Research in the Use of Product Semantics to Communicate Product Design Information

In the past twenty years, following the transformation of industrial technology and structure, needs created by modern life, issues regarding environment protection, and simply new ways of thinking have revolutionized the core value of product design. There is more to be considered than just the convenience that a product can bring. Consumers nowadays also want to learn how to use a new product in the most efficient way, and many industrial designers see that as one of their goals. The use of Product Semantics in product design is a proper means to communicate the information that consumers need in order to improve their overall experience using the product. Recent research focuses on the application of product design semantics, in order to discover how designers convey messages through the use of semantics, i.e. styles, colors, functions and textures, etc. It seeks to determine how the best way for the designer to communicate all that information to the consumer. A designer want the user to be able to operate his product under "zero obstacle" conditions, to understand the message the product carries, and to enhance the consumer’s pleasure and comfort during its operation. From the perspective of industrial design, there are two summarized main points:

1. Product design is now defined as a system to communicate product information based mainly on product use circumstances.

2. The message that a product carries has become the most important factor throughout the design process.

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Technological Product Design, Lingtung University, No.1, Lingtung Road, Taichung, Taiwan

   Chung-Hung Lin

Editors and Affiliations

1. Center of ICT and Distance Education, The Open University of Japan, 2-11 Wakaba, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi, 261-8586, Chiba, Japan

   Masaaki Kurosu

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