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Ontwerprichtlijnen voor de beleving van gerecycled kunststof

Huits, E. (2015) Ontwerprichtlijnen voor de beleving van gerecycled kunststof.

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Abstract:This bachelor’s assignment has been executed for Saxion, research department Industrial Design. The assignment is part of the research project “Recycling of Polymer Materials”, which is a sequence to the project “Recycling in Ontwerp”. The goal of this assignment is to define several guidelines for designing products that are made of recycled plastics, which can add to the acceptance of these products by influencing the product experience. Numerous aspects that are likely to influence the acceptance of recycled products are examined: the consumer type, the product experience, the product type, the appearance of the material and the information about recycling that comes with the product. An analysis of recycled products that are currently being sold, showed many differences in the appearance of the material: some products look like they are made out of new material, whereas in other products the melting pattern of the plastic granules are clearly visible. Also, the information that accompanies recycled products is very diverse. For some products it is strongly emphasized that the product is made out of recycled materials, while for other products it is not emphasized at all. In order to determine a number of consumer types, the Brand Strategy Research model is used. This is a segmentation model, consisting of four categories, dividing up consumers by the way they think and act. From the project “Recycling in Ontwerp” some conclusions about the preference of consumers linked to these categories, concerning products that are made of recycled materials, are selected. Also, the product experience is taken into account. The product experience depends upon many aspects, like the personality of the user and the shape, colour and texture of the product, but also the context where the interaction with the product takes place, and the physical reactions and the perceptual and cognitive processes that appear. Three types of products have been distinguished: functional products, aesthetic products, and products that are used for preparing food or for personal hygiene. It is expected that the position of consumers, concerning products that are made of recycled materials, is different for each of these product categories. Another aspect that has been examined is the appearance of the material. Sometimes, multiple colours are visible in the material of products that are made of recycled plastics. It may be possible to cover up these colour differences by applying a texture onto the material. If, on the other hand, the consumer accepts these color differences, it may not be necessary include procedures in the production process, that are meant to cover up the color differences. All of the expectations about the aspects above have been tested, by asking a number of potential consumers about their preferences, concerning products that are made of recycled plastics. Out of the results of this experiment, some guidelines for designing products that are made of recycled plastics, have been defined. In contrast to the expectations, no evident differences between the consumer types have become clear. This may be due to the small number of participants in the experiment. In order to examine the differences between the four consumer types, a second experiment should be carried out with a larger number of participants who clearly fit into one of the consumer categories. What did become clear, is the way the participants think about the product types and the appearance of the material. It turned out that most of the participants do not appreciate any textures on the material of products that are used for preparing food. Also, they do not want any colour differences in the material of these products, because they want to see if the product is clean. For functional products, many participants accept that some colour differences are visible in the material of these products. In some cases, the participants think that colour differences can add an aesthetic value to a specific product.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:20 art studies
Programme:Industrial Design BSc (56955)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/67621
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