hcdi seminar: fashion and technology evolution and the design of consumer products
DESCRIPTION
The world of design is becoming increasingly aware of the dynamic nature of the context in which products are created and consumed. Designers must ensure that the products they develop will be relevant to consumers at the time of release and for the duration of the product’s shelf life. Design researchers must ensure that their theory accounts for this rapidly changing environment and its impact on the design of products. This is particularly key for modern consumer products that compete on both aesthetic and technical qualities and are undergoing constant change. Drawing on the extensive sociological, economic and organisational theories of technology evolution, and the theories of fashion that provide a rich, multi-disciplinary perspectives on the creation and consumption of aesthetic artefacts, this study explores how product categories evolve. It finds that there are several core concepts that are common to the evolution of different product categories. These findings are illustrated through a case study of the evolution of the mobile phone. They aim to promote discussion and further exploration of a complex and under-explored area of design.TRANSCRIPT
Fashion and technology evolution and the design of consumer productsAndrew Muir Wood
Monday 12th September 2011
Fashion
Sproles, G. B., & Burns, L. D. (1994). Changing Appearances. New York: Fairchild Publications.
Berlyne, D. E. (1960). Conflict, Arousal and Curiosity. New York: McGraw-Hill.Coates, D. (2003). Watches Tell More Than Time. New York: McGraw-Hill.
How wife?
Wife good.
Lloyd Jones, P. (1991). Taste Today. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Crane, D. (1999). Diffusion Models and Fashion: A Reassessment. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 566(1), 13-24.
Blumer, H. (1969). Fashion: From Class Differentiation to Collective Selection. The Sociological Quarterly, 10(3), 275-291.
Technology
Moore, G. E. (1965). Cramming more components onto integrated circuits. Electronics, 38(8).
Ansoff, H. I. (1984). Implanting Strategic Management. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall International.Andriopoulos, C., & Gotsi, M. (2006). Probing the future: Mobilising foresight in multiple-product innovation firms. Futures, 38(1), 50-66.
Dosi, G., & Nelson, R. (1994). An introduction to evolutionary theories in economics. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 4(3), 153-172.Christensen, C. M. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Schumpeter
Haddon, L. (2003). Domestication and mobile telephony. In J. E. Katz (Ed.),Machines that Become Us (pp. 43-55). New Jersey: Transaction.Pantzar, M. (1997). Domestication of Everyday Life Technology: Dynamic Views on the SocialHistories of Artifacts. Design Issues, 13(3), 52-65.
The artefact lens
1930s 2000s
Simon-Miller, F. (1985). Commentary: Signs and Cycles in the Fashion System. In M. R. Solomon (Ed.), The Psychology of Fashion. New York: Institute of Retail Management.
2000 2001 2002
2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008
My study
FASHION THEORY
TECHNOLOGY THEORY
AREA OF INTEREST
Incompleteunderstanding ofa problem orphenomenon
Theoreticalfoundation
Broad casestudies
Deep casestudy
Improved understanding
Feedback to original problem
1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940
0
20
40
60
80
100
Ratios of skirtwidth to height of
women’s �gures
Kroeber, A. L. (1919). On the principle of Order in Civilization as Exemplied by Changes of Fashion. American Anthropologist, 21(3), 235-263.
1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of menwearing beards
Ratios of skirtwidth to height of
women’s �gures
Robinson, D. E. (1975). Style changes: cyclical, inexorable, and foreseeable. Harvard Business Review, 53(6), 121-131.
Mobile phone heights
Clustered by form factor
0%
25%
50%
75%
100%
1996 2000 2004 2008
Black Charcoal Blue Other Grey Silver
Mobile phone colours
Roy, R. (1994). The evolution of ecodesign. Technovation, 14(6), 363-380.
2000 2001 2002
2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008
Overlays
2000 2001 2002
2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008
CHAN
GE
TIME
PRODUCTS
Functionaltype
Physicalcomponents
P1 P2
Changedimensions
P3
CHAN
GE
TIME
COMMERCIAL CONTEXT
EXTERNAL CONTEXT
PRODUCTS
Functionaltype
Physicalcomponents
P1 P2
Changedimensions
P3
GRADUAL CHANGE
Productcontinuity
Productparadigms
P4 P5Dominantproduct design
P6
Creativestrategy
Marketresponse
P13 P14
RADICAL CHANGE
Discontinuouschange
Radical productinnovation
P7 P8Disruptiveproduct
P9
Influentialartefacts
Productgatekeepers
P10 P11Socioculturalchange
P12
Changeboundaries
P17
Phases ofchange
P15
Transitions
P16
Productlongevity
P18
It’s all about the timing.
Discussion
– Can we predict the future, or must we invent it?
– Will the mobile industry be disrupted?
– Can you teach trend research/foresight?
