based on the consumer behavior process, on a 7-point scale. Principal component analysis was applied to create impression spaces by gender and purchase frequency. The results showed that the evaluation process could be organized into stages corresponding to attention acquisition, meaning-making, emotional response, and context fit. Greater information search was associated with the use of a wider range of cues, making evaluations more likely to integrate meaning-making with emotional response. Greater purchase experience also made it easier to connect appearance characteristics with judgments of involvement attitudes, such as whether the product seemed everyday or special, making context-fit evaluations more prominent. Within the impression space, products were mainly segmented by volume and frontal surface area, and clusters shifted according to consumer attributes, even for identical boxes. Although no significant differences in final purchase intention were found across attributes, purchase intention tended to increase when evaluations related to eye-catching appeal were relatively lower.
Noeru Masuda, Toma Uda, Yuta Hosaka, Mizuki Nakajima, Haruna Korenaga, Hiroo Fujiwara, Mitsuko Ogaki
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
The Effect of Paperboard Package Shape on Consumers’ Inferences about Chocolate Product Contents
In unplanned in-store purchases, the package shape serves as a crucial visual cue for inferring the physical characteristics of the contents. While prior research has accumulated significant insights into the mechanisms for estimating physical quantities like volume and weight from shape, qualitative and structural aspects (such as the “arrangement of contents”) have not been examined. This study focuses on the risk that discrepancies between consumers' perceived arrangement images and the actual content (expectancy disconfirmation) may undermine repurchase intent. Using paper boxes for chocolate products, we examined how outer box shape influences consumers' “arrangement inferences” and “usage judgments.” A web survey was conducted with 53 individuals in their twenties using nine plain-box designs as stimuli. Model comparisons using generalized estimating equations (GEE) revealed asymmetry in consumer information processing depending on task characteristics. Specifically, arrangement inference relies on relatively simple and immediate processing based on a single dimension (e.g., width) or shape type, whereas usage judgment (for self/others) tends to involve more elaborate processing, integrating multiple dimensions and category information. Furthermore, stratified analysis by purchase frequency and gender revealed that as experience accumulates, the information referenced during inference and judgment tends to become more complex. These results suggest that discrepancies often arise between the careful deliberation involved in purchase decisions and immediate processing of arrangement inferences. Therefore, in package design, it is essential that the shape and category consistently convey the same meaning across both processes.
Yuta Hosaka, Noeru Masuda, Toma Uda, Haruna Korenaga, Hiroo Fujiwara, Mitsuko Ogaki, Mizuki Nakajima
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
The Impact of Facade Design in Community Pharmacies on Conveying Operational Status and Enhancing the Ease of Entry
The influence of storefronts on customer perceptions and behaviors has been widely noted in commercial environmental design and architectural studies. However, these studies have focused on general commercial stores. There is insufficient specialized knowledge regarding pharmacies, which operate under unique constraints, such as medical-related services, including privacy considerations and a customer base consisting primarily of purpose-driven visitors. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between the exterior facade of a dispensing pharmacy and the communication of its open status, as well as the perceived “ease of entry” experienced by visitors. An evaluation experiment was conducted, and qualitative aspects were extracted from the photographs. The findings suggest that “interior visibility” and “store brightness” are important factors in the interpretation of operational status within this study. In addition, store brightness was assessed relative to the external environment, indicating the importance of presenting information in a manner that is not influenced by relative evaluation. These findings represent an initial step in identifying relevant design factors, providing a basis for future research incorporating quantitative measures and practical design evaluation.
Toma Uda, Mizuki Nakajima, Haruka Ito, Sarah Tominaga, Kosuke Nakayama
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Modeling the Creative Thinking Processes of Design Experts and Novices
The rapid advancement of generative AI is transforming design workflows from manual "modeling" into the sophisticated "selection" and "reconstruction" of a multitude of generated options. Within this paradigm shift, it is a pressing issue to clarify the boundary between "implementation capabilities," which AI can rapidly replace, and the essential "curation capabilities" that humans must assume. This research aims to establish a definition of the new creative thinking processes required in the AI era from an ontological perspective by visualizing the unconscious cognitive processes of experienced designers. Previous research on design expertise has faced difficulties in extracting pure cognitive structures because physical factors, such as drawing skills, act as noise. Therefore, this research verified the differences in cognitive strategies between experts and novices using a unique abstract composition task that eliminated physical skills and tool familiarity. Experiments were conducted with 10 experts and 10 novices, and an integrated analysis of operation logs and interviews using the FBS (Function-Behavior-Structure) framework revealed that experts spent approximately twice as much time on "pause" and "evaluation" processes compared to novices. These results demonstrate that while the novice's creative process is a "linear task of filling in blanks," the expert's process is a "recursive exploration" involving repeated critical dialogue with the generated results based on internal criteria. This "intentional pause" constitutes the tacit knowledge unique to humans in the AI era and lies at the core of future design education. Ultimately, this suggests that the role that humans must play is shifting from simple implementation to advanced curation and judgment capabilities.
Hiyori Miyazaki, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Interaction Design Using Physical Properties
In product design, controlling surface texture through the three CMF (Color, Material, Finish) elements is emphasized as a method for achieving differentiation and enhancing sensory value. Similarly, in GUI design, there is a movement to visually reproduce material qualities, such as the effect produced using glassmorphism, while striving to balance aesthetics and legibility. However, most efforts remain limited to reproducing "appearance," with insufficient exploration of expressions rooted in the physical properties inherent to real-world materials—such as weight, friction, and hardness/softness. Movements and reactions based on physical properties are intuitively understandable, which makes it easier to connect state changes and cause-and-effect relationships to bodily sensations. Therefore, this research explored the potential of interaction expressions based on physical properties. A card-sorting task was conducted with 30 students using 30 material cards (displaying material names and photos) and 9 touch-interaction cards. The participants selected materials matching each interaction and provided reasons for their choices. Beyond tallying selection rates, reasons were labeled based on prior research to compare differences across interactions. The results indicate that frequently referenced material properties varied by interaction, with the input temporal structure and motion characteristics likely being the primary switching factors. For instant inputs, such as taps, immediate responsiveness and deformation were emphasized, whereas for sustained inputs, such as long taps, holding, and state changes over time were referenced. For continuous movement actions such as dragging, swiping, and scrolling, roughness and friction were associated as control cues. For two-point operations such as pinching and stretching, continuum deformation and tension were evoked. For rotation, changes in friction resistance were relatively important.
Kana Uenoyama, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Exploring Enhanced Notation Display Methods to Support Music Reading Acquisition
Learning piano requires learners to master both repetitive practice and music reading. Music reading demands the rapid and simultaneous processing of multiple pieces of score information. However, many beginners struggle to acquire effective music-reading skills and often discontinue learning. Although previous studies have identified differences in the information-processing capacity between advanced learners and beginners, the behavioral mechanisms underlying beginners’ difficulties remain unclear. This study examines how learners at different proficiency levels perceive and practice music reading during piano performances. Behavioral observation experiments were conducted with 20 participants, including beginners, experienced learners, and advanced learners. Practice behaviors were recorded, coded into ordinal data, and analyzed using DEMATEL to model the characteristic behavioral patterns across proficiency levels. The results revealed clear differences in the practice strategies. The advanced learners demonstrated stable and efficient practice sequences, whereas the beginners showed greater variability, fewer key-pressing actions, and longer practice durations. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a notational display method that provides intuitive visual support for pitch and rhythm. Highlighting reference pitches and separating beat-count information from the score facilitates beginner recognition and understanding of musical notation. These findings suggest that beginners’ difficulties reading music arise from both cognitive processing limitations and the absence of established practice strategies. This study demonstrates the potential of designing beginner-friendly notation systems by incorporating intuitive visual cues into musical notation.
Miyo Yamanaka, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
The Impact of Differences in UX Writing on Users’ KANSEI: Framing Effects of Variations in Tone and Style
As internet businesses expand, customer service and guidance conversations are being replaced by short UI texts, such as app and e-commerce copywriting, notification messages, and button labels. Users infer a service’s attitude and sense of security from a single line of text and decide on their next action (sign up, purchase, continuation). Wording directly impacts trust, familiarity, and motivation, especially in high-uncertainty situations, such as onboarding or input errors. Thus, the tone and style of UX writing determine the quality of the experience. Moran (2016) also reported that nearly identical content could influence brand impressions based on tonal differences. Therefore, this research quantitatively clarified the effects of stylistic tone on emotional responses and continued actions through impression evaluations and behavioral logs. In the registration task, impressions of four writing styles were organized into two factors: “cognitive value” and “emotional value,” revealing trade-offs. A humble polite style maximized cognitive value, whereas a friendly tone maximized emotional value. Continued usage intent increased through emotional value, although resistance (e.g., perceived overfamiliarity) was also observed. In a subsequent voluntary continuation task involving 46 university students, the median number of responses was the highest for the friendly conversational tone, which descriptively exceeded the formal polite tone. However, the difference in the dropout rates between groups was not statistically significant. Meanwhile, for the friendly tone, “reliability/reassurance” and “individuality/enjoyment” functioned as separate axes, showing a tendency for their coexistence to lower dropout risk. Consequently, designing a writing style that aligns with emotions, and not just the accuracy of information, can potentially encourage continued usage. This research suggests a strategy that strategically switches the tone within the bounds of maintaining reliability, depending on the usage context and value orientation.
Reiji Harada, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Relationship between feedback in Information Processing and Online Shopping
Waiting time during screen transitions in online shopping occurs when users expect immediate responses to their actions, which affects their evaluation of the purchasing experience. This research aims to clarify how processing speed and visual feedback presented during waiting time influence the purchasing experience. This research examined waiting time in online shopping by manipulating processing speed and the presentation of visual feedback during waiting. Users’ behavioral tendencies were classified as either exploratory or linear, and evaluations of the purchasing experience were compared between these groups. The results indicated that the factors affecting purchasing experience evaluations vary by behavioral tendency. For users with exploratory behavior, visual feedback showing progress during waiting led to more positive evaluations, even when processing speed was the same. For users with linear behavior, processing speed itself had a stronger effect on purchasing experience evaluations, even when visual predictability was provided. The sense of predictability regarding waiting time was found to depend on several factors, including the ability to understand the endpoint or remaining time and the perception that processing is ongoing. These findings indicate that information presentation for waiting time in online shopping should not be uniform; instead, optimization of processing speed and the use of visual feedback should be tailored to users’ behavioral tendencies.
Sarina Funaki, Wonseok Yang, Momoka Muto
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Photo Presentation Methods for Designing a Consistent Photography Experience
With the generalization of Multi-device usage, photographic images are captured by diverse devices, yet their viewing is consolidated into integrated smartphone applications. However, in the pursuit of efficiency and data integration, the unique characteristics of capture devices—such as physical tactile feedback, operational processes, and the atmospheric context physically experienced by users—are often discarded, treating image data merely as homogeneous pixel information. Consequently, the context of the capturing moment and device-specific uniqueness are diluted during the viewing stage, compromising the consistency between the capturing and viewing experiences. This research examined the UI elements designed to reconstruct the unique experiential value of capture devices within viewing software by organically connecting both experiences. Through a survey of UI elements in existing image management services and text mining of user reviews regarding various capture devices, we revealed that users value not only functional efficiency but also physical constraints and the physical operation itself. Based on these findings, we investigated the characteristics required for the viewing experience using a framework of “Materiality, Context, and Embodiment,” focusing on reconstructing physical presence in digital environments. The results indicate that imparting sensory characteristics, such as physical presence and tactile feedback associated with operations, is crucial for evoking memories and sensations of the capturing moment, even in digital spaces. These elements are identified as effective means to ensure consistency between capturing and viewing experiences, complementing the context and uniqueness, otherwise diluted in digital environments.
Sakata Yusei, Wonseok Yang
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Designing Facial Expressions for Service Robots: A Context-Specific Approach
While facial expressions are widely adopted in service robots as rendered faces on their screens to facilitate communication and interaction, it remains unclear how they should be designed according to specific service contexts. This paper argues that the appropriate level of realism and detail in robot facial expressions depends on a robot's task nature, level of social interaction, and service journey. We propose a design space constructed from two axes, realism and number of facial features, and map 24 screen-based service robot faces onto it. The mapping of restaurant, retail, and delivery robot faces reveals a lack of context-specific design patterns and an over-reliance on minimal expressions, with 75% of collected faces lacking a mouth. Drawing on service marketing literature, we construct a service journey map for restaurant server robots and identify emotions required along the service flow. These analyses expose a gap between research and practice, leading to a structured, three-stage design process for context-specific robot facial expressions.
Yong-Gyun Ghim, Junghoon Baek
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
A human factors framework for adaptive athlete–centered product design
Adaptive athletes often augment existing products or create their own solutions to participate effectively and efficiently in sport. Designing relevant products for these athletes requires a human factors approach that balances individual needs with performance considerations. This paper aims to provide background on the adaptive athlete's needs, based on sport, rules and regulations, environment, support systems, and impairment classifications established by World Para Athletics, as well as on physiological, biomechanical, and psychological performance considerations, to develop a framework for designers. The framework serves as an adaptive athlete-centered tool for ideation to organize complex requirements for product design.
Susan Sokolowski
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
A Morphology and Ergonomics Informed Approach to Unobtrusive RFID Tagging in Hand Tools
Residential maintenance and home repair rely on timely access to appropriate hand tools, yet tool-related disruptions remain frequent, increasing cognitive load and leading to costly search-related time loss. While RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based inventory systems have been proposed, their adoption in real maintenance contexts is constrained by the physical integration layer, where conventional rigid tags suffer from signal degradation near metal surfaces and intrude into ergonomically sensitive grip areas. This paper reframes tool tracking as a design and human factors problem and introduces a morphology and ergonomics grounded approach for integrating RFID tags into hand tools without compromising usability. We propose a three-type morphological taxonomy of axial, planar, and complex tools to structure placement decisions, an ergonomic neutral zone approach to avoid high pressure contact regions, and a flexible tag architecture utilizing silicone or rubber as a dielectric spacer. This flexible encapsulation improves conformability to various tool surfaces and RF (Radio Frequency) performance on metal tools. A multi-faceted evaluation, consisting of a formative survey and interviews with domain experts, suggests strong perceived value for multi-location and shared-tool accountability. However, results also highlight adoption constraints regarding attachment durability and onboarding effort. We discuss design implications for scalable, unobtrusive tool identification and outline future research to quantify the reduction in cognitive load and time loss.
Jung Joo Sohn, Sundas Qaiser, Chia-Hsuan Lai, Yuhong Mo
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
Integrating Physical Testing and Digital Workflow: A Hybrid Platform for Seating Prototyping and Design
This paper introduces a reconfigurable testing rig for seating ergonomics designed to streamline the product development process for industrial design education and small-scale manufacturing. These sectors currently face significant data scarcity because existing anthropometric datasets are often proprietary, cost-prohibitive, or limited to office-centric contexts. Without accessible and relevant data, designers often rely on subjective intuition. This can lead to an aesthetics-first fixation that compromises user well-being and requires resource-intensive iteration loops.Recognizing that poor ergonomic fit accelerates the disposal of upholstered goods, this research positions robust ergonomic assessment as an essential strategy for extending product service life. To address this gap, we present a modular physical testing rig. This tool facilitates testing across diverse typologies ranging from low-profile lounge to bar-height seating. The platform integrates into multiple stages of the iterative design workflow from early-stage form finding all the way to detailed assessment. Additionally, the system allows for synchronization with conventional digital tools like CAD software and serves as a testing base for emerging technologies such as 3D motion capture and pose estimation.
Connor Irwin, Hannah Mendelson
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
Designing for Technology Research: Case Study of Wearable Devices for Assistive Technology
Prototyping in industrial design (ID) has been framed as a step toward product commercialisation. In assistive technology (AT) research, however, prototypes function as research instruments that must support experimental variability, interdisciplinary collaboration, and longitudinal investigation under resource constraints. Existing prototyping approaches, largely derived from commercial and design research contexts, often fail to address the methodological demands of AT research, where customisation must coexist with experimental standardisation, and where prototype failure potentially compromises both data validity and engagement with users. This paper proposes a systematic, AT research-oriented prototyping methodology designed for academic settings. Drawing on practice-based design research conducted at an interdisciplinary academic AT laboratory, the study introduces three design principles: (i) research-centricity, (ii) systematic modularity, and (iii) contextual adaptability, following a five-stage prototyping framework. It structures the progression from research framing and modular planning to iterative deployment, validation, and reuse, positioning prototypes as a stable and adaptable tool. The methodology was practised through two wearable assistive devices developed within the same laboratory. The first case demonstrated the modularity, mid-fidelity prototypes that support controlled gait quantification research over extended periods, while the second illustrates methodological scalability in addressing more complex experimental scenarios related to freezing of gait. These two cases demonstrate reductions in iteration time and cost, component reuse, and reliability across diverse experimental conditions. Aligning prototyping decisions with research objectives and human factors considerations, this work contributes a transferable methodological approach that allows rigorous, efficient, and interdisciplinary AT research within constrained academic environments.
Niravkumar Suryakant Patel, Manasi Anand Kanetkar, Uttama Lahiri
Open Access
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Conference Proceedings
Practicing Industrial Design: Design Intent Part One
The professional landscape of industrial design is evolving in response to increasingly complex societal challenges. This raises pressing questions about how designers engage in practice within globally distributed production systems and how they articulate design intent so it carries from concept through development to use. While design intent is often discussed implicitly in industrial design, adjacent fields—including product engineering, architecture, civil engineering, and CAD—employ more explicit strategies for defining and employing it.This chapter first examines how these fields think about design intent within professional practice. It then presents reflections from a group of experienced industrial design practitioners who are also educators, who analyze how they identify, communicate, and embed design intent in their own work. The findings suggest ways in which industrial design practice can move towards articulating and developing design intent as a clear pathway for novice practitioners to move from concept to production in systematic, efficient, and meaningful ways. This chapter forms part one of a two-chapter exploration positioning design intent as a catalyst for the transformational potential of industrial design (see Educating Industrial Designers: Design Intent Part Two).
Joyce Thomas, Suresh Sethi, Jerrod Windham, Shea Tillman, Megan Strickfaden
Open Access
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A Practical, Operational Definition of “Intuitive” Industrial Design
Within the practice of Industrial Design, it is common for designers to put significant effort into making product interfaces ‘intuitive’; created in a way that a user may simply look at the interface and know how to use the product. To accomplish this, many designers adopt an intuitive approach: since both parties are human beings, if it makes sense to the designer, it will make sense to the user. While the notion of intuitive design is valuable, its implementation often runs into stumbling blocks that prevent it, leading to products with poor usability and avoidable user frustration.Often, these so-called ‘intuitive’ approaches are built upon an incomplete understanding of what the concept of ‘intuition’ entails. In addition, designers often hold a distorted view of what users will understand, in no small part because of their own immersion in the product development process.This paper will provide a brief overview of how cognitive processes, inputs, and constructs comprise human ‘intuition’ as it relates to interface design through the lens of Information Processing theory, and will highlight some of the most common problems that designers face as they attempt to design ’intuitive’ product interfaces.
Sheridan Kromann, Chris Arnold
Open Access
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Hacking as a Co-creation Method for Specialized Soft Product Design
Traditional clothing design often fails to address the unique needs and desires of people who wear specialized clothing, resulting in garments that they perceive as functional but not personal. The field of adaptive clothing is increasingly recognizing the importance of human-centered design; however, moving beyond a problem-solving paradigm to one that embraces individual identity and creative expression remains a challenge. This chapter proposes and explores ‘hacking’ as a co-creation method to bridge this gap. We present a case study of workshops where individuals with disabilities were guided through a process of fashion hacking and personalizing garments. The workshop structure empowered hackers to act as experts of their own experience, transforming standard clothing into bespoke items that reflect their personal style, cultural identity, and specific functional requirements. Our analysis reveals that the hacking process: (1) democratizes design; (2) generates rich, embodied knowledge about lived experience; (3) produces innovative design concepts; and (4) supports community and skill enhancement. Our workshops demonstrate hacking as an effective co-creation strategy that supports and validates user expertise, fosters agency, and yields design insights that are often overlooked in traditional top-down design approaches. This study contributes to growing discourse on participatory and human-centred approaches in soft product design by prioritizing user-led innovation.
Elsie Osei, Zoe Wagner, Emma Carr, Michael Antwi, Jackie Fisher, Thomas Lai, Elizabeth Lai, Chenshuo Li, Megan Strickfaden
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Educating Industrial Designers: Design Intent Part Two
Educating future industrial designers presents many challenges. Students must learn to be comfortable identifying problems, work within global systems, and articulate their ‘design intent’ within the product development process. As educators, we ask: how does what exists in a student’s mind’s eye makes its way through the circuitous development process and into potential production–and remain clear to the people who use it? The degree to which a student considers the full scope of product development influences whether their ‘design intent’ is sustained or diluted along the way. Building on our companion chapter, ‘Practicing Industrial Design: Design Intent Part One’, we elaborate from the perspective of seasoned design educators on: (1) terminology related to design intent; and (2) pedagogical strategies and tools that cultivate and transfer design intent within the design process. This chapter begins to describe, illustrate, and define design intent as it’s embedded into teaching and learning industrial design.
Megan Strickfaden, Jerrod Windham, Suresh Sethi, Shu-Wen Tzeng, Shea Tillman, Joyce Thomas
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Innovative Design Method of Passenger Seat in China’s EMUs
To continuously improve the quality of passenger seat in China’s EMUs, a full-chain innovative design method for EMU passenger seat integrating “challenges identification - design research - design strategy - design scheme verification” is proposed. Firstly, through offline and online surveys, the pain points, travel needs and behavioral characteristics of passengers are clarified. Then, based on the research of functions, ergonomics and dimensions, and key technologies of passenger seats, the basis for innovative design is formed. Design strategies are formulated respectively from the dimensions of spatial layout, functional modules and seat structure. Finally, the strength and safety performance of the design scheme are verified by finite element analysis to form an innovative design product. This method comprehensively covers the entire process of challenges identification, design research, design strategies, and design scheme verification. The case provides a reference method for the innovative design of passenger seats in EMUs.
Hong-bao Wang, Hai-Nan Liu, Hao-Ying Xie, Ying Zhao, Xin Li, Ze-rui XIANG
Open Access
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Knowledge Navigated and Organized Together(KNOT): An AI-Integrated System Design for Enhanced Collaborative Learning in Higher Education
Collaborative learning in higher education is often hindered by the cognitive overhead of administrative tasks and fragmented, passive digital tools. This research introduces KNOT, a proactive AI-driven system designed to serve as an integrated facilitator, administrator, and tutor for student study groups. Utilizing a multi-phase human-centered design approach, we conducted ethnographic observations (5 sessions, 15 hours), surveys (N=54), and semi-structured interviews (N=6) with undergraduate STEM students. The research identified four primary challenges: administrative friction, conceptual deadlocks, lack of group synchronicity, and dependence on scarce physical resources. In response, we developed and prototyped the KNOT ecosystem, featuring automated scheduling, AI-powered Socratic tutoring, interactive content synthesis, and personalized learning paths. User testing (N=5) validated that KNOT successfully offloads logistical burdens, with participants reporting improvement in their ability to focus their cognitive energy on learning. The AI tutor effectively guided groups through conceptual roadblocks without replacing human critical thinking. Furthermore, the integration of interactive study aids and gamified features directly mitigated focus loss, a primary challenge identified by 48% of surveyed students. KNOT demonstrates how an adaptive AI can seamlessly organize, enhance, and support collaborative learning.
Diya Suresh Nair, Min Kang
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AI Smart Glasses Product Design Analysis: A System Dynamics Perspective
To identify design breakthroughs for AI glasses, this study categorizes core elements and influences logic using System Dynamics. Analyzing literature from CNKI and Web of Science (2015-2025) via Bibliometrics, KJ Method, and case studies, the research identifies four core topics.A System Dynamics model was constructed to simulate design evolution, revealing five subsystems, four causal loops, and four key characteristics. This builds a closed-loop analysis framework that clarifies the dynamic mechanisms of AI glasses, providing a theoretical and methodological foundation for innovation.
Lu Wang, Jun Zhang, Jinzhuo Liu
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An Intelligent Generative Design Method for Peking Opera–Inspired Locomotive Liveries under Cultural and Engineering Constraints
Locomotive livery design serves as a vital carrier of cultural identity; however, traditional design workflows exhibit low efficiency, and general AI-generated schemes often lack engineering feasibility due to excessive pattern and color redundancy. This study, taking Peking Opera facial patterns as a representative case, proposes an intelligent generative design method that coordinates cultural expression with engineering constraints. By constructing an element translation strategy based on element complexity, color complexity, and their synergistic "combined matrix" for LoRA-based model training, the results confirm that the combined matrix approach effectively balances cultural identifiability, visual order, and engineering implementability. Verified through expert Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE), this framework provides an efficient methodology for the culture-oriented design of industrial equipment under engineering constraints.
Yu Ming Sun, Shi Yuan, Peng Ji, Peng Shiyao, Shi Lei Su
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Scale of Permanence of Products: Designing Products in Relation to Nature’s Limitations and Opportunities
Understanding Sustainable Product Design in a world with what is perceived as limitless materials and energy can be complicated. Circular Design offers good pathways to help navigate these realities. Unfortunately, it doesn’t dig deep enough to get to the root of our unsustainability, energy and nature. However, understanding 3 interconnected concepts, energy, materials and lifespan can be foundational to untangling such complex realities. Founding this understanding in renewable and non-renewable realities can help us navigate these complexities. Within Permaculture Design is a Concept that pre-dates the development of the field called Scale of Permanence, which was developed by P.A. Yeoman for his process called Keyline Design. It was developed to design farms that are water positive farms on the driest continent on earth, Australia. Permaculture and Regenerative Agriculture are founded in these concepts. It starts with the idea that humans can change some things very easily while others are very expensive and energy intensive to change. Thus, focusing on changeable things within the context of unchangeable things is critical. It’s easy to forget such ideas in a world where energy is cheap and abundant allowing us to design products that are energy and materially intensive yet consumable. However, when we do full energy accounting and recognize the limitations of finite energy sources and materials, then we recognize the importance of designing to leverage those finite materials and energy through longevity. On the other hand, when we design consumable products, aligning them with nature’s renewability and cyclicality is fundamental. Looking at all three of these ideas across a spectrum of Energy, Materials and Lifespan, integrating consumability and durability, finiteness and renewability is fundamental to begin to create a field of sustainable products in a world with more people and fewer resources, especially in relation to the field of regenerative agriculture. This paper examines these concepts, translating Yeoman’s Scale of Permanence into a diagram for Scale of Permanence for Product Design, to work with these concepts and existing Circular Economy resources. It shares examples of student projects that came from employing these resources over a 5 years span of employing this diagram in a studio class.
Braden Trauth
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings
Music Track Story: Children's Music Track Rolling Ball Building Blocks Based on Physical Acoustics and AIoT
This paper investigates the application of AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) in designing musical early-learning toys for children within the STEAM education framework. By integrating principles of physical acoustics with intelligent interaction, the research aims to create novel and intuitive play experiences. Grounded in a theoretical review of STEAM and acoustics, this paper employs case analysis to evaluate existing products across three key dimensions related to human factors: technological integration, interactive diversity, and user engagement. The analysis identifies specific AIoT application models suitable for children's products. In the design phase, the study proposes a modular system that incorporates AI-assisted creation tools and IoT connectivity. This system culminates in the development of interactive music blocks and track pieces that allow for the free combination of scales and tones. Through tangible manipulation and real-time auditory feedback, children can explore musical structures in a playful, low-pressure environment. The proposed framework offers new insights into how smart educational toys can facilitate implicit learning, contributing to the integrated development of toy design and educational technology.
Chanwen Pu
Open Access
Article
Conference Proceedings