User-product interaction is a multi-dimensional, multi-faceted and multi-modal everyday encounter. This study concentrates on the two most prominent actors of this interaction, namely, the user and the product, whereby user expertise and product innovativeness are given special attention. Prominence of user expertise in new product encounters, especially those with innovative products, is established through the findings of two case studies.

iv It is widely known that Turkey has a great amount of data of traditions and cultures on its broad land. By the effects of different dynamics in the 20th century, many craftsmanship and mastery as parts of traditional culture have been transforming day by day. Throughout that transformation period, some traditional craft products could find alternative methods to survive although some others did not. Craft products have been searched by social anthropology since they are members of material culture of humankind for a long time. It can be said that most contemporary objects are transformed versions of older ones in the history. However, all the products today are continuously transforming by the effects of different factors. There still are craft objects and craftsmanship in the market. Traditional craft products, in Turkey, have been transforming by the effects of technology, change in social conditions and marketing issues and designer&rsquo / s initiative as well. Industrialization directly has effected craft production to weaken but some alternative methods are found to provide revival of these professions and objects. This study examined transformation in craft objects focusing on the existing scene of traditional products in Turkish market. Data about craft culture is collected through observations and interviews with craftsmen considering existing craft products in the market. Examples of craft objects and objects designed by getting inspired from craft culture are classified in the chart constituting a schema for the methods for transformation of craft objects. Dynamic factors affecting the transformation process of craft objects are discussed. The need for the revival of traditional culture via design and reasons to do so are explained. In the thesis, it is claimed that one of the agents of traditional product&rsquo / s transformation is the designer&rsquo / s attitude. Designer can determine the method for the transformation of traditional products. So, for the revival of craft culture in the next generations, the essence of traditional culture behind the traditional products can be re-used in industrial design. While searching for the convenient methods of transformation of traditional products, designers&rsquo / opinions about craft culture and reusing information of culture and tradition in design are searched through a questionnaire. Possible methods for the revival of craft culture through design are examined.

Islamic architecture is arguably one of the greatest manifestations of Islamic visual culture. One of the defining aspects of the unique, aesthetic richness of traditional Islamic architecture has been the application of ceramic ornamentation or embellishment. There is a growing concern, however, that this legacy is being eroded. The diminishing identity of Islamic visual culture is particularly evident through current architectural developments occurring in the Arab states. The building revolution in the Gulf countries has dramatically increased momentum since the onset of the ‗oil economy‘, echoing the phenomena of globalization. This research project explores these concerns, discussing the erosion of Islamic ‗identity‘ within contemporary architecture in the Gulf States and in particularly Kuwait, as well as the ensuing decline in the use of ceramics as a defining embellishment material. The research compares the aesthetics of traditional and contemporary Islamic architectural design, whilst also examining the reasons behind this erosion in traditional design style. The diminishing identity of Islamic visual culture is investigated by combining studies in the fields of art, aesthetics, design, architecture, and the social sciences, in order to understand the nature of the research problem. A series of case-studies demonstrates how ceramics may be used to re-introduce a sense of Islamic identity within contemporary architecture. This offers design proposals, new materials and technical processes that acknowledge the rich traditions of Islamic Ceramics while also being appropriate for application within the context of contemporary Islamic architecture detailing; blending contemporary aesthetics and technical thinking with traditional Islamic design. The aim of the case-studies is to offer proposals for a new aesthetic vocabulary of architectural embellishment that is both appropriate to and innovative within, the context of contemporary Islamic architecture. This new aesthetic vocabulary III specifically blends contemporary design principals, new materials and technical processes, whilst acknowledging the rich traditions of Islamic ceramics. The PhD project, applies two types of research methodology: theoretical research and practice-based research. The former focused on social sciences and applied quantitative and qualitative research approaches, including surveys and interviews undertaken within Kuwait. The findings obtained from these surveys verified the emergence of a new cultural style of contemporary architecture and shaped the practice-based element of the project; proposals for ceramic embellishment that are contemporary, while still reflecting many recognizable aspects of traditional Islamic design. The new architectural style can be attributed to factors such as globalization, the adoption of international building styles, and a seeming unwillingness to incorporate traditional styles into new building design, all of which contribute to the currently weak identity of Arabic / Islamic ceramics within Kuwait. Despite of this, the survey revealed that Kuwaiti society maintains a strong relationship and affiliation with Islamic culture, although many seemed unaware of their own rich culture and its past legacy. The practice-based research involved two distinct phases. The first phase involved the development of a large number (172) of new glazes. The glazes were intended to reflect the palette of colours used over generations of Islamic Ceramic culture, while still being appropriate for integration within the contemporary Islamic architectural environment. The second phase of practice involved a series of case studies, embracing a wide range of contemporary architectural ceramic design processes (including 2 and 3 Dimensional geometrical patterns and interpretations of contemporary calligraphic design). The case studies utilised a number of modern technologies, such as 3D Solid modelling, CNC Rapid Prototyping and Laser-cutting, to prove that modern design and manufacturing technologies can be integrated within traditional ceramic processes. The aim being to both provide ceramic products that architects and designers can use to enhance the modern IV architectural environment of Kuwait and re-establish the creative status of ceramics.

This thesis describes a project investigating conceptions of design in the community of design stakeholders. A 'democratization of design' is identified, in terms of a widened mode of design engagement. The origins of the project are located in the accompanying observation that 'design means different things to different people'. The project has three aims: (i) to establish the contemporary UK context for the social study of design; (ii) to expand upon the identified theme of the democratization of design; and (iii) to empirically investigate conceptions of design in the community of design stakeholders. The first two aims are fulfilled through a review and discussion of existing secondary sources. The third aim is fulfilled by primary research, in the form of an empirical interview study conducted with design stakeholder informants. The interview study embodies an interpretative phenomenological theoretical perspective, and employs qualitative research method. A theoretical sample of 31 interview informants was drawn from five design stakeholder groups: Business; Designers; Education; Promotion; Users. Conceptions of design within the collected interview data are investigated through a template analysis. An analysis of collected interview data is presented in the form of an holistic map or 'template' of the data organized by thematic discussion of 'design'. These empirical findings are presented and discussed narratively and graphically. A total of 41 interrelating 'conceptions of design' are identified. Empirical findings are synthesized with the response to aims (i) and (ii). This generates two main final research outcomes: firstly, a degree of informant scepticism and ambivalence is apparent towards the heightened political, cultural and economic profile for design; secondly, the democratization of design is seen as a worthy ideal, but one which is difficult to realize. In conclusion, a number of further implications of the project are also discussed.

An educational psychology thesis analysing technical and artistic abilities of pupils selected for technical education. Attempting to bridge the gap between the designer and the psychologist, the author makes a psychometric study of architectural and engineering drawing. Draftsmanship calls for practical intelligence. The draftsman needs, above all, the ability to think in-terms of space. He must be able to think in solid and to transfer an object from three to two dimensions and vice versa. Artistic ability does not play an important part in draftsmanship at the early stage of training.

The basic notion of this study is related with visual attributes of products which reflect the identity of the company as well as form and design consistency which is a factor forming corporate identity. The sub-notions of the topic are elaborated in the literature review. The efforts which aimed at finding out the distinguishing characteristics of products focused on certain sample products. Digital camera is selected for the field study. The objective of the study is to put evidence that firms can be distinguished from each other with the help of visual attributes of their products and to determine which factors are effective throughout this process.

End-users often complain about usability and safety problems in consumer packages. This study shows that these issues are an obstacle to the achievement of user satisfaction and to gain a competitive advantage in the market. To this end, a case study on food and beverage packages was done in order to identify and analyze these usability and safety problems based on the lifetime phases of packages in which end-users are involved. The study revealed that safety, clarity, legibility, visibility, storability, openability, re-closability, usefulness, and pleasantness are key areas where problems are widespread and should be considered by package developers and designers. The study also indicated that the problems occurred during use result from insufficiencies in current package design processes. These insufficiencies occur basically in the specification of the context of package use, identification of usability requirements, and the active involvement of the actual users in the package design processes. This study also highlights the need for a user-centered approach to package design in order to overcome the insufficiencies in current package design processes in a structured way and thus to achieve usable and safe packages. In addition, based on the literature and case study findings, checklists for user-centered package design process activities and for the design and evaluation of the packages are included. Moreover, a set of methods to be used during user-centered package design process is recommended.

This practice-led research aimed to design letterforms for an ancient Thai script known as Khom Thai, to aid learning of the script by today’s Thai population. Khom is a script that was developed in Thailand around the 15th century. It was widely used as the country’s official script for historical documents and records in Pali, Sanskrit, and Thai until 1945. Now, very few members of younger generations can read the script, which poses a major obstacle for preserving the knowledge of Khom Thai and severely limits access to the country’s historical documents and heritage. Although there are some relationships between contemporary Thai letters and Khom Thai letters, the unfamiliar letterforms constitute the largest hurdle for Thai readers learning to read the Khom Thai script. This study’s goal was to resolve this problem by creating three new Khom Thai letterform designs for use as learning materials and writing models for beginners. This study investigated whether Khom Thai letterforms could be redesigned so that modern Thai readers could recognise them more easily. To explore this possibility, three letterform designs, TLK Deva, TLK Brahma and TLK Manussa, were developed. This practice-led research employed mixed methods, including interviews, a questionnaire, and a letter recognition study. The first section of the research discusses the theoretical framework regarding familiarity in enhancing letter recognition. Additionally, analyses on Thai, Khom Thai, and Khmer letterforms were also included in this part. The second section is about the design process resulted in three designs. Among the three, TLK Brahma and TLK Deva maintain a close connection to the proportions and writing style of the traditional script, and could potentially be used as writing models for those learning the script. By contrast, TLK Manussa is adapted to characteristics and proportions of the present-day Thai script and is intended to look more familiar to Thai readers. One potential use of TLK Manussa is as a mnemonic aid for learning Khom Thai characters. Interviews were conducted with Khom Thai palaeographic experts to gather opinions on the designs. A questionnaire was also used with 102 participants to establish which of the three TLK designs had most familiar characteristics for Thai readers. The results showed that TLK Manussa was the most familiar among the three. After further refinement of the designs, the third section describes the data collection procedures. A short-exposure technique was used with 32 participants who already had some knowledge of Khom Thai, to compare letter recognition. This method was used for gathering reader feedback on the designs. In general, the findings did not indicate any significant differences between the three designs regarding the accuracy rate of letter identification. However, certain individual letters that more closely resembled the Thai script received higher scores than did unfamiliar characters. The three TLK designs constitute the primary contribution to knowledge. However, further contributions made by this research are its analyses of Khom Thai characters and its systematic guidelines for developing Khom Thai letterforms, the guidelines will aid future type designers of Khom Thai on letterform design. The study contributes to the field of research in non-Latin type design by endorsing the role of design in enabling contemporary audiences to learn ancient Thai scripts.

This thesis explores the ways in which the industrialist Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) used images of his manufactory and of himself to help develop what would now be considered a ‘brand’. The argument draws heavily on archival research into the commissioning process, authorship and reception of these depictions. Such information is rarely available when studying prints and allows consideration of these images in a new light but also contributes to a wider debate on British eighteenth-century print culture. The first chapter argues that Boulton used images to convey messages about the output of his businesses, to draw together a diverse range of products and associate them with one site. Chapter two explores the setting of the manufactory and the surrounding estate, outlining Boulton’s motivation for creating the parkland and considering the ways in which it was depicted. The third chapter looks at a period of reinforcement of the identity of Soho, exploring the ways in which images were placed and altered in order to convey specific messages to particular audiences. Chapter four examines printed portraits of Boulton and argues that images of Boulton himself also came to stand for his factory and his products.

Today, the impact of information technologies on education field is ever more clarified with the integration of new tools and methods to the education. Education has been becoming away from the traditional classroom environment through virtual environment. Besides education of theoretical disciplines, education of practice based disciplines, like design related disciplines are moving toward virtual environments. One of these is Industrial Design (ID) education which also has made the transition to the virtual world. This thesis aims to explore and scrutinize the latest forms of ID education, especially the online distance ID education. In order to comprehend the technological progress of ID education and its possible future, an overview of the origins and an evaluation of the current state of distance online ID education are made. By this study, it is expected to shed light to the design educators and the educational systems&rsquo / developers, for designing these environments. At the end of this research, it is concluded that it is not possible to imagine a future of ID education without technology integration. However, it would be better to apply both technological and traditional methods. In fact, the key people in the development of these educational systems and tools would be the designers themselves.