C13 Use of ergonomic and anthropometric data
Throughout my degree we never needed to cover this type of data within our projects. At school when I studied Design and Technology for GCSE, I do remember having to consider ergonomics with every design that I put forward however I do not recall exploring anthropometric data. For this reason I have marked this area of the audit as a '1' meaning basic knowledge or none at all. Although, I feel as if I may understand the basis of what this area may involve but I would like to know more about how and why it is used in Design and Technology.
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My initial understanding of the term 'USE OF ERGONOMIC AND ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA'
Having a little bit of knowledge from studying Design and Technology at secondary school I know that ergonomics means the way a product is designed for the user or with them in mind, whether it is down to the choice of material or even the shape and functionality of an item. So perhaps ergonomic data would display the common ergonomics in various products? So you would look at this research to determine how you product may turn out? In regards to anthropometric data, well I am assuming this refers to human data for example measurements, weight and so forth. Anthropology is the study of humans so one would expect that this would translate to the same idea in Design and Technology.
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Having a little bit of knowledge from studying Design and Technology at secondary school I know that ergonomics means the way a product is designed for the user or with them in mind, whether it is down to the choice of material or even the shape and functionality of an item. So perhaps ergonomic data would display the common ergonomics in various products? So you would look at this research to determine how you product may turn out? In regards to anthropometric data, well I am assuming this refers to human data for example measurements, weight and so forth. Anthropology is the study of humans so one would expect that this would translate to the same idea in Design and Technology.
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What I have learnt and what I understand now
I now have started to look into this area of the audit and have realised how important it is within Design and Technology.
First of all I now know what Ergonomic and Anthropometric Data means:
Ergonomic Data - This is the study of the efficiency of people in relation to their working environment. Designers will study how people interact with products and use this information to fabricate and design better products. The purpose is to improve performance in many different may was through design.
I now have started to look into this area of the audit and have realised how important it is within Design and Technology.
First of all I now know what Ergonomic and Anthropometric Data means:
Ergonomic Data - This is the study of the efficiency of people in relation to their working environment. Designers will study how people interact with products and use this information to fabricate and design better products. The purpose is to improve performance in many different may was through design.
Examples of Ergonomic design
I have decided to complete a few exercises in order to help me understand ergonomic design. This is going to contribute to my overall development in this area and therefore I felt that it was a good idea to document this task as a source of evidence.
This is a picture of a Volvic Bottle that I have photographed. I have tried to identify the ergonomic factors that the designers have used to create this product. First of all, around the bottle there are ridges or circle indents. These help a user to grip and hold the bottle when they are drinking or picking the item up.
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This is a picture of a Volvic Bottle that I have photographed. I have tried to identify the ergonomic factors that the designers have used to create this product. First of all, around the bottle there are ridges or circle indents. These help a user to grip and hold the bottle when they are drinking or picking the item up.
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The bottle top or lid has been designed with tiny lines or bumps around the edges so that it can help a user open the bottle when they want to drink or fill it up. It helps with grip which is particularly good for older people or users that suffer from arthritis.
The transparent plastic material to create the bottle also makes it visually pleasing to the users, and it also makes the product look more appealing and pure.
Finally, the hole at the top of the bottle where you drink from is just the right size for water to come out so that a user can drink and fit their mouth around it.
This is another yet factor that contributes to this bottle being ergonomically designed and fabricated with many users in mind.
This is another yet factor that contributes to this bottle being ergonomically designed and fabricated with many users in mind.
Below is another example of ergonomic design that I have looked into. This is a song PSP games controller.
Anthropometric Data - This is the study of the development of humans. It is a comparative study of the sizes and proportions of the human body. I have learnt that designers use tables of measurements of the human body to help them to design effective.
So I have now learnt the basis of what ergonomic and anthropometric data is but I want to find out more about the importance of it and why designers use it. I have started to read a bit further into this on the internet and in books and through my research I have discovered and gain more of an understanding of the importance of this area of Design and Technology.
Ultimately through my research so far, I have been able to identify that if you effectively conduct this kind of research and look into this data, during your early design stages then it can make improve your products, looks, functionality, appeal and a range of other factors. I now know and understand that this also can shape and change your concepts and gives you as a designer everything you need to know before starting to make the preliminary design sketches, it can resolve conflict between the design factors and reduce the problem to manageable proportions. If you have a product that displays good ergonomics and has consider anthropometric then your users are going to be happier which in turn symbolises a successful product and a good design.
An important element that I have realised during this exploration is that your user is such a crucial part of your work and every product you generate. During this course I think it is easy to become caught up within your own designs and of course you are going to be subjective to them because they are like your baby. However, we must as designers always consider our users, regardless of whether or not this is going to be a one off product. The purpose of this is to prepare students if they decide to become future designers then they need to understand that users are behind every item and product in the market.
Finally, I have learnt that you can also create questionnaires in order to help develop your designs. This is a good way to find out out what people want from a product. What is vital first though is to determine your target audience first because if you conduct the questionnaires and give them to the wrong people then you will get misleading results.
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Ultimately through my research so far, I have been able to identify that if you effectively conduct this kind of research and look into this data, during your early design stages then it can make improve your products, looks, functionality, appeal and a range of other factors. I now know and understand that this also can shape and change your concepts and gives you as a designer everything you need to know before starting to make the preliminary design sketches, it can resolve conflict between the design factors and reduce the problem to manageable proportions. If you have a product that displays good ergonomics and has consider anthropometric then your users are going to be happier which in turn symbolises a successful product and a good design.
An important element that I have realised during this exploration is that your user is such a crucial part of your work and every product you generate. During this course I think it is easy to become caught up within your own designs and of course you are going to be subjective to them because they are like your baby. However, we must as designers always consider our users, regardless of whether or not this is going to be a one off product. The purpose of this is to prepare students if they decide to become future designers then they need to understand that users are behind every item and product in the market.
Finally, I have learnt that you can also create questionnaires in order to help develop your designs. This is a good way to find out out what people want from a product. What is vital first though is to determine your target audience first because if you conduct the questionnaires and give them to the wrong people then you will get misleading results.
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Anaylsis of new knowledge and the next step
Initially, I marked this section of the audit as a '1' meaning very little knowledge or none at all. Without a doubt, I have moved forward in this area and have learnt a great deal already and hopefully I have been able to document this development.
During this time I have found that I was most successful as a learner when I looked at products and analysed them ( the Volvic water bottle and the PSP controller). I think it helped me to understand not only the importance of this type of research and data but also helped me to apprehend how it relates to Design and Technology when designing products with users in mind. Completing practical tasks and experimenting as a learner with unknown areas is something that definitely in most cases helps me to gain a deeper understanding so I feel this is something that I shall continue to do within the course and when approaching areas of the audit.
Generally speaking I would say that looking back at my own design projects so far on the course I have realised that I did not really consider ergonomics and anthropometric data as much as I could have and as a result this can be seen within my work as a floor. For the design and make module although it was a one off product for myself, I still could have considered things like measurements and compared other dimension of storage cabinets. In regards to my electronics product, it would have been useful to conduct some questionnaire on my initial ideas as this would have helped me to improve and understand more about what people generally like.
The next step from here is to certainly include this type of research within my next projects in the next semester, I have learnt so much so far about the relevance of this when designing any product and it is important to consider this for future reference not to just to create better designers but also to show that I understand that this is a vital part of any design process. In addition, I think that it would be useful to have a look at other examples where Ergonomics and Anthropometric data has been used or at least consider, for instance in our class rooms or in the library. I think that this would be another way to help me understand these terms but also it is good to think about other examples such as an environment and not just to focus on products themselves.
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Initially, I marked this section of the audit as a '1' meaning very little knowledge or none at all. Without a doubt, I have moved forward in this area and have learnt a great deal already and hopefully I have been able to document this development.
During this time I have found that I was most successful as a learner when I looked at products and analysed them ( the Volvic water bottle and the PSP controller). I think it helped me to understand not only the importance of this type of research and data but also helped me to apprehend how it relates to Design and Technology when designing products with users in mind. Completing practical tasks and experimenting as a learner with unknown areas is something that definitely in most cases helps me to gain a deeper understanding so I feel this is something that I shall continue to do within the course and when approaching areas of the audit.
Generally speaking I would say that looking back at my own design projects so far on the course I have realised that I did not really consider ergonomics and anthropometric data as much as I could have and as a result this can be seen within my work as a floor. For the design and make module although it was a one off product for myself, I still could have considered things like measurements and compared other dimension of storage cabinets. In regards to my electronics product, it would have been useful to conduct some questionnaire on my initial ideas as this would have helped me to improve and understand more about what people generally like.
The next step from here is to certainly include this type of research within my next projects in the next semester, I have learnt so much so far about the relevance of this when designing any product and it is important to consider this for future reference not to just to create better designers but also to show that I understand that this is a vital part of any design process. In addition, I think that it would be useful to have a look at other examples where Ergonomics and Anthropometric data has been used or at least consider, for instance in our class rooms or in the library. I think that this would be another way to help me understand these terms but also it is good to think about other examples such as an environment and not just to focus on products themselves.
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Further Development in this area
For my Design Innovation project I am designing a chair for the Church of England and for this reason I have begun to look at Anthropometric data in order to design my chair with my users in mind.
Below are some scanned pages of data that I used during my research. I considered weight, shoulder to underside of elbow, sitting down height and standing as well (the chair might be stacked).
Click on the pictures to see larger images.
For my Design Innovation project I am designing a chair for the Church of England and for this reason I have begun to look at Anthropometric data in order to design my chair with my users in mind.
Below are some scanned pages of data that I used during my research. I considered weight, shoulder to underside of elbow, sitting down height and standing as well (the chair might be stacked).
Click on the pictures to see larger images.
Once I had completed the research I knew that it was something that I can refer back to at a later date. Most importantly I realised that it was vital to consider when designing these chairs that although these are the average measurements there are other users outside of this area that the product could potentially ignore. A good designer will have the ability to find the right balance and not necessarily be fixed on these averages but in fact find that middle ground, this can insure that you are considering the audiences outside of the averages.
During this project I also looked at things like the average ages of the congregation as this would have helped me think about the importance of comfort, I also looked at the average sizes of chairs to use as a guideline. The following links to my online portfolio can be seen below.
During this project I also looked at things like the average ages of the congregation as this would have helped me think about the importance of comfort, I also looked at the average sizes of chairs to use as a guideline. The following links to my online portfolio can be seen below.
- http://benjenkinsdesigninnovation.weebly.com/average-age-of-congregation.html (ages)
- http://benjenkinsdesigninnovation.weebly.com/average-sizes-of-chairs.html (Chair sizes)
The University of Brighton's Study area
I have decided to look at an environment that has been designed with the users in mind. The reason for me completing this brief analysis was because it helped me to understand when of Ergonomics and Anthropometric factors have been used.
This is a picture I have taken of the quiet study area at Brighton University's St Peters house library. It has displays good ergonomics which help me as a learner learn as a result I am a safe, healthy, happy student who makes less mistakes ! It is ergonomic because:
- The tables have been separated from one another giving space to work
- There is natural light coming through three windows
- The light good from the lights as well so you are not straining
- The air is clean because of good ventilation
- The room is clean with no rubbish anywhere and a bin nearby for any rubbish
- The temperature is good and there are functional windows and radiators
- The walls are a neutral colour and light which creates a nice environment to work in
- The walls are also quite bare so they do not pose distractions ie pictures/paintings.
- The chairs are safe, comfortable and sturdy
- The desks have a barrier which helps to separate the table