This thesis project aims to target the increasing number of people who live, work and transit through the densely populated metropolises that, fused together, create megaregions. These individuals, an already big and ever increasing number of people, are the so-called super-commuters, members of the workforce whose commutes surpass the figures of 90 minutes or, alternatively, 145 km in a single-way.As it happens with others who live in the same geographical region, they experience the need or wish of working in the dense urban centres that offer plenty of job opportunities, but little housing opportunities. This lack of housing paired with its very high and ever increasing prices forces these people to disperse and to search for living places farther away from their workplaces, thus trading convenience and free time for long commutes. Super-commuting is indeed showing a growing trend, not only in the number of super-commuters themselves but also in the duration of commutes.Commutes are getting lengthier for a number of reasons, such as increasingly comfortable vehicles, technological advancements that help render commuting time either productive or entertaining.However, in a post-pandemic society, many companies are also offering their employees the chance to adopt hybrid work modes with more days spent working from home - which makes workers consider living farther away from their workplaces as they need to commute less (number of times). It is an undeniable fact that the longer the commute, the less free time one worker has, either for resting or doing something productive. It is also true that in an increasingly fast-paced technological world, people have also increasing difficulties in separating their professional and personal lives. Therefore, the approach of this thesis project goes through offering people the chance to make the most out of their commutes, so as to free more of their time when not commuting or working - time to spend with their loved ones or to be used to do whatever they would like. To achieve that, this project contemplates the use of autonomous technologies expected to become more widespread within the automotive industry; as by rendering vehicles autonomous would free people from driving and let them allocate their time to other tasks. This thesis project offers a holistic proposal of a premium commuting service targeted to super-commuters living and working within the Northern California megaregion. This service would connect peripheral communities directly to the Bay Area, where most companies are located, through a door-to-hub service.It focuses on how users of this service might experience their commutes by presenting case studies of three different types of professionals with diverse needs, and exploring how they would use it as a means of making their commutes as convenient and efficient as possible. The process herein exposed goes through the various stages of design development, from research to ideation and leading to a final proposal, consisting of a service, mobile booking app and exterior + interior design of a vehicle.

Scania recently introduced a new fuel tank design. This new design arose a need for extra help when mounting the tank in production, which was solved with two little hooks on each tank. These hooks are today known as the current third hand solution. Not only have these hooks added additional costs, but they have also significantly compromised the work environment at the fuel tank assembly. Since an assembler can assemble up to 40 tanks in a day, even a small change would make a big difference.   The aim of this thesis was therefore to improve the work environment for the fuel tank assemblers in the production at Scania Södertälje. The aim was also to discover an alternative solution that was both financially feasible and environmentally sustainable when compared to the existing hook solution. Therefore the objective was to create a new concept for holding the fuel tank in place during assembly, taking into account cost reduction and improved safety in production. The thesis was performed at Luleå University of Technology and Scania Södertälje during spring 2023 within the topic of Industrial design engineering.   The development of the concept has been done with the user in focus, a so called human-centred/user-centred work. To reach a concept that is designed for the user, the user has been involved throughout the entire project. Additionally a lot of focus has also been on topics that will help improve the concept from a human-centred view, for example ergonomics and usability. The project followed a linear process, with iterations when needed. The phases of the project were planning, context, ideation and implementation. During the project a bunch of creative methods have been utilized to reach the best result possible. The methods are in many cases chosen because they will contribute to a human-centred design. Example of used methods are interviews, user journey, speedstorming and prototypes.   The thesis resulted in a concept for mounting the fuel tanks in production. The concept is a redesign of the existing component, support plate. The concept is taped to the tank and used in a way similar to the current hook. The fact that the new concept is similar to the hooks means an easier transition for Scania, since production won’t be needing a redesign. The new concept is both cheaper and more environmentally friendly because it is an existing component. The concept also contributes to a better work environment for several reasons. The concept has reduced the risk of the tanks dropping and hurting the assemblers. The concept also provide an easy and pain-free assembly, which causes less stress and cognitive strain for the assemblers. / Scania har nyligen introducerat en ny design på sina bränsletankar. Den nya designen medförde att ett behov för extra hjälp vid upphängningen av tanken i produktion uppstod, vilket man löste med två små krokar på varje tank. Dessa krokar kallas idag för en tredje handen lösning. Användandet av krokarna har inte bara medfört en extra kostnad, men även skapat en sämre arbetsmiljö i bränsletanksmonteringen. Eftersom en montör kan montera upp till 40 tankar per dag så skulle även en liten förbättring göra stor skillnad.     Syftet med det här examensarbetet var därför att förbättra arbetsmiljön för bränsletanksmontörerna i produktion på Scania Södertälje. Syftet var också att ta fram en lösning som är både ekonomiskt fördelaktig och miljömässigt hållbar jämfört med den befintliga kroklösningen. Målet har därmed varit att utveckla ett nytt koncept för att hålla tanken på plats under monteringen, med hänsyn till minskad kostnad och ökad säkerhet i produktion. Examensarbetet utfördes vid Luleå Tekniska Universitet och Scania Södertälje under våren 2023 inom utbildningen Teknisk design.     Utvecklingen av konceptet har gjorts med fokus på användaren, ett så kallat människocentrerat/användarcentrerat arbete. För att uppnå ett koncept som är designat för användaren så har användaren involverats genom hela projektet. Utöver att involvera användaren så har mycket fokus också lagts på ämnen som hjälper till att förbättra konceptet ur ett människoperspektiv, till exempel ergonomi och användbarhet. Projektet följde en linjär process med iterationer när det behövdes. Faserna var planering, kontext undersökning, idégenerering och implementation. Under projektets gång har en mängd kreativa metoder tillämpats för att uppnå bästa möjliga resultat. Metoderna är i många fall valda för att bidra till en användarcentrerad design. Exempel på använda metoder är intervjuer, kundresa, speedstorming och prototyper.   Examensarbetet resulterade i ett koncept för upphängning av bränsletankarna i produktion. Konceptet är en om design av den existerande komponenten support plate. Konceptet tejpas fast på tanken och används på liknande sätt som kroken görs idag. Att det nya konceptet är liknande krokarna innebär en lättare övergång för Scania eftersom produktion inte behöver om designas. Det nya konceptet är både billigare och mer miljövänligt eftersom det är en existerande komponent. Konceptet bidrar också till en bättre arbetsmiljö på grund av flera orsaker. Konceptet har minskat risken att tankarna faller ner och skadar montörerna. Konceptet erbjuder även en lätt och smärtfri montering vilket skapar mindre stress och kognitiv påfrestning för montörerna.

I denna uppsats undersöks hur man genom produktdesign kan få enbättre förståelse för hur stolar och klappstolar tolkas. Syftet har varit attgenom en förståelse för användarens tolkning, ge möjlighet att skapa enny arketyp till klappstolar. Studien är ett samarbete med IKEA ofSweden där de har varit intresserade att undersöka möjligheten för en nyarketyp i deras klappstolssortiment. För att få en inblick i användarenstolkning tar studien avstamp i teori kring användarcentrerad design,semiotik och affordance. Metoder för att samla empirisk data består avexpertintervjuer och workshop. Resultatet av studien visade att en stol iträ med ett statiskt uttryck och mjuka former tolkas som Stabil, Gedigen,Bekväm, Mjuk, Varm och Inbjudande. Slutresultatet och designbidragetmynnade ut till en arketyp applicerad på IKEAs stol STEFAN. Därresultatet från workshopen och IKEAs mål lyfts upp med få synligabeslag och flertalet formgivningsmöjligheter. Uppsatsen avslutas med endiskussion som belyser vikten av att som designer förstå konstruktionoch produktion vid formgivning, särskilt när arbetet sker utifrån en sattbudget. / This essay examines how product design can give a better understanding ofhow chairs and folding chairs are interpreted. The purpose has been tothrough an understanding of the user's interpretation, provide theopportunity to create a new archetype for folding chairs. The study is acollaboration with IKEA of Sweden where they have been interested ininvestigating the possibility of a new archetype in their folding chair range.To gain an insight into the user's interpretation, the study is based on theoryaround user-centered design, semiotics and affordance. Methods that havebeen used for collecting empirical data consisted of expert interviews andworkshops. The results of the study showed that a wooden chair with a staticexpression and soft shapes is interpreted as Sturdy, Solid, Comfortable,Smooth, Warm and Inviting. The end result and the design contributionresulted in an archetype applied to IKEA's chair STEFAN. Where the resultsfrom the workshop and IKEA's goals are highlighted with few visiblefolding components and various design options. The essay ends with adiscussion that highlights the importance of understanding construction andproduction as a designer, especially when working with a budget.

Optimizing customer satisfaction is vital to maintain relevance as well as being competitive on a growing market. This research is aimed to explore what aspects of design and functionality that should be prioritized when developing solo tunnel tents for four season use within a European market. Since solo tents are small in size, users seem to prioritize purchasing a tent for two people because it provides bigger space for equipment, accompanied animals and is more reliable in bad weather. To examine the research questions, a design theory and human centered design method has been applied to optimize customer satisfaction. The study consists of literature study, survey, interviews, empathy mapping and prototyping, which resulted in an implemented prototype for a four season solo tent planned for future production. Furthermore, a prototype has been developed by data conducted from the survey, interviews and a design brief given by the partnering company. Conspicuous results have been shown through a survey and interviews, which explains the difficulties in development of tents to ensure a wider range of customer satisfaction. Findings in this research emerged that weight was not the most important aspect when buying a four season solo tent. A correlation has been investigated, there was an expectation from the producer that lightweight tents were preferred by the users, however this research exposed that it is not as important as imagined for a four season solo tent. In the sense of a solo tent for four seasons, the users desire space over weight. Furthermore, the results also showed that there was a difference in requirements related to the two different groups that had been investigated. It was found that experienced users had a higher preference of design and ergonomic aspects compared to the common users that did not rank it as important. Within this research a total of 55 people participated, where 44 people participated in the survey and 11 people participated in the interviews. For future research a larger number of participants, preferably women, could provide an interesting result and more on if people from a larger area outside Sweden participated in the research. Furthermore a physical test of the prototyped tent would ensure that this study results in a design that optimizes customer satisfaction.

In pieces I wanted to create a design solution inspired by traditional wooden furnitures. Furnitures, like the kitchen sofa with built in storage and a place to sleep or the lockable free-standing linen cabinet that held hand crafted treasures safe and clean inside. Furnitures that are large in size and can be hard to fit into smaller homes today but that holds a huge sentimental value to the owner and are often handed down through generations as heirlooms.   So what if I could weave in a piece of my own family history into a design solution that can fit in smaller living spaces while still be an attractive choice for larger ones?  Pieces resulted in two wooden cabinets that tell part of my family history through the repetitative, organic shapes that I have implemented into them. They are a tribute to my grandmother Aino and her three year younger sister Hanna and my way of symbolically reclaiming their right to the land, forests and lakes around their childhood home that the two sisters didn´t get to share with their siblings in the inheritance after my great grandparents.  The methods I have used in my research are surveys, workshops, in-depth interviews and my own observations. Major design decisions have been based on the input from my research process with the goal to display two full scale cabinets at Konstfack's spring exhibition in May 2023.

Product development can be taxing for the environment. When it comes to hardware products then a lot ofthe materials generally involved are based on finite resources such as fossil fuels. As the most commonlyused materials are rarely biodegradable, they often end up in landfills where they end up being harmfulboth to the environment and its inhabitants for a very long time. During recent years some companieshave started combating this through getting involved in the development and implementation of moresustainable alternatives. One of these companies trying to implement more sustainable materials isInteresting Times Gang, who now also wishes to develop new products by using mycelium - theunderground network of threads produced by fungi. This as mycelium poses a lot of sustainable propertiessuch as biodegradability, a high degree of moldability as well as being a cultivated resource rather thanbeing synthetic. This project serves to investigate what kind of product types are fitting for myceliumcomposites per request from ITG, as well as what kind of surface treatments are possible and fitting tomake the material more desirable. This with the intention of increasing awareness about the material withthe hopes of promoting it to a larger audience, enabling a transition towards more sustainable materialalternatives in the process. With the information gathered through research the project resulted in a sidetable that was designed and manufactured as a 1:1 scale prototype to showcase the possibilities of thematerial. This was done through a material driven design process which was divided into four steps:Understanding the material, Creating materials experience vision, Manifesting materials experience visionand Designing product concepts. Each phase included its own methods respectively and some of themethods include literature review, material testing, benchmarking, user testing, digital prototyping andmanufacturing to name a few. The project is a master thesis for the Industrial Design Engineeringprogramme at Luleå University of Technology performed during the spring of 2023.

Sverige är ett land omgiven av vatten och hav, där vi har en stark tradition av vattenaktiviteter och därmed även obligatorisk simundervisning. Enligt en uppföljning av skolverket, kan inte sju procent av eleverna i årskurs 6 simma 200 meter. Detta innebär att ungefär 8 300 elever som lämnade mellanstadiet i juni inte kunde simma inför sommarlovet. Antalet personer som inte kan simma är en högre siffra i samhället och ett allvarligt problem. Det är på tiden att lyfta fram frågan om simkunnigheten och grundskolans simundervisning.Simlärare och idrottslärare uppger att det är svårt att bedriva simundervisningar av flera anledningar. Det är brist på närhet till simhall, tid, plats, ekonomi, trivsel och säkerhet, för att nämna några.Upptäckten om hur simhallens miljö talar emot simundervisnings moment för både lärare och skolbarn är en nyare problematik, som måste utredas för att underlätta simlärares arbetsprocess och öka deltagande och inlärningsförmågan på simlektioner. Hur kan vi förbättra upplevelsen av simundervisning för skolklasser i grundskolor? Examensarbetet är i samarbete med idrottslärare, simlärare och Svenska Livräddningssällskapet för att utforska och definiera utmaningarna och föreslå designlösningar. Genomförandet består av designmetoder i form av research och intervjuer, inklusive idéegenerering, workshops, konceptutveckling,utvärdering och flera andra metoder.Tre designförslag utvärderades, vilket ledde fram till ett slutgiltigt holistiskt koncept på en framtida simundervisningslokal och bassäng som är mindre, närmare bostadsområden och skolor, anpassningsbar till olika simnivåer och aktiviteter, som främjarsäkerhet och trivsel. I lokalen ingår ett system för en halvtransparent draperi avskärmning, för att minska distraktioner från olika simaktiviteter som pågår samtidigt. Miljöutformningen är designad i färger och former som skapar tydlighet i lärares och skolbarns rörelseflöde i rum och upplevelse av dess rumslighet. Måtten tar hänsyn till byggesramarna för en simlokal och syftar till att implementeras i befintlig sportanläggning och framtida mindre anläggningar. / Sweden is a country surrounded by water and sea, where we have a strong tradition of water activities and thus also compulsory swimming lessons. According to a follow-up by the school board, seven percent of students in grade 6 cannot swim 200 meters. This means that approximately 8,300 students who left middle school in June could not swim before the summer holidays. The total number of people in who cannot swim in the society is an even higher number and a serious problem. It is time to highlight the issue of swimming skills and primary school swimming lessons.Swimming teachers and school teachers state that it is difficult to conduct swimming lessons for several reasons. There is lack of nearby swimming pools, time, place, finances, well-being and safety, to name a few. Discoveries about how the environment of the swimming pool speaks against elements of swimming lessons for both teachers and schoolchildren is a newer problem, which must be investigated in order to facilitate the work process of swimming teachers and increase participation and the ability to learn how to swim. How can we improve the experience of swimming lessons for larger school classes in primary schools? This degree work is in collaboration with school teachers, swimming teachers and the Swedish Life Safety Society, to explore and define the challenges and propose design solutions. The implementation consists of design methods in the form of research and interviews in the design process including idea generation, workshops, evaluation and several other methods.Three design proposals were evaluated, leading to a final holistic concept of a future swimming lesson facility and pool that is smaller, closer to residential areas and schools, adaptable to different swimming levels and activities, and promotes safety and well-being. The room includes a system for a semi-transparent drapery screening, to reduce distractions and divide different swimming activities that are going on at the same time. The environment is designed in colors and shapes that create clarity in the room movement flow and experience of spatiality. The dimensions could work within the building framework for a swimming pool and be implementable both in existing sports facility and future smaller facility.

Normada arbetar med att utveckla additivt tillverkade (3D-printade) möbler i skandinavisk stil och vill nuutöka sin produktportfölj med mindre produkter, såsom en sänglampa. Denna rapport fokuserar på att lösa ettvanligt problem med sänglampor idag, nämligen att de oftast antingen ger riktat ljus lämpligt för läsning ellerspritt ljus som skapar en mysig atmosfär. Det innebär att de sänglampor som människor har hemma antingeninte kan erbjuda en mysig spridd ljusstämning eller att det är svårt att läsa i det utstrålande ljuset. Detta projekthar hotell som målgrupp.Detta projekt syftar till att lösa detta problem genom en designprocess som identifierar dagensanvändarcentrerade utmaningar för att sedan lösa dem under processens gång. Målet är att utveckla en fulltfungerande produkt som är så nära produktionsklar som möjligt. Detta projekt utförs under vårterminen 2023på Luleå tekniska universitetet och är ett examensarbete på kandidatnivå som en del av utbildningen tekniskdesign.Projektet resultera i en sänglampa i skandinavisk stil som är fullt fungerande. Lampan kommer ha riktbarlampskärm med en avbländare som ger en mer spridd ljusupplevelse samtidigt som den tillgodoser möjlighetenatt kunna läsa i ljuset. Lampan har kvar optimeringsmöjligheter men är redo att produceras i små skalor. / Normada specializes in the development of additive manufactured (3D-printed) furniture in Scandinavian styleand aims to expand its product portfolio to include smaller items, such as a bedside lamp. This report focuseson addressing a common problem with bedside lamps today, namely that they typically either provide focusedlight suitable for reading or diffuse light that creates a cozy atmosphere. This means that the bedside lampspeople have at home either cannot offer a pleasant, diffuse lighting experience or it is challenging to read inthe emitted light. This project has hotels as the target group.This project aims to solve this problem through a design process that identifies current user-centered challengesand addresses them throughout the process. The goal is to develop a fully functional product that is as closeto production-ready as possible. The project is conducted during the spring semester of 2023 at LuleåUniversity of Technology as part of the bachelor's degree program in Industrial Design EngineeringThe project will result in a fully functional bedside lamp in Scandinavian style. The lamp will have adirectionally adjustable lampshade and a screen that provides a more even light distribution while fulfilling therequirements for reading. Although the lamp still has optimization possibilities, it is ready for production insmall scales.

<p>Product evaluation throughout the design process is a fundamental task to ensure product success. Virtual prototyping is displacing physical prototyping for product evaluation due to its lower cost and flexibility to easily generate design alternatives (colors, textures, shapes). The thesis provides a deeper understanding of the influence of the presentation medium on product evaluation. The semantic differential technique was applied in to obtain the consumers’ subjective impression when they observed furniture scenes under two different presentation mediums. High-quality realistic renderings were displayed on a computer screen equipped with an eye-tracker. The same scenes were observed by the same users (repeated measures experimental design) with a virtual reality headset equipped with an integrated eye-tracker (HP Reverb G2 Omnicept). Equivalent areas/volumes of interest were defined to calculate the eye- tracking metric dwell time. Statistical analyses then compared dwell times and values of semantic scales in the 2D and VR conditions to determine if the medium of presentation influenced them.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The experimental data obtained in the thesis confirmed that both the consumer’s subjective impression measured through bipolar pairs and the level of confidence in its assessment was influenced by the visual medium. However, the level of confidence in the assessment of a semantic scale of a product presented on VR was not affected by the sense of presence.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The amount of time (dwell time) that subjects spend looking at a specific product on a joint or individual visualization were influenced by the visual medium.</p>

Detta examensarbete är utfört på uppdrag av företaget SHL Group AB, som producerar injektorer för patienter med kroniska sjukdomar. Injektorerna är anpassade för att patienten själv ska hantera dem i hemmet. Läkemedel som tas fram idag blir allt mer komplexa vilket kan leda till större volymer och längre injektionstider. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att ta fram ett injektionskoncept anpassat för större volymer samt hanterbar för reumatiker vid långa injektionstider. Fokus på projektet har legat kring användarstudier och den kreativa processen. För att ta reda på vilka behov som produkten behöver tillgodose har intervjuer och enkätundersökningar genomförts med reumatiker. Idéprocessen utfördes med hjälp av flera olika kreativa verktyg så som persona, Kanomodellen, House of Quality och brainstorming. Med hjälp av dessa verktyg togs fyra olika koncept fram och arbetet resulterade i en injektorhållare som under injektionen spänns fast på kroppen. / This is a thesis project carried out on behalf of the company SHL Group AB, which produces injectors for patients with chronic diseases. The injectors are adapted to the patient's own handling of them at home. Drugs that are being developed today are becoming more complex, leading to larger volumes and longer injection times. The purpose of this degree project is to develop a concept that is adapted to larger volumes and manageable for rheumatics at long injection times. The focus of the project has been user studies and the creative process. In order to find out which needs the product has to meet, interviews and questionnaires with rheumatics have been conducted. The idea process was performed using several creative tools such as persona, The Kano Model, House of Quality and brainstorming. Using these tools, four different concepts were developed and the work resulted in an injector holder that is fastened onto the body during injection.