The influence of a modular design and facilitating cues on consumers’ likeliness to repair electronic products

Modularity represents a promising design strategy for product lifetime extension. Yet, the fact that products are physically designed to be repaired via such a modular design, does not mean consumers will act accordingly. Past research demonstrated promising results with current modular smartphone users. However, these users may not necessarily...

Enhancing consumers’ willingness to repair electronic products: How design can nudge sustainable behaviour

Product repair can decrease the ecological burden of consumer electronics<br/>by lengthening their lifetimes, but it is still too rarely practised by consumers. Design for behaviour change can motivate consumers to undertake repair activities. An increased level of repair self-efficacy can nudge consumers towards repair. In two experiments, we...

"Is this alive?": Towards a vocabulary for understanding and communicating living material experiences

Living materials are a nascent material class where living organisms are embedded and kept alive in the design outcome to achieve novel functionalities, expressions, and interactions. Experiential characterisation studies with potential endusers will provide insights for developing these novel materials for meaningful material<br/>applications....

Can refurbished products feel like antiques?: The role of the neoretro design style on consumers' evaluation of refurbished products

This research explores a new pathway to improve consumer acceptance of refurbished products that is inspired by the positive evocations of other used products, such as antique products. Currently, the<br/>prior use and age of refurbished products make them a less desirable option because they are perceived to be of lower quality, to have a...

How to Stimulate People to Take Care of Products? – The Development of a Toolkit for Designers

Taking care of products is an important aspect of sustainable consumer behaviour, because it is an appropriate approach to prolong products' lifetimes. Although consumers in general agree on this and demonstrate a general motivation to take care of their products, previous research has shown that they struggle to repair, maintain or treat their...

Using proximity in sustainable product design

This research examines proximity as a new interesting strategy to include in the design of more sustainable products. Drawing from the construal level theory, we posit that the environmental sustainability of a product embedding a form of proximity to an environmental solution in its design will be perceived as more concrete and will trigger...

Using symbolic meaning as a means to design for happiness: The development of a card set for designers

Using design to improve the lives of people towards a positive flourishing state is the main premise of Positive Design. Our contribution to this growing field focuses on making use of the symbolic meaning that design can have to bolster<br/>human happiness. This paper presents the development of a card set for designers aiming to inspire design...

Symbolic meaning attribution as a means to design for happiness

Material possessions with happiness-related symbolic meanings can provide a contribution to subjective well-being (happiness), because they remind owners of memories, achievements, or aspirations. Such possessions provide an anchor for personally meaningful narratives, help in the construction and communication of self-identity, represent...

Extending product life by introducing symbolic meaning: An exploration of design strategies to support subjective well-being

Because products are often discarded while still fully functioning, it may be possible to support durability with design that stimulates a more enduring product-owner relationship. This paper is based on the proposition that one promising approach to support such prolonged relevance is by developing products with a higher predisposition for the...

Challenges in the design of smart product-service systems (PSSs): Experiences from practitioners

Smart Product-­?Service Systems (Smart PSSs) are market offerings that integrate products and services into one single solution through the implementation of IC technology. Smart PSSs allow organizations to develop relationships with consumers in new ways and have a growing presence in the marketplace. As designers’ involvement in the design of...

Smart energy households' pilot projects in The Netherlands with a design-driven approach

Residential smart grid projects can be evaluated by a design-driven approach, which focuses on gaining insights for successful product and service development by taking the end-users as a starting point. Because only little experience exists with this design-driven approach, this paper addresses how four pilot projects with smart energy...

Characteristics of Smart PSSs: Design Considerations for Value Creation

This article draws the attention of design academics and practitioners to a new type of market offering: Smart Product-Service Systems (Smart PSSs). Smart PSSs integrate smart products and e-services into single solutions, bringing the potential to create innovative interactions between consumers and providers. The article outlines six defining...

Distinctive Characteristics of Smart PSSs

Advances in technology have facilitated the integration of products and e-services into innovative solutions, Smart Product-Service Systems (PSSs). This paper discusses six distinctive characteristics of Smart PSSs that can be influenced by designers, and have an effect on the perceptions of consumers: Consumer empowerment, individualization of...