The study is concerned with the conceptual structure and content of the framework for characterising user-product interaction, proposed under the title – ‘Product Semantics’. The sources for the critique of design, from which the framework is derived, are identified and analysed, and the substantive theoretical and methodological content given initial consideration in terms of the deployment of the central concept of ‘meaning’, and the principal theoretical approaches adopted in the analysis of meaning and semantic concepts generally. The commitment to a cognitive and experiential approach to user-interaction is established and the concepts central to the framework, and requiring more detailed analysis, are identified. The core of the study consists in an analysis of the sequence of concepts and contexts that are chiefly used in the theoretical articulation of the framework, including - function, affordance, categorisation, artefacts, meaning and expression - of which the concept of affordance is central to the structure. On the basis of the initial consideration of the structure and content of the scheme, and in the light of the analysis of concepts, the explanatory structure of the framework is established. It is argued that the core commitment to an experiential and cognitive account, and the form of the explanatory structure, are jointly incompatible with the conceptual content of the framework, particularly in respect of the pivotal role of the concept of affordance. Proposals are advanced for an alternative interpretation which addresses the central issues of consistency and coherence, and which suggests an alternative approach to the conceptual characterisation of the framework and the form of the explanatory hierarchy. The implications of the framework, and the proposed alternative interpretation, are considered in respect of their application in shaping approaches to the development of design theory and methodology, and the experiential aspect of semantics and cognition.

The appearance of the electrical appliances has undergone a dramatic change in many aspects since the 1920&rsquo / s. Throughout years, along with their changed appearance, the way the appliances are perceived has altered. The interface of domestic products is mainly dominated by visual elements. Undoubtedly, the domination of the visual perception in the interfaces of the appliances might cause complications in the interaction between the product and visually impaired users. In this thesis, the interaction between the electrical household appliances and visually impaired user is examined to identify the strong points in the interaction as well as any complications that may occur during the interaction. Observations were conducted with ten users to explore the interaction between the visually impaired users and three electrical domestic appliances: washing machine, vacuum cleaner and iron. The findings of the observations indicate that visually impaired users can operate their appliances, with some limitations. Yet a number of common problematic points related to the interface elements, which hinder from using their electrical appliances with full functionality, were encountered. At the end of the study, a list of design recommendations, some of which offered in the literature previously, are suggested.

In the last decades, the rapid change and prevalent use of technology are concerning, as they induced effects which mainly altered various encompassing contexts like consumer market dynamics and product development processes. Evidently, these transformations also affect the way users interact with products. It is observed that, technological novelties are applied in the competitive market as a tool for product differentiation. In addition, the rapid development of these technologies is a dominating factor on shortening product lifecycles. Resulting from these two factors, implementing latest technologies in new products is interpreted by producers as an absolute way of achieving market success. Consequently, most of the products in everyday life are designed with a primary aim to implement latest technological advances, without appropriate consideration of user requirements and characteristics. The phenomenon has negative consequences on product usability. This study basically examines the usability problems that are related with digital technology impelementations in consumer products. The evaluations are based on the contexts such as: changes in contemporary market conditions with the effects of the recent technological developments, technology-driven approaches in product development processes and the transformative consequences of digital technology applications on user-product interaction. Literature surveys are employed as method. Finally, interaction characteristics of digital products and the contexts in which they are used are evaluated and it is argued that, the usability problems are due to the deficiency in evaluations of user characteristics and requirements during the product development processes, in general terms.

This study argues that including aspects of user experience relevant to the user's knowledge of a product's context-of-use in the early stages of product design can enhance the design of product usability. To explore these issues, research was undertaken to respond to three research questions: (i) What aspects of user experience influence people's understanding of product usability? (ii) What is the nature of the differences between users' and designers' understandings of product usability? (iii) How can context-of-use and human experience enhance the design of product usability? Findings from the study have shown that experience, context-of-use and knowledge about a product's usability are interrelated. Conceptual principles and design principles were established based on findings to explain (i) the relationships between aspects of experience and areas of product usability and (ii) differences between designers' and users' concepts of product usability. These principles responded to the first two research questions. Causal relationships found between experience and product usability suggested the need to implement them in an accessible manner for a product design process. A design tool -- named the Experience and Context Enquiry Design Tool (ECEDT) -- was devised to exemplify the implementation of findings. A trial run verified that the type of information that ECEDT brings to designers could assist them to address usability and experience issues during the early stages of the design process. This result responded to the third research question of the study. This study's conceptual principles and design principles contribute new knowledge to design theory and practice. This knowledge contributes to design theory in providing greater detail about the differences between designers and users than that addressed by existing theory; it contributes to design practice as it informs designers about the aspects of human experience that prompt users' understanding of a product's use. In doing so, it can potentially assist in the design of products that embed new technological applications, and support the design of product usability.

La prise en compte des enjeux environnementaux est un sujet très présent dans notre société actuelle. Dans le domaine du développement de produits, l'Eco-conception est une démarche qui permet la considération de ces enjeux en proposant de réduire les impacts environnementaux des produits tout au long de leur cycle de vie. La phase d'utilisation du cycle de vie est une étape cruciale puisque le mode d'utilisation des produits peut avoir des conséquences non négligeables sur leur performance environnementale. Nous proposons dans cette thèse d'enrichir la compréhension de cette phase d'utilisation en mettant en évidence les composantes Kansei qui jouent un rôle dans l'interaction de l'utilisateur avec le produit et qui peuvent être intégrées en amont de la conception de produits à faible impact environnemental. Notre démarche permet de mieux renseigner la phase d'utilisation, contribuant ainsi à la maitrise de la performance environnementale des produits. Nous démontrons à travers notre recherche que l'utilisateur peut être défini, non seulement par des informations basiques que nous retrouvons communément dans la Conception Centrée Utilisateur, mais également à partir d'informations subjectives apportées par la dimension Kansei. A travers nos expérimentations, nous mettons en application deux attributs EcoKansei correspondants aux valeurs et aux émotions afin d'illustrer la modélisation utilisateur pour la conception de produits à faible impact environnemental. L'approche que nous proposons vient en complément au projet EcoUse qui vise à développer une méthodologie d'Eco-conception centrée utilisateur. Les apports de notre démarche sont multiples. Du point de vue de la recherche, une mise en relation de l'Eco-conception et du Kansei, qui sont à la base complètement déconnectées entraine un enrichissement mutuel entre ces deux approches. Du point de vue industriel, une démarche d'Eco-conception appuyée par les études Kansei doit permettre la conception de nouveaux produits qui auront l'avantage d'être à la fois mieux acceptés par les utilisateurs car en adéquation avec leur sensibilité environnementale et en même temps moins impactants pour l'environnement. / The consideration of environmental issues is a very strong topic in our society nowadays. In the field of Product Development, Ecodesign is a methodology that allows the consideration of these issues by proposing to reduce the environmental impacts of products throughout their life cycle. The use phase of the life cycle is a critical step as the way how the products are managed can have significant impact on their environmental performance. We propose in this thesis to enrich the understanding of the use phase by highlighting the Kansei Information that can play a major role in the interaction between the user and the product and thus can be integrated in the early phase of the Ecodesign process. Our approach provides a better understanding the use phase, by contributing to the mastery of the environmental performance of products. Our research points out that the user can be defined not only from basic information commonly used in the User Centered Design, but also from subjective information brought by the Kansei dimension. We carry out experiments in which we implement two EcoKansei attributes corresponding to the values and emotions in order to illustrate user modeling for Ecodesign. The approach we propose is a part of EcoUse project that aims to develop a methodology for user-centered Ecodesign. Various contributions of our approach can be pointed out. For the Research, linking Ecodesign with the Kansei studies, which are basically unconnected leads to mutual enrichment between these two approaches. For Industry, an Eco-design approach supported by Kansei Information enables the design of new products which will have the benefits of both providing less impacts to the environment, and at the same time being more accepted by users as these products match with their environmental sensitivity.

Technische Raffinesse, ein hohes Maß an Funktionalität und eine sehr gute Gebrauchstauglichkeit werden vom Nutzer zunehmend als gegeben vorausgesetzt. Stattdessen rückt das positive Erleben von Technologie, also eine positive User Experience (UX) stärker in den Fokus. Dabei geht es nicht mehr um das Produkt im eigentlichen Sinne, sondern um die Erlebnisse und Gefühle, die der Nutzer bei der Produktnutzung erfährt (Hassenzahl & Tractinsky 2006). Besondere Bedeutung hat dabei die Interaktion zwischen Nutzer und Produkt und wie diese durch den Menschen wahrgenommen und verarbeitet wird (Saucken 2017). Mit dem Ziel eine angenehme Nutzer-Produkt-Interaktion (NPI) zu schaffen, treten vor allem die verschiedenen Produkteigenschaften und -merkmale in den Fokus. Je nachdem, wie diese ausgeprägt sind, kann das Erlebnis negativ gestört oder positiv beeinflusst werden (Beispiel siehe Abbildung 1). Kopfhörer können sich aufgrund der gewählten Form sowie des verwendeten Materials bspw. weich und bequem anfühlen. Eine weniger ergonomische Gestalt oder der Einsatz rauer Materialien wirken sich hingegen negativ aus, sprich das Tragen der Kopfhörer fühlt sich unangenehm und kratzend an. Entscheidend für ein gutes Nutzungserlebnis wäre in diesem Beispiel insbesondere die Eigenschaft Tragekomfort. Aufgrund der Fülle an Produkteigenschaften ist es nicht immer einfach, diese auf die für die NPI Wesentlichen zu reduzieren. Der vorliegende Beitrag nimmt sich dieser Problematik an und stellt ein Konzept zur Identifikation der für die NPI relevanten Eigenschaften vor. So wird der Produktentwickler für mögliche Störquellen der NPI sensibilisiert und kann diesen entgegenwirken – was letztlich die Grundlage für eine positive UX schafft.