Creating a Design Tool: Designing for the End-of-Use Consumer Experience in a Circular Economy

A design tool that enables designers to understand the current consumer experiences and design new experiences for the end-of-use of circular products

Master thesis (2018)

Authors

H. Timmerman Industrial Design Engineering

Contributors

C.A. Bakker (mentor)
F.A. Poppelaars (mentor)
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering
Copyright: © 2018 Hanna Timmerman
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Published Date

17-12-2018

Language

English

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Abstract

This report provides an analysis of the consumer experience at the end-of-use phase of a product. The study in this report focussed on the consumer-product relationship: how this plays a role in the process of product detachment, and what this means for products at the end-of-use, with a specific attention for products in a circular economy.
This end-of-use phase has been analysed with the goal of creating a design tool that enables industrial design students to design for the end-of-use consumer experience.

A theoretical framework of detachment is developed that shows the process of consumers when wanting to detach themselves from their possession. This framework is based on the works of Roster (2001) and Türe (2014). The detachment process consists of two parts: (1) dispossession, which is the mental process of distancing yourself from the product, and (2) separation, which is the physical act of removing the product from your life.
During the dispossession process, the consumer evaluates the product on what it is still worth to him and shows a dispossession behaviour to enable himself for physical separation.

To be able to design for the end-of-use experience, designers need to comprehend the detachment process, the consequences of the dispossession behaviours and need to be able to apply this knowledge into designing an end-of-use experience.

The developed design tool enables design students to analyse the detachment process with the use of consumer-product lifecycle, and recognize where opportunities lie for an end-of-use experience by reflecting on the lifecycle and defining a design goal, concluding the analysis. The tool will be used in a workshop context, where the students are introduced to the concept of detachment and the consumer experiences at the end-of-use. They are supported to find opportunities for which they could design a new end-of-use experience that stimulates their consumer to keep their product in the circular loop.