Browsing by Author "Evans, M. A."

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    4 into 35 Does Go: Extending Sketches, Drawings, Models and Prototypes to Define a Taxonomy of 37 Design Representations for Improved Communication during New Product Development
    (International Designers Society of America Conference, 2009-09-23) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.
    Today’s highly competitive global markets have highlighted the importance of industrial design and engineering design collaboration in new product development (NPD). NPD can be considered as a sequence of activities beginning with identifying market opportunities and ending with manufacture and sales. To avoid costly rework and to reduce development time, effective externalisation of design concepts amongst NPD team members is crucial. The ideas that initially take place in the form of language, graphics or actual objects must be externalised without unnecessary ambiguity if they are to be shared with others. The absence of a common language and mutual understanding and the ambiguous loosely defined nature of some representations has led to miscommunication, misinterpretation and ineffective working practice. The aim of this research was to provide a more effective, consistent and clear understanding of design representations. The paper considers the nature of design representations and then explores the development, structure and content of the taxonomy of design representations that are employed by industrial designers and engineering designers during NPD. The taxonomy is finally appraised through a four-way evaluation.
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    Building a common ground: The use of design representation cards for enhancing collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers
    (Design Research Society Conference, 2008-07-16) Pei, Eujin; Evans, M. A.; Campbell, R. I.
    To achieve success in today’s commercial environment, manufacturers have progressively adopted collaboration strategies. Industrial design has been increasingly used with engineering design to enhance competitiveness. Research between the two fields has been limited and existing collaboration methods have not achieved desired results. This PhD research project investigated the level of collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers. The aim is to develop an integration tool for enhanced collaboration, where a common language would improve communication and create shared knowledge. An empirical research using questionnaires and observations identified 61 issues between industrial designers and engineering designers. The results were grouped and coded based on recurrence and importance, outlining 3 distinct problem categories in collaborative activity: conflicts in values and principles, differences in design representation, and education differences. A taxonomy further helped categorise design representations into sketches, drawings, models and prototypes. This knowledge was indexed into cards to provide uniform definition of design representations with key information. They should benefit practitioners and educators by serving as a decision-making guide and support a collaborative working environment. A pilot study first refined the layout and improved information access. The final validation involving interviews with practitioners revealed most respondents to be convinced that the tool would provide a common ground in design representations, contributing to enhanced collaboration. Additional interviews were sought from groups of final-year industrial design and engineering design students working together. Following their inter-disciplinary experience, nearly all respondents were certain that the cards would provide mutual understanding for greater product success. Lastly, a case study approach tested the cards in an industry-based project. A design diary captured and analysed the researchers’ activities and observations on a daily basis. It revealed positive feedback, reinforcing the benefits of the cards for successful collaboration in a multi-disciplinary environment.
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    CoLab - Supporting communication and collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers
    (Design Practice Research Group, Loughborough University, 2014) Evans, M. A.; Campbell, R. I.; Pei, Eujin
    CoLab is a design tool that provides information on the use of design representations (sketches, drawings, models and prototypes) by engineering designers and industrial designers during New Product Development (NPD). There is no set way to use CoLab; it facilitates understanding and collaboration by giving a name, example and description for the key design representations and identifies the differences in how they are used by engineering designers and industrial designers. Grey cards provide information on design stages, types of information and have a taxonomy of 35 design representations that is common to both engineering designers and industrial designers. Blue cards provide specific information on the use of design representations by engineering designers and red cards on the use of design representations by industrial designers. A key role of CoLab is to facilitate understanding of how engineering designers and industrial designers use design representations in different ways.
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    Communicating and Contextualising New Product Development Tools and Methods for Engineering Students
    (Royal Academy of Engineering - National HE STEM Programme, 2011-09-13) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin
    The nature of New Product Development (NPD) is poorly understood by undergraduate engineering students but can be a challenging and rewarding career for those who chose to work in the field. The aim of this project was to provide a web-based tool that would make the design elements of undergraduate courses more attractive by showing how knowledge translates to real products and to provide real life examples of the design process to help students to understand and relate to abstract engineering design principles. Some of the content of the tool, called CoLab, was derived from a PhD that was undertaken at Loughborough Design School by Dr Eujin Pei and supervised by Dr Mark Evans (with a background in industrial design) and Dr Ian Campbell (with a background in engineering design). The CoLab website supports understanding in the nature of NPD by providing 35 examples of the key sketches, drawings, models and prototypes that are used by both engineering designers and industrial designers. To facilitate understanding and collaboration, the taxonomy is extended to provide information on the different ways in which engineering designers and industrial designers use the 35 design representations i.e. when they are used and what types of information (design or technical).
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    Design Tool for Enhanced New Product Development in Low Income Economies
    (Proceedings of DRS2016, 2016-06) Bingham, G. A.; Whitehead, Timothy; Evans, M. A.
    In order to alleviate poverty throughout the World government and non-government organisations provide aid in the form of essential household products. These products typically include cook stoves, water filters and LED lights. However, evidence suggests that these products are not always suitable for Low Income Economies (LIEs) which has resulted in a number of high profile product failures. In response to the growing need for appropriate New Product Development (NPD), this paper presents the development of a tool to assist industrial designers create appropriate and long lasting solutions for those in poverty. Data was collected from the analysis of existing products, a survey, interviews with NGOs & industrial designers and a field trip to Myanmar. The results were used to identify attributes required for effective, long-lasting product design. This was used to create a tool for designers which was found to enhance understanding of appropriate NPD for LIEs.
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    The Development of a Design Tool to Improve Collaboration between Industrial Designers and Engineering Designers
    (Eighth European Academy of Design International Conference, 2009-04-01) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.
    As two distinct professions working in the field of New Product Development (NPD), difficulties encountered during collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers are widespread and well documented (Persson and Warell 2003, Cross 1985, Kim 2006). Having acknowledged the challenges faced during interaction between these two professions, the authors undertook a three year research programme to produce a tool that would remove or significantly reduce some of the problems encountered. Working with a PhD student, the methodology employed by the research team involved a literature review; identification of problems via practitioner interviews/observations; definition of a taxonomy of design representations (34 in total); development of a design tool; and final validation by interviews and design diary. The paper describes the development and nature of the design tool, called ‘CoLab’ which comprises a set of cards divided into three packs. The central feature of each pack is the provision of information on the role and significance of design representations used during NPD. When employed, the cards facilitate the use of a common vocabulary, creating shared knowledge and empathy towards the related yet distinct working practices of each group. Following a pilot validation and minor modifications, interviews to assess the significance of the cards was undertaken with 29 industrial designers and 36 engineering designers. Many of the interviewees were senior designers from multinational companies. Having employed the cards, when asked if the Colab system would foster enhanced collaboration, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 68% of industrial designers giving a positive response (27% neutral) and 63% of engineering designers (37% neutral).
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    Development of a tool for building shared representations among industrial designers and engineering designers
    (Taylor & Francis, 2010) Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.; Evans, M. A.
    Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in New Product Development (NPD). As such, interactions between industrial designers and engineering designers have become increasingly important. This research project aims to build a shared understanding between the two disciplines during NPD. Following empirical research that revealed collaboration-related problem areas, as well as collecting data concerning the use of design representations, a card system was developed to provide information on the role and significance of design representations, leading to joint understanding, improved communication and creation of shared knowledge. When asked in the validation study if the system would foster collaboration, 68.2% of industrial designers and 63.2% of the engineering designers gave a good and excellent rating, indicating that the system could play a significant role towards the support of multi-disciplinary teamwork.
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    DiD - Digital Industrial Design
    (Higher Education Funding Council for England (Vitae), 2014) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin; Cheshire, D.
    Digital Industrial Design (DiD) is an approach to product development in which industrial/product designers undertake all form-giving activities digitally (no pens/paper/foam or direct interaction with physical material). The key areas of DiD innovation are during Concept Generation and Phase 4 of Design Development where less conventional methods have been proposed and appraised through action research that employed designs for an Internet telephone handset. To explore the capabilities of the various methods when designing contrasting product shapes, two stylistic directions were taken for the telephone: ‘geometric’ and ‘organic’.
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    Exploring the collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers
    (Education Feature, International Council of Socieities of Industrial Design, 2008) Campbell, R. I.; Pei, Eujin; Evans, M. A.
    In the global marketplace, it is essential that well-designed products are produced within the shortest possible lead-times. Manufacturers must therefore endeavour to utilize best practice for the efficient control and management of new product development. To enhance competitive advantage, industrial design has been increasingly used as a strategic resource in conjunction with collaboration with engineering design. This study discusses the findings of empirical investigations undertaken in 2006 that recorded the nature of interaction between industrial designers and engineering designers in Singapore. The research posed the following questions: i) How and when do industrial designers and engineering designers work together? ii) What leads to successful or poor collaboration? iii) What factors influence collaboration and can they be categorized? iv) Do representation tools affect collaboration? v) What are the characteristics for a successful tool for effective collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers.
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    ID Cards
    (2010) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin
    Research findings indicated a need to facilitate greater understanding between industrial designers and engineering designers. The IDCards provide the name, example and description of 32 design representations used during New Product Development. They indicate when the representations are most employed and if they communicate design information or technical information. The cards are grouped into sketches, drawings, models and prototypes. 13,000 copies were produced and are being distributed.
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    iD Cards pdf
    (Design Practice Research Group, Loughborough University and Industrial Designers Society of America, 2014) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin
    Having identified a need to facilitate greater understanding of the language and methods used during New Product Development (NPD), especially those used by industrial designers and engineering designers, the Design Practice Research Group integrated the findings from 4 years of PhD research with 1 year of post doctoral design activity to develop a solution. iD Cards provide a name, example, and description for the 32 key design representations used during NPD. They indicate the stages of NPD when the design representations are most commonly used and if they communicate types of design information or technical information. They are grouped into 4 categories (sketches, drawings, models and prototypes) using a generic classification that does not distinguish between techniques that are digital, non digital, or hybrid. Following collaboration with the Industrial Designers Society of America, iD Cards are being enthusiastically received by students, educators and practitioners from around the world.
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    iD Cards Smartphone App
    (Design Practice Research Group, Loughborough University and Industrial Designers Society of America, 2014) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin
    The iD Cards identifies 32 key types of design representation used by industrial designers; when they are used; and for what types of information. They facilitate more effective New Product Development (NPD) through enhanced design methods, communication, team working and inter-disciplinary collaboration. iD Cards are an outcome from research at Loughborough Design School from 2005 to 2011 that responded to problems in the use of language and understanding for design representations (sketches, drawings, models, prototypes) during NPD. iD Cards have been supported, distributed and adopted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) for use by its global members (students/educators/practitioners).
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    Investigating collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers: A Singapore Context
    (International Conference on Manufacturing Automation 2007, 2007-05-28) Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.; Evans, M. A.
    In the competitive commercial environment, ‘time to market’ is a key issue. Global markets demand well-designed products of high quality with best possible prices and short lead times. To facilitate this, manufacturers have adopted concurrent product development approaches, spearheaded by collaboration strategies. As a result, product development has seen more attempts at greater integration activity among the disciplines of industrial design (ID) and engineering design (ED). This paper gives an overview of current collaboration methodologies used by industry and investigates the level of collaboration between IDs and EDs in the Singapore context. Empirical research through interviews and observations outline three distinct issues in collaborative activity, namely: conflicts in values and principles, different tools and methods used for representation, and differences in cross-functional education. The findings reveal a continuing gap between ID and ED, and the authors propose several approaches for future research. More importantly, this study highlights the importance of design collaboration and brings to attention current industry issues with the aim of achieving a more effective product development process.
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    Making the tacit explicit through design tools: the development of a Colab and iD Cards to support industrial design and engineering design practice
    (International Conference 2011 of the DRS Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge - EKSIG 2011, University for the Creative Art, Farnham, UK, 2011) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.
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    Making the Tacit Explicit: Developing Tools to Support Collaboration During Industrial Design and Engineering Design Practice
    (International Conference 2013 of the Design Research Society Special Interest Group on Experiential Knowledge, EKSIG 2013: Knowing Inside Out - Experiential Knowledge, Expertise and Connoisseurship, Loughborough University, UK. 4-5 July 2013, 2013) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.
    Industrial designers employ an extensive range of media and techniques at various times during professional practice. Whilst general patterns of use are acknowledged, such as loose sketches at the beginning of product development and full prototypes at the end, the nuances of use for specific design representations remain elusive. Having identified problems in communication during product development, the researchers identified a lack of understanding in the use of design representations as a key issue. This paper reports on research to enhance communication during product development by making tacit knowledge on the use of design representations explicit. This was achieved through the development of two design tools called CoLab and iD Cards. Phase 1 of the project identified barriers to communication through semi-structured interviews with 61 industrial designers and engineering designers at 17 industrial design consultancies. Phase 2 explored the nature of design representations and categorized 35 types as sketches, drawings, models or prototypes using semi-structured interviews with both industrial designers and engineering designers, with differences in use between the two groups becoming apparent. Phase 3 used a process of information design to translated the findings and data from Phase 2 into the card-based CoLab design tool that included the taxonomy and indication of when the design representations were used by industrial designers and engineering designers and for what types of information. Changes were made after appraisal and the final tool was validated through semi-structured interviews with 43 industrial design and engineering design practitioners and observation. Phase 4 disseminated the research output with the support of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) in the UK (CoLab web-based design tool) and Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) in the USA (iD Cards physical design tool). The paper concludes that the use of appropriate research methods that integrate literature based sources with practitioner engagement has the potential to elicit valuable and unexpected tacit knowledge. It also acknowledges that whilst the outcomes from such research can be enthusiastically received, translation into a format for effective dissemination can be a challenging and time-consuming process. However, with confidence in outcomes and a desire to disseminate, opportunities can be identified if researchers are prepared to be flexible and adapt to stakeholder needs.
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    A Taxonomic Classification of Visual Design Representations Used by Industrial Designers and Engineering Designers
    (The Design Journal, 2011) Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.; Evans, M. A.
    In the context of new product development (NPD), research has shown that not having a common understanding of visual design representations (VDRs) has affected collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers. The aim of the research presented in this paper was two-fold. Firstly, to identify the representations employed by industrial designers and engineering designers during NPD from a literature survey. Secondly, to define and categorize these representations in the form of a taxonomy that is a systematic organization of VDRs that are presently dispersed in the literature. For the development of the taxonomy, four measures encompassing orthogonality, spanning, completeness and usability were employed. It resulted in four groups consisting of sketches, drawings, models and prototypes. Validation was undertaken by means of an interview survey and further, presenting the taxonomy at an international conference. The results showed that no issues were raised by the respondents concerning the structure of the taxonomy or its components.
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    Them and Us?: Exploring the collaboration between Industrial Designers and Engineering Designers
    (Industrial Designers Society of America International Education Symposium 2007, 2007-10-17) Pei, Eujin; Evans, M. A.; Campbell, R. I.
    In the global marketplace, it is essential that well-designed products are produced within the shortest possible lead times. Manufacturers must therefore endeavor to utilize best practice for the efficient control and management of new product development. To enhance competitive advantage, industrial design has been increasingly used as a strategic resource in conjunction with collaboration with engineering design. This study discusses the findings of empirical investigations undertaken in 2006 that recorded the nature of interaction between industrial designers and engineering designers in Singapore. The research posed the following questions: i) How and when do industrial designers and engineering designers work together? ii) What leads to successful or poor collaboration? iii) What factors influence collaboration and can they be categorized? iv) Do representation tools affect collaboration? v) What are the characteristics for a successful tool for effective collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers.
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    Two professions divided by an un-common language - Using 'CoLab' to improve collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers
    (Engineering and Product Design Education Conference, 2009-09-10) Evans, M. A.; Pei, Eujin; Campbell, R. I.
    As two distinct professions working in the field of New Product Development (NPD), difficulties encountered during collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers are widespread and well documented. Having acknowledged the challenges faced during interaction between these two professions, a three year research program was undertaken with the aim of producing a tool that would remove or significantly reduce some of the problems. Working with a Ph.D student, the methodology involved a literature review; identification of problems via practitioner interviews/observations; definition of a taxonomy of design representations (35 in total); development of a design tool; and final validation by interviews and a design diary. The tool comprises a set of cards divided into three packs. The central feature of each pack is the provision of information on the role and significance of design representations used during NPD. When employed, the cards facilitate the use of a common vocabulary, creating shared knowledge and empathy towards the related yet distinct working practices of each group. Following a pilot validation, interviews to assess the significance of the cards were undertaken with 29 industrial designers and 36 engineering designers. Many of the interviewees were senior designers from multinational companies. Having employed the cards, when asked if the system would foster enhanced collaboration, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 68% of industrial designers giving a positive response (27% neutral) and 63% of engineering designers (37% neutral). This paper provides an overview of the research methodology/outcomes and content/use of the system.