A corporation which is aiming to create a world class brand should evaluate its existing product portfolio as a first step to configure its future products better. Therefore, this study is performed with the collaboration of Temsa Global Company, who desires to create a global brand in the commercial vehicle area: Temsa. The aim of the study is to find out the relationship between the brand specific design characteristics and visual product design features with a semantic approach, through a case study on a local commercial vehicle manufacturer: Temsa Global Company.

Product semantics is an important concept in the contemporary product design. The current thesis research, applying separately the ¡§Semantic Differential (SD)¡¨ approach and the ¡§Multidimensional Scaling (MDS)¡¨ method, parallel tested the dimensions of symbolic communication between products and consumers. While taking the rational dimension in the traditional product consideration as the base-lines to contrast, the present study explored, reviewed, and tested with empirical data the constructs of affective aspects in product design and the possible dimensions. The testing products included: desk lamp and sofa coach, each involving 10 product design in various styles or attributes. Participants in the empirical data collection were 120 undergraduate and master students at National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 60 in the experiment for MDS data and other 120 for the survey questionnaire of the SD scales. The results in SD data analysis, through the factor analysis and the reliability checking, confirmed existence of three affective dimensions¡Xaesthetic design, mood expression, and ideology assertion¡Xwith good statistical significances. On the other hand, the MDS data, via clustering the subjects into homogenous groups and the dimensional plots, partly revealed some of the affective aspects, while also demonstrated the rational perception in traditional consideration. The statistical checking figures all were controlled within the acceptable levels.

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the evolution of product semantics and its options in interactive system's design. This paper focuses on characteristics the emerge of product semantics and areas from which it derives. It also describes current methods of testing usability of interfaces that are optimalized by product semantics. Analyticcal part consists from interface analysis, testing using knowledge from product semantics and evaluation. Conclusion of this thesis is devoted to a concept proposal of design methodology using the knowledge from product semantics.

Sustainable product design is a challenge that must be met by industrial designers. Over the history of the discipline there are numerous occasions where industrial design has contributed to the pollution and degradation of the environment, and at this time they must take the responsibility of educating and encouraging both consumers and business to move to more sustainable consumption and production cycles. This thesis investigates communication of sustainable product attributes through product semantics. The goal of converging these two fields is to make sustainable products more visible in the marketplace and to educate and capture the interest of consumers. The research investigates various consumer product categories and how consumers react to them, with specific emphasis on the products' sustainable qualities. The end result of the research effort is a set of general guidelines for the sustainable designer to use in their design efforts.

New media offer new ways for communication and production. This study aims to explore possible outcomes of the review of the new media literature for a contribution to the field of product design. Examining new media in a descriptive manner, the study presents its basic principles and characteristics. Relevant parts of new media and product design literature are reviewed in order to locate possible connections and/or exchanges between major concepts used in these fields. The two focal points of the study are the transformations that have taken place in (1) userproduct communication and (2) design and production media, resulting from the emergence of new media technologies.

Esta pesquisa qualitativa de natureza fenomenológica buscou identificar aspectos da percepção de objetos pessoais e/ou domésticos, produzidos em material plástico, nos dias atuais, segundo a visão de seus usuários, e segundo o relato que delas façam designers profissionais, comerciantes varejistas (de produtos plásticos) e especialistas teóricos (em estética, semântica, antropologia e teoria do design) atuantes na cidade de São Paulo. Ela se justificou pela importância e centralidade dos materiais plásticos para o design de produto, por sua capacidade de substituição de materiais, suas múltiplas potencialidades e diferentes formas de aplicação e apresentação, além de sua grande presença em produtos no dia-a-dia dos usuários. Buscou, assim, ampliar o conhecimento a respeito dos sentidos emprestados pelos usuários a este material. A investigação de campo baseou-se em métodos qualitativos de pesquisa, valendo-se, sobretudo, de entrevistas em profundidade semiestruturadas efetuadas com número elevado de usuários, designers profissionais, especialistas teóricos (em semântica, estética, antropologia e teoria do design) e comerciantes varejistas, conduzidas em residências, locais de atuação profissional e lojas comerciais. Também foi realizada ampla revisão da literatura especializada no campo do design, semântica do produto, experiência com produtos e materiais. Alguns resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa sugerem, por exemplo, que o material plástico adquire múltiplos entendimentos, que se afiguram estratificados, em correspondência com os vários níveis culturais de seus usuários, modificando-se de acordo com vários fatores e contextos em que se inserem. Assim, quanto a cada grupo de participantes observaram-se diferentes níveis de abstração na percepção do plástico, reflexo de aspectos culturais inerentes a cada um. Neste sentido, os resultados das análises efetuadas indicam nítidas diferenças de entendimentos, complexidade e grau de abstração na relação de usuários de produtos industrializados com a matéria plástica. / This qualitative and phenomenological study aimed to identify aspects of the perception regarding personal and/or household objects made with plastic. The study foscused especially on the the viewpoints of consumers, designers, retailers, and theoretical experts from the city of São Paulo. This study was conducted due to the importance and prevalence of plastic in product design, how it can replace other materials, its multiple capabilities, the different ways in which it can be applied and presented, and its presence in the daily lives of consumers. This study further aimed to broaden knowledges of what meaning consumers assign to plastic. Field research was based on qualitative methodology using in-depht semi-structured interviews conducted with a larger number of consumers, designers, theoretical experts (partcularly in the fields of semantics, aesthetics, anthropology, and design theory), and retailers. The interviews were carried out in consumers\' homes, work places, and stores. This study also included na extensive literature review in the field of design, product semantics, and experiences with products and materials. Some of the results suggest, for instance, plastic is perceived in multiple stratified ways according to users\' backgrounds. The perception also changes according to many factors and depending on the context. Thus, each subject showed different levels of abstraction for plastic as a reflection of their inherent cultural backgrounds. In this context, results analysis reveals clear differences in understanding, complexity and levels of abstraction between consumers of plastic products.

Esta pesquisa qualitativa de natureza fenomenológica buscou identificar aspectos da percepção de objetos pessoais e/ou domésticos, produzidos em material plástico, nos dias atuais, segundo a visão de seus usuários, e segundo o relato que delas façam designers profissionais, comerciantes varejistas (de produtos plásticos) e especialistas teóricos (em estética, semântica, antropologia e teoria do design) atuantes na cidade de São Paulo. Ela se justificou pela importância e centralidade dos materiais plásticos para o design de produto, por sua capacidade de substituição de materiais, suas múltiplas potencialidades e diferentes formas de aplicação e apresentação, além de sua grande presença em produtos no dia-a-dia dos usuários. Buscou, assim, ampliar o conhecimento a respeito dos sentidos emprestados pelos usuários a este material. A investigação de campo baseou-se em métodos qualitativos de pesquisa, valendo-se, sobretudo, de entrevistas em profundidade semiestruturadas efetuadas com número elevado de usuários, designers profissionais, especialistas teóricos (em semântica, estética, antropologia e teoria do design) e comerciantes varejistas, conduzidas em residências, locais de atuação profissional e lojas comerciais. Também foi realizada ampla revisão da literatura especializada no campo do design, semântica do produto, experiência com produtos e materiais. Alguns resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa sugerem, por exemplo, que o material plástico adquire múltiplos entendimentos, que se afiguram estratificados, em correspondência com os vários níveis culturais de seus usuários, modificando-se de acordo com vários fatores e contextos em que se inserem. Assim, quanto a cada grupo de participantes observaram-se diferentes níveis de abstração na percepção do plástico, reflexo de aspectos culturais inerentes a cada um. Neste sentido, os resultados das análises efetuadas indicam nítidas diferenças de entendimentos, complexidade e grau de abstração na relação de usuários de produtos industrializados com a matéria plástica. / This qualitative and phenomenological study aimed to identify aspects of the perception regarding personal and/or household objects made with plastic. The study foscused especially on the the viewpoints of consumers, designers, retailers, and theoretical experts from the city of São Paulo. This study was conducted due to the importance and prevalence of plastic in product design, how it can replace other materials, its multiple capabilities, the different ways in which it can be applied and presented, and its presence in the daily lives of consumers. This study further aimed to broaden knowledges of what meaning consumers assign to plastic. Field research was based on qualitative methodology using in-depht semi-structured interviews conducted with a larger number of consumers, designers, theoretical experts (partcularly in the fields of semantics, aesthetics, anthropology, and design theory), and retailers. The interviews were carried out in consumers\' homes, work places, and stores. This study also included na extensive literature review in the field of design, product semantics, and experiences with products and materials. Some of the results suggest, for instance, plastic is perceived in multiple stratified ways according to users\' backgrounds. The perception also changes according to many factors and depending on the context. Thus, each subject showed different levels of abstraction for plastic as a reflection of their inherent cultural backgrounds. In this context, results analysis reveals clear differences in understanding, complexity and levels of abstraction between consumers of plastic products.