Browsing by Subject "käyttäjälähtöinen tuotesuunnittelu"

The purpose of this user-centred design-based research was to design trousers individually for a young woman who has special needs for trouser's functional considerations due to a spinal cord injury. In addition to the functionality of the product, the trousers also had to respond to the user needs for her expressive and aesthetic preferences. Earlier studies show that there are not enough fitting, functional and at the same time aesthetically pleasing clothes for physically disabled people. The framework for user needs was based on the FEA consumer needs model developed by Lamb and Kallal (1992), which focuses all functional, expressive and aesthetic considerations to recognize consumer needs and wishes for apparel design. From the user data collection, qualitative content analysis gathered the essential issues and themes to identify the user profile, the context of a use-situation and the needs of the user for the design of the trousers. The gathered material showed the user's need for two different types of trousers: classic and timeless jeans and sporty trousers for casual use. Based on the results and interpretations of the design analysis, the trousers were developed in three different versions: the first jeans, the further developed jeans and the sporty trousers for casual use. The user evaluated the usability of three trousers by Nielsen's (1993) five-point grading scale in each stage of the development process. The comparative starting point for the evaluation was user's everyday trousers used before her disability. According to the evaluation, development on the trousers occurred, when the further jeans and the sporty trousers for casual use corresponded to all the functional, expressive and aesthetic needs of the user. This research provides concrete practical implementation solutions for the functional considerations of an individually designed trousers, but also provides a perspective on the aesthetic and expressive aspects of apparel design. The results of the study confirm Lamb's and Kallal's (1992) view that the functionality, expressiveness and aesthetics of the apparel are not mutually exclusive, as the individually designed adaptive apparel can also be of one's own style.