The aim of this qualitative study was to explore product attachment among men and women in conjugal associations and to design a series of household objects to encourage product attachment. A preliminary study based on the interview responses of 16 married individuals was used to identify themes and to develop the instrument employed in the main study. The main study sample consisted of eight married couples and the qualitative methodology involved the thematic content analysis of their responses to a questionnaire and in-depth interviews. The findings supported product attachment theory, and masculinity and femininity was reflected by the objects that the participants perceived to be the most valuable. Men tended to prefer objects with a functional value serving a consumer experience, particularly those that they could interact with and/or express the masculine desire to be independent and take an active role. Women were more variable in their preferences, but most became attached to objects with shared, affective and/or affiliative value. The values which made an object special were found, in general, not to be common to both husband and wife; however, those objects with a shared value, reflecting episodic memories concerning their marriage, were highlighted. These findings led to the construction of a tentative explanatory model to expand product attachment theory in the context of married couples. Underpinned by this model, action is recommended to promote the design and segmented marketing of products in order to create an emotional bond for one or both conjugal partners. Designs are proposed for a series of household objects to encourage the progressive development of episodic memories among married couples. Some prospective designs of products specifically targeted to promote shared value among the married couple segment of the market, including furniture and decorative items for the home are described. Further research is recommended to expand product attachment theory to take into consideration the design of objects for the married couples market.

Mobiltelefonen som ett objekt har en stor betydelse för ungdomarna i dagens samhälle. Unga människor uppfattar sin mobiltelefon som en förlängning av sig själva och kan inte uthärda tanken på att vara borta från den. Men i olika situationer som tillexempel ett reklamationstillfälle, har den unga konsumenten inget annat val än att lämna in sin mobiltelefon för reparation. Reklamation är något som är oundvikligt och kan ses som ett misslyckande i sig, men det är hanteringen av reklamationen som avgör om den anses vara lyckad eller misslyckad för kunden.Denna studie syftade till att undersöka relationen mellan den unga konsumenten och deras mobiltelefon och hur detta förhållande kan påverka varför de uppfattar en reklamation som misslyckad. Genom sju intervjuer har vi bett våra respondenter att prata om deras specifika reklamationstillfälle och hur de använder sin mobiltelefon i vardagen.Resultaten visade att de främsta anledningarna till att våra respondenter funnit sin hantering av reklamationen som ett misslyckande berodde på faktorer såsom väntetid, merkostnader, dålig ersättningsprodukt och ovänliga personal. Det visade också att våra respondenter har en anknytning till sin mobiltelefon och på grund av detta förhållande kan ovannämnda faktorer komma att ändras beroende på hur fästa en individ är till hans eller hennes produkt. / The mobile phone as an object has a great meaning for the youth in today's society. Young people perceive their mobile phone as an extension of themselves and cannot bear the thought of being apart from it. However, in different situations such as a customer complaint handling, the young customer has no other option but to hand it in for reparation. The customer complaints is something that is unavoidable and can be seen as a failure in itself but it is the handling of the customer complaint that decide if a customer complaint has been successful or not.This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the young consumer and their mobile phone and how this relationship might affect why they perceive a customer complaint handling as failed. Trough seven conducted interviews we asked our respondents to talk about their specific customer complaint situation and how they use their mobile phone.The results showed that the main reasons why our respondents found their complaint handling as failed depended on factors such as, waiting time, additional costs, poor substitute product and unfriendly personnel. It also showed that our respondents have an attachment to their mobile phone and because of this relationship the aforementioned factors might change dependent on how attached an individual is to his or her product.

Background – Design for longevity stand in strong contrast to the dominant model of fast fashion, where mass-production, low prices and poor quality is the characteristics. The fast-paced model is linked to environmental degradation and there is a need for a systemic change in the system. Design for longevity has been identified as one of the most effective means to reduce environmental impacts, however there are significant gaps in knowledge in relation to garment longevity and its integration within fashion brands. As the active lifetimes of garments are decreasing, resulting in a truck full of textiles and clothing reaching landfill evert second (EllenMacArthurFoundation 2017). This shows that consumers have fleeting relationships with their garment and product attachment has decreased, which shows that there is a need for strategies that facilitate product attachment to help facilitate more circularity within textiles and clothing. Emotional durability has been highlighted as an approach to design for longevity, it’s a new research area that tries to understand the complex interchange between consumption, the meaning of products and relationships between people and products. Emotional durability focuses on ways to prolong the use of products to extend the lifetimes and thereby decreasing the need for early garment replacement.  Purpose – This study focuses on understanding the phenomenon of emotional durability and its integration possibilities in textiles and clothing companies. The purpose for this thesis is to expand on current knowledge on emotional durability from a brand perspective, through highlighting the challenges and enablers for emotional durability. Using design thinking to understand it’s integration potential, through collaboration and iterative feedback loops to push innovation and build resilience into product-user relationships.  Methodology – The research was conducted using a single case study with an abductive approach. The research builds on the theoretical perspective of IDEO (nd) design thinking theory. Semi-structured interviews with a Swedish fashion and lifestyle company, including employees within the design, sustainability, quality and communications departments provided the basis for collecting primary data. The primary data was supplemented with secondary data which included website articles, sustainability reports and internal documents. The data was analysed qualitatively through thematic content analysis which was triangulated.  Findings – The results of the study, shows that emotional durability can be enabled through a range of strategies including personalisation, transparency, graceful ageing, functionality. These strategies can be supported by services provided by brands, where communicative education plays a supporting role in helping build relationship which can ensure better product retention. The results further highlighted that using design thinking theory can help overcome some of the challenges that was found within emotional durability. Through continuous collaboration both across departments, but also with stakeholders and competitors a knowledge sharing platform can be built, which can ensure better opportunities within emotional durability and thereby designing for longevity.  Practical implications and research limitations - This research contributes to creating new insight into a relatively unexplored area, emotional durability from a brand perspective and the integration through the use of strategies and services. Thus, aiding brands to gain more understanding in the integration and thereby providing solutions that can facilitate longevity. The study is limited by the choice of case-company, which is a Swedish Fashion and lifestyle company.

This study, that is a research and product development process, is based on sustainable development and the negative impacts of the growing consumption, and wear-and-tear habits of today’s society. The way we handle our resources, from mine to landfill cause devastating effects on the climate. LAST, is a multi-functional table made from wooden waste materials, that represents product design that allows the user to build a strong, long-lasting relationship with the product. The table is versatile, allows easy dismantling and incorporates qualities that create an incentive for the user to build an attachment to it to increase its lifetime. This has been done through applying different strategies within emotional design, product attachment and design for sustainability as well as applying knowledge within timeless design, aesthetic nourishment. The Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi has acted as inspiration to help navigate the projects design proposal that could allow for the user to appreciate their product for longer and indorse product longevity. The research question for the study is as follows: How can you promote product longevity by means of product design for sustainable development?

Detta examensarbete har gått ut på att utforska designbegreppet emotionell design i teori och praktik för att undersöka och exemplifiera hur emotionell design kan användas som ett strategiskt verktyg i syfte att förlänga produkters livslängd, och därmed dämpa konsumtionstakten av ekologiskt hållbarhetsmässiga skäl. Konsumtion är en vital del av den globala ekonomin, men med den höga konsumtionstakt vi idag håller så förbrukas jordens resurser i snabbare takt än de hinner återskapas. Många produkter ersätts långt innan deras tekniska livslängd är slut, vilket bidrar till växande avfallsmängder och överkonsumtion. Information har inhämtats genom teoretiska och kvalitativa studier, och två produktförslag som ska demonstrera hur emotionell design kan tillämpas i praktiken presenteras. Rapporten behandlar mervärdesskapande faktorer hos produkter, vilka har möjligheten att främja uppkomsten av emotionella band mellan användare och produkt, samt exemplifierar hur dessa faktorer kan se ut och verka i olika produkter. Rapporten behandlar även kort orsaker till förtida ersättande av produkter för att ge ledtrådar till vilka mekanismer som kan påverka användares beslut i ersättandeprocessen. Examensarbetet har även bidragit med ny kunskap inom emotionell design, i form av ytterligare identifierade mervärdesskapande faktorer, vilken kan vara till gagn för andra designers. / This thesis has focused on exploring the concept of emotionally durable design in theory and practice to investigate and exemplify how emotionally durable design can be used as a strategic tool in order to prolong product lifetime, and thus slow down the rapid consumption rate for ecological sustainability reasons. Consumption is a vital part of the global economy, but with the rapid consumption rate we maintain today, the earth’s resources are consumed at a faster pace than they have time to recreate. Many products are replaced long before their technical lifetime has come to an end, which contributes to growing waste volumes and overconsumption. Information has been gathered through theoretical and qualitative studies, and two product proposals that demonstrate how emotionally durable design can be applied in practice are presented. The report processes value-adding factors in products, which have the potential to promote the emergence of emotional bonds between user and product, and exemplifies how these factors can look like and work in different products. The report also briefly addresses the causes of early replacement of products to provide clues as to what mechanisms may influence users’decisions in the replacement process. The thesis has also contributed new knowledge in emotionally durable design, in the form of additional identified value-adding factors, which may be of benefit to other designers.

Syftet med studien har varit att ta reda på vad det är som gör att vissa möbler och inredning finns kvar hos oss en längre tid. Hur designers kan skapa hållbara produkter som konsumenten vill behålla en längre tid. På så sätt förlängs produktens livslängd och bidrar till en hållbarare konsumtion. Teorier som användes i studienvar produktanknytning, produktlivslängd, produktutbyte, tidlös design, estetik, form och material med ett övergripande fokus på hållbar design. Genom teorierna, möbelanalyser, intervjuer, skiss och prototypande har exempel för att designa för en lång livslängd tagits fram. Resultatet av studien blev en färgglad bordslampa med de typiska karaktäristiska dragen av en lampa och samtidigt en unik och skulptural design. / The purpose of the study has been to find out what it is that makes certain furniture and furnishings remain with us for a long time. How designers can create sustainable products that the consumer wants to keep for a longer period of time. In this way, the product lifetime is extended and contributes to more sustainable consumption. Theories used in the study have been product attachment, product longevity, product replacement, timeless design, aesthetics, form and materials with an overall focus on sustainable design. Through the theories and furniture analyzes, interviews, sketches and prototyping, examples for designing for an extended product life have been found. The result of the study was a colorfull table lamp with the typical characteristic features of a lamp and at the same time with a unique and sculptural design.