Title: Designing a design tool: working with industry to create an information appliance design methodology

Authors: Steve Gill, Gareth Loudon, Darren Walker

Addresses: National Centre for Product Design & Development Research, UWIC, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB, UK. ' National Centre for Product Design & Development Research, UWIC, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB, UK. ' Cardiff School of Health Sciences, UWIC, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB, UK

Abstract: This paper details collaboration between the Programme for Advanced Interactive Prototype Research (PAIPR) based at the National Centre for Product Design and Development Research (PDR) and three key collaborators: Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Alloy Total Product Design (a UK top-five design consultancy). These partners have been involved in trialling a design method centred on a deliberately |low-tech| hardware product called an IE Unit developed to tackle the problems that designers face when designing information appliances without having the skills to produce working three-dimensional prototypes. The paper uses the IE System|s deployment as a vehicle to draw out lessons that will be of use to a range of research groups tackling similar and overlapping issues.

Keywords: embedded systems; design development; design process; design methodology; design prototyping; design tools; information appliance; interaction; journal design research; product design; prototyping; rigs.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2008.020851

Journal of Design Research, 2008 Vol.7 No.2, pp.97 - 119

Published online: 17 Oct 2008 *

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