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Abstract
Industrial Design is a discipline which, despite an early pre-occupation with styling and making technology saleable, is now centrally concerned with user needs. This is reflected in Coventry's unique degree course in the Industrial Design/Transport Department at Lanchester Polytechnic. The course contains a significant commitment to Human Factors and this is evident in the range of design projects which are undertaken either by students or as sponsored research. The emphasis in these projects is on practical designs which meet user requirements.
This paper describes the following typical course projects:
1. The competition winning design for a dinghy which can be used as an emergency life-raft.
2. An adaptation of a standard front-wheel-drive car with a transverse slide seat to allow easy access for a wheel chair user.
3. The design for a bus seat which can be used either as a conventional seat or as a standee ‘lean’ seat.
4. Design of a vehicle for use by spina bifida children.
5. Design for a pedal driven power unit for transport and machine uses in Developing Countries.
6. The design of adult tricycles for the transport of mothers plus children under 5 yr.
It is concluded that greater collaboration between industrial designers and ergonomists would be possible if the latter published their data in a more accessible form, and that designers must place greater emphasis on the product evaluation aspect of their work.