How do you include users in industrial design ideation and prototyping?

Go become a user whenever possible. Or become an observer and video the user experience with existing solutions and later with prototypes. Mapping this data is crucial to understanding the problem you are trying to solve.

User research can be done by documenting the way users use the existing solutions or use different existing products for a single problem. It can also include how different users use certain 'hacks' to get around a problem. Documenting these and analysing them can give valuable insights into ideation part of the industrial design process.

The use of the word ‘user’ can be a little misleading. It can lead people to think of a single stakeholder - in most systems there are a wide range of stakeholders. It’s important to consider each of these. As such, it might be prudent to consider changing ‘user’ with ‘stakeholders’

User research is the compass guiding every stage of industrial design, from ideation to prototyping. User research fosters empathy, resulting in products that align seamlessly with user expectations. User research is not just a phase; it's a continuous thread woven into every aspect of design, ensuring a holistic and user-centric approach. By including users in the ideation phase, their insights shape concepts, ensuring designs resonate with real-world needs. Regular interaction with users ensures a dynamic feedback loop, leading to refined ideation and prototypes. Prototypes are tested iteratively with users, validating design decisions and identifying areas for enhancement.

User research is key in developing empathy with potential users. It is through empathy that more effective solutions are possible which meet users’ needs.

Including users in the ideation process can give their perspective of facing a problem and addressing it from their own viewpoint. As a designer, it's important to remember that we are not designing something for ourselves, but rather for a stranger who has completely different life experiences from ours. It's important to not let the "designer's personal influence" get into the user research and ideation stages.

Not all the users, not all the products and not always. Observation, it′s important...to resume it′s much relevant to keep marketing people away from the ideation sessions. Dieter Rams said something about Braun and Gillette...

Los usuarios potenciales y los no potenciales son de gran ayuda para "destruir creativamente" el producto o servicio a probar. Como dise?adores industriales, somos traductores de lo que el usuario dice, hace y deja de hacer, así como lo que siente y piensa. El usuario ideal no necesariamente reconoce que existe una necesidad, muchas veces debemos de anticiparnos y crear nuevas necesidades que el mismo usuario no sabe que lo necesita. Pero otras es muy clara la necesidad y es ahi donde el usuario deberá de validar, evaluarlo, destruirla y volver a construirlo junto con el usuario.

*Users bring diverse perspectives, ensuring that ideation aligns with real-world needs, preferences, and challenges. *Users input during ideation serves as an early validation, minimizing the risk of developing products that may not meet user expectations. *Users involvement in prototyping allows for iterative testing, refining designs based on direct feedback, leading to a more user-friendly and effective end product. By involving users from the start, designs resonate more authentically with the intended audience, fostering a sense of ownership and relevance. Incorporating users in ideation is a manifestation of a human-centered design philosophy, resulting in solutions that truly address user needs and preferences.

Pour moi, c'est essentiel que l'utilisateurice soit partie prenant du processus d'idéation pour les raisons suivantes : - Fédérer un groupe de personnes autour d'un sujet. - Répondre aux réelles attentes des utilisateurices et éviter les biais cognitifs. - Générer des idées plus créatives et éviter les idées trop attendues.

It’s also critical to consider other stakeholders - the people who help manufacture the product (or launch the service), those that keep it running, those that fix it when it breaks down. There is almost always a legacy product or service when we design anything. There is often a huge amount that can be learned by observing how that works from the perspective of a wide range of stakeholders.

Conduct co-creation workshops where designers and users collaborate, fostering an open exchange of ideas and insights. Engage users in hands-on prototyping workshops, allowing them to contribute to tangible design solutions. Include users in rigorous testing phases to ensure prototypes align with their expectations, leading to improvements and final adjustments. By involving users throughout, they gain a sense of shared ownership, resulting in products that resonate authentically with their needs and preferences. Implement iterative feedback loops, refining prototypes based on continuous user input for optimal usability.

While we can predict how people with different capabilities (at a sensory, cognitive, and physical level) will interact with our products and services, there is no substitute for involving a diverse range of people in the design process. That way, we design for the widest range of people possible - and create more usable products for all

*User feedback aids in efficient problem-solving, addressing concerns before mass production. *Users offer invaluable insights during the prototyping phase, helping identify usability issues, preferences, and ergonomic considerations. *User involvement ensures that design concepts are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and user-friendly. *User input ensures that the final product aligns with their expectations, leading to an enhanced user experience. *User perspectives ensures a holistic and user-centric approach to industrial design, elevating the overall quality of the final product. ->Products developed with user involvement are more likely to be embraced by the market, contributing to commercial success.

Tout dépend ce que l'on entend par "prototypage"? L'utilisateur a tout à fait sa place dans la génération d'idées en volume. Qu'il s'agisse de maquettes, de concepts volumiques, de prototypes "Quick and Dirty". Le prototype est un moyen de représenter des idées fonctionnelles et réalistes en trois dimensions. Le volume est un moyen formidable pour appréhender des concepts par les sens. De toucher, de tester, de casser lors d'un crash test. Ainsi, l'utilisateur peut rapidement se rendre compte lui-même ou avec ses pairs de ce qui fonctionne ou de ce qui fonctionne moins et de revenir en arrière dans le processus de conception. C'est ce que l'on appelle un processus itératif.

Algunas de las herramientas recomendadas y que cada vez son mas accesibles: - La realidad aumentada, donde a través de la generación virtual de escenarios 3D y el uso de gafas VR puedas re-crear un ambiente lo más parecido a lo que viviría un usuario con nuevo producto o servicio, en este caso podrás navegar, configurar en tiempo real los cambios que el usuario vaya expresando. - La impresión 3D, es útil en los modelos en escala 1:1 donde permitirás al usuario tocar, usar y manipular el producto. El testeo con usuarios genera información relevante sobre todo cuando son dise?ados tipo "workshops guiados e interactivos", documentando las conversaciones y los comportamientos.

It’s critical to ensure that the right ethical considerations, checks and balances are in place whenever working with study participants.

*Involve users from the project's inception to understand their initial preferences and expectations *Foster a collaborative feedback loop, to provide input at multiple stages of the prototyping process *Ensure a diverse user group, representing different demographics and needs, to capture a comprehensive range of perspectives. *Conduct usability tests to evaluate the functionality and ease of use, addressing potential issues before the final product *Use visual aids such as 3D models and interactive prototypes to facilitate better user understanding and feedback *Clearly communicate the purpose of the prototype, guiding users on how to provide constructive feedback *Develop empathy by observing how users interact with prototypes

During Brainstorming session in Ideation phase atleast a super user must included and During Soft low fidelity prototyping multiple users can collaborate from different fields. In both the cases multiple variety of users can provide multi dimensional inputs which ultimately improve the quality of the product.

Eu aplico o Design Centrado no Usuário, processo de design que tem foco no usuário e na solu??o de suas necessidades. Neste processo eu busco entender as necessidades do usuário para gerar formatos inteligentes para a solu??o um problema.

En una etapa de investigación relacionadas al dise?o, una de las claves es determinar indicadores que se puedan medir tanto cualitativamente como cuantitativamente, asi como determinar el numero de representatividad para que los resultados tengan validez. Asi como utilizar diversas herramientas y métodos para obtener información que pueda cruzarse y no sesgar los posibles resultados.