**1. Introduction**

120 Industrial Design – New Frontiers

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York: McGraw-Hill.

volume 5, pages pending.

McGraw-Hill.

Product Design is the solving of a design problem from the assignment to the final product design. Many design methods may lead to a product design but also the design process which include embodiment design. The most time absorbing part of the design process is, in general, embodiment design: going from idea to realisation. In figure 1 a design process is drawn up, including embodiment design.

Product design is not business as usual, according to Kyffin (2007) of Philips Design. This statement has a presupposition that every product design needs an original approach of the design process to solve the design problem. Design needs to change, to enrich our cultures, to respond to the new world and new world economies, to create lifestyles, to develop quality life and explore innovative technologies in relevant new products.

First the answer should be given on the question "What is embodiment design?" Embodiment Design will be understood as the design phase where ideas get just some matter added and consequently a product structure, a product layout and a working principle. But the physical aspects should be meeting the requirement concerning the use, interaction and the ergonomics: the emotional aspects. During the design process the amount of uncertainty decreases and the amount of certainty increases. Every step in the design process is generating design information which reduces the uncertainty. The tools used in this design phase are countless.

Problems are enclosed in the assignment; at different levels and stages of design. Recognized problems can be transformed by the designer to a solution at certain levels and different stages of the product design process.

Every time a designer makes a choice, he also has to look at the method that will lead to the most ideal product design solution.

The goal of the product design is creating a product that fulfills its functions, looks beautiful, can be produced economically and is sustainable. The new perspective will be reached by the designer with methods that may bring embodiment design to the conceptual stage.

The key aim is to understand the alteration that is needed to move Embodiment Design to the conceptual phase. This is the new perspective for Embodiment Design which be researched in the near future.

Product Design with Embodiment Design as a New Perspective 123

A designer has knowledge of technology and the design process. But the designer wants to develop himself by means of experience. Projects are excellent for the knowledge development and practice experience. Learning is inherent to the development of

Embodiment design should be educated in such a way that students realise this already in the early stages of the design process as far as the impact of the decisions is concerning on the embodiment design possibilities. During early stages could be taken decisions about solutions. These could be physical and emotional aspects such as: material, working principle, etc. which implicit determine embodiment design aspects. If the student is not

An engineering database has been developed to collect quantitative and qualitative information about products which stimulate the knowledge of products and experience with products at students during designing including the embodiment design phase. The stimuli come from incentive that is fed by the engineering database just during embodiment design. The three main goals of the engineering database are within the context of

The embodiment design education takes place during the whole bachelor and master program of industrial design engineering. It is not an explicit course but integrated in many

Product design concerns the solving of design problems from the assignment to the final product. It covers the whole design process. In the literature you find many design method, but every method has the same goals; a product design that works and solves the design problem. The design method to use depends on the design problem, the designer's knowledge and experience and the needs of the user. The main issues in the design process and embodiment design are creativity, innovation, performance fulfillment and high design efficiency. The design efficiency is an expression of assembly time and number of parts which is an index number how efficient the product design is done and how much design

Embodiment design is a part of the whole design process, but in this phase of the process, the product concept gets concrete form and material, which includes certain manufacturing processes. But sometimes you want to focus on the main design aspects for instance implementation of a new material in a complete new business area. This means that embodiment has to take place already in the conceptual phase of the design process. The real problem is "how do you move embodiment design to the conceptual phase?" in an efficient way. This question should be answered in an ultimate manner, which gets gestalt in a new definition about embodiment design. Embodiment design can move to the conceptual phase by focusing on design with X, one of methods within embodiment design. The focus on the innovative product solution within embodiment design will make it easier to answer

The idea of "the first time right" is also giving a new perspective to the whole design process and to embodiment design. Of course this includes the embodiment phase in the

aware of this then he limits the possibilities of embodiment design unintentional.

3. the retrieved information should inspire the industrial designer

design courses in the bachelor and master program.

space is left for optimisation of the product design.

knowledge and experience.

embodiment design education: 1. storing of design information 2. quick retrieval of information

**2. Problem definition** 

the question.

Fig. 1. The product design model, with the embodiment design model enclosed.

A product is assembled from components, sub-assemblies and parts into a working whole. The product has a structure with different levels. The product aspects can have constraints for certain parts that exclude parts form the product layout, for instance heating components in the area of plastic parts.

For a matter of fact all the product designs could be designed with the design aspects which may contain a number of embodiment design elements such as: design with X, engineering database, the designer needs, product structure, product layout, creativity, designer role, education, culture.

A designer has knowledge of technology and the design process. But the designer wants to develop himself by means of experience. Projects are excellent for the knowledge development and practice experience. Learning is inherent to the development of knowledge and experience.

Embodiment design should be educated in such a way that students realise this already in the early stages of the design process as far as the impact of the decisions is concerning on the embodiment design possibilities. During early stages could be taken decisions about solutions. These could be physical and emotional aspects such as: material, working principle, etc. which implicit determine embodiment design aspects. If the student is not aware of this then he limits the possibilities of embodiment design unintentional.

An engineering database has been developed to collect quantitative and qualitative information about products which stimulate the knowledge of products and experience with products at students during designing including the embodiment design phase. The stimuli come from incentive that is fed by the engineering database just during embodiment design. The three main goals of the engineering database are within the context of embodiment design education:


The embodiment design education takes place during the whole bachelor and master program of industrial design engineering. It is not an explicit course but integrated in many design courses in the bachelor and master program.
