Without shared experiences, empathy gaps between designers and users are difficult to bridge. Advancing Virtual Reality (VR) has shed new light on this regard by enabling designers to simulate and experience their users' living scenarios in a virtual environment (VE). However, implementing VR-based empathetic design approach requires dealing with critical design questions, such as: (1) whether VR operators can develop empathy for unfamiliar user groups solely based on objective experience and (2) whether VR operators can utilize task-irrelevant contextual information in the VEs. To explore these issues, we designed an experiment based on two VEs with varying levels of detail that simulated the scenes viewed by people with red-green color vision deficiency (CVD). Participants were randomly assigned to either detail-rich or detail-simple VEs to complete neutral item-searching tasks. Results indicate that objective and neutral experience alone cannot elicit empathy towards users, and VR operating designers will utilize task-irrelevant contextual information.

In sustainable experience design education, experience activities of consumers and users, design activities of student designers, and education activities of instructors should be addressed. It would be meaningful to compare various sustainable experience design education efforts considering regional and cultural context. This paper describes a framework where experience, design and education activities are systematically represented with diverse contexts also represented in a structured manner. Student design projects in a service design thinking course are illustrated where sustainability is gently introduced.

The advent of immersive and interactive technologies has facilitated the growth of the museum and gallery sector by offering a variety of new experiences. In the UK and China, in particular, the museum and gallery sector lies at the heart of the creative industries and makes a significant contribution to cultural growth. Both countries have recognised the impact of such technologies on the growth of the sector and have actively sought opportunities to use them for bilateral collaboration. However, the interest in immersive and interactive technologies among museum and gallery audiences remains underexplored, as do their preferences and behavioural patterns with respect to such technologies. This study discusses the key findings of user research, exploring the awareness, experiences and preferences of current museum and gallery audiences regarding (i) immersive and interactive museum and gallery experiences and (ii) the cultural exchange between the UK and China.

Data about customer experiences would be critical in smart product-service systems. Research is desired on how to establish a framework for Smart Experience Design based on customer experience data so that determining what kinds of customer data are needed and how these data are acquired effectively can be supported. This paper presents a framework and a method to design customer experience personalization services based on customer experience evaluation data obtained in real time and accumulated together with context data. Two illustrative cases are provided to demonstrate the validity of the framework of smart experience design based on customer experience data.

Sense of agency is the sense that one is causing an action. The increase in machine or system autonomy leads to an increase in the loss of sense of agency for the operation causing the loss of pleasure in the operation or sense of responsibility for the consequences of operations. Designing a sense of agency is necessary, especially in the context of machine autonomy. This calls for the control of the sense of agency, which requires the construction of a model to predict the sense of agency and establishing a design methodology to manipulate the factors of sense of agency. We propose the mathematical model that predicts the sense of agency in a human-machine system based on the comparator model and free-energy principle and what to design to enhance the sense of agency. Proposed model explains the effects of prediction error, prediction uncertainty, and observation uncertainty for body, machine, and environment feedback on the sense of agency. The model generally reveals the interaction effect between prediction error and prediction uncertainty and between prediction error and observation uncertainty. The model prediction can be widely applied as a design guide for enhancing sense of agency of human-machine interfaces.

User Experience is becoming an increasing centre of interest both in the academic and industrial worlds. Design agencies are no strangers to this phenomenon and are willing to shift from product-oriented design toward user experience design. However, their design process is often loose which may explain a lack of final UX quality or proof of quality, and does not allow to diagnose misuses and improvement opportunities due to a lack of UX formulation and traceability. We propose in this paper to retrospectively represent a design project and its specified, designed and validated UX, in the perspective to conduct a posterior collective diagnosis of UX design in a design agency. The proposed representation model is used to analyse one design project. Results show that only a few UX traces are found in the presented project, and that many dimensions are not considered (like perceptions or affects). Finally, we discuss the next steps of this tool's deployment to create a shared mental model of the design process among the design players.

The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought more challenges for designers to fully understand networked objects and develop pleasurable user experiences (UXs). Due to the radical change of products when they are connected, traditional experience design theories may not be applicable in this new context. Based on two well-established UX design theories, this paper presents a survey study that investigated the pleasurability of IoT devices by comparing a representative IoT device (i.e., the smartwatch) and its conventional form (i.e., the wristwatch). An online questionnaire was deployed to gather feedback from parallel wristwatch and smartwatch users. Their experiences using both types of watches were quantitatively and qualitatively compared by data analysis. The results highlighted the differences in UXs between smartwatches and wristwatches in three types of pleasure and five psychological needs. The study revealed design opportunities to improve the pleasurability of smartwatches and provides novel design insights informing the development of pleasurable UXs for future IoT devices.

This work focuses on exploring how to transform the PSS strategy through conceptual design and prototyping to a way in which different stakeholders in the case car company – SAIC Motor – can experience and give feedback on the PSS strategy, analyze the impact of the PSS strategy on the process of customized digital service design in a traditional Chinese car company. Also, the work discusses how to increase the service value for different stakeholders in the overall PSS system.

The capture and analysis of diverse data is widely recognized as being vital to the design of new products and services across the digital economy. We focus on its use to inspire the co-design of visitor experiences in museums as a distinctive case that reveals opportunities and challenges for the use of personal data. We present a portfolio of data-inspired visiting experiences that emerged from a 3-year Research Through Design process. These include the overlay of virtual models on physical exhibits, a smartphone app for creating personalized tours as gifts, visualizations of emotional responses to exhibits, and the data-driven use of ideation cards. We reflect across our portfolio to articulate the diverse ways in which data can inspire design through the use of ambiguity, visualization, and inter-personalization; how data inspire co-design through the process of co-ideation, co-creation, and co-interpretation; and how its use must negotiate the challenges of privacy, ownership, and transparency. By adopting a human perspective on data, we are able to chart out the complex and rich information that can inform design activities and contribute to datasets that can drive creativity support systems.

Digital transformation has become a mega trend topic for many enterprises globally. For some companies, customer interactions have been digitalized. But many companies still rely on physical interactions of customers with their products in the core value creation processes. Thus the key challenges for digital transformation efforts would be associating product-centered value propositions with digitalized services. In other words, the transformation of product-centered values into experience values co-created by customers with services supporting customers. The research goal of this paper is to identify different strategies for digital transformation in product-service systems (PSS) design so that diverse paths for digital transformation can be considered in designing PSSs. Three types for digital transformation strategies have been identified from PSS design cases conducted in a manufacturing servitization support framework project where PSSs have been designed for 15 manufacturing companies including SMEs and large companies with varying levels of digital technology. A classification for digital transformation strategies could be postulated with three primary dimensions and two supplementary dimensions.

The concept of User Experience (UX) dates back to the 1990s, but a shared definition of UX is not available. As design integrates UX, different interpretations thereof can complicate the possibility to build upon previous literature and develop the field autonomously. Indeed, by analysing the literature, UX emerges as a cauldron of related and closely linked concepts. However, it is possible to find recurring attributes that emerge from those definitions, which are ascribable to two foci: the fundamental elements of the interaction (user, system, context) and typologies of experience (ergonomic, cognitive, and emotional). Those are used to build a framework. We have preliminarily investigated how UX is dealt with in design by mapping a sample of UX-related experimental articles published in design journals. We classified UX case studies based on the framework to individuate the UXs that emerge most frequently and the most studied ones in the design field. The two-focus framework allows the mapping of experiments involving UX in design, without highlighting specific favorable combinations. However, comprehensive studies dealing with all elements and UX typologies have not been found.

Understanding the viewpoint of clinicians in a healthcare setting is a vital task to comprehend the success of patients undergoing physical rehabilitation. Addressing user experience is an essential activity which designers undertake when formulating product specifications at the early stages of product design. The involvement of clinicians during the product use-phase influences the progress and achievements attained by the patients throughout their rehabilitation journey. Several clinicians (n=16) were asked to participate in a qualitative study to evaluate the performance of different personae in activities of daily living. The experiences of patients who use rehabilitation products as part of their therapy session at the clinic were evaluated. Based on this evaluation, a set of clinician requirements were formulated to reflect the overall experience when using rehabilitation products. Understanding these requirements brought about several implications to be considered during the design cycle. Through these considerations and by adopting a user-centred design approach, designers are in a better position to design innovative products targeted at providing a high-quality user experience which increases customer satisfaction.

During the cold season, the cold protective products are often short during evacuation life after a natural disaster. If evacuees can make and wear simple cold protective gears by using materials obtainable on site, it will reduce the burden on the evacuees in emergent situation. Therefore, we investigated the structure constructed by folding newsprint paper, which can improve the heat retention effect and be applied to various body shapes. Focusing on the glide reflection structure repeating a smaller chamber, the basic size was determined by experiments with reference to the accordion shape, and the experimental results indicated that the heat retention effect was significantly greater than that of a mere air layer and those of ordinary fabrics. Next, it was found that the apex angle of structure had no significant difference in the heat retention effect. Then, the dimensions of the structure were determined to maintain the air layer under the pressure of the clothes by simulation of structural analyses. Finally, we made a temporary cold protective gear that can practically cover the trunk of the body and found that the heat retention effect was significantly higher than that of unprocessed newsprint and that of accordion shape.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women, accountable for approximately 2.2 million new cases and 684,996 deaths globally in 2020. There are various screening methods to detect cancer early, and experts suggest that women should perform breast self-examination (BSE) once a month. Unfortunately, most women fail to do so even if they are aware of the risks and the importance of screening methods. The aim of this paper is to understand women's current behavior and experience with BSE and mobile BSE apps and to suggest several design dimensions for positive mobile BSE app experience by benefiting from positive technology. With this aim, three selected mobile BSE apps were used by a total of 24 participants for four weeks. A three-phase study was carried out to uncover women’s pre- during-, and post-usage experiences of BSE apps. The analysis revealed six headings under two themes: strategies, limitations, and emotions under BSE theme; and the needs, limitations, and benefits under Mobile Apps theme. Consequently, based on the findings, suggestions for design dimensions for BSE apps to better meet women’s needs by benefiting from levels of positive technology are made.

Coworking spaces – the most prevalent form of collaborative workplaces – are said to offer the ideal solution for a new generation of creative knowledge workers, balancing flexibility and independence with structure and community. Recent studies, however, highlight deficiencies as they relate to the promise of ‘community’ made by most coworking spaces. This work reports 16 barriers that impede the process of human connectivity in coworking spaces that emerged from in-depth interviews with 26 coworkers. Suggestions are made for how these barriers might inform more effective workplace design.

This study explores how two global brands (Starbucks and IKEA) design spatial experiences that are localised for diverse cultural contexts. Through a series of interviews with store designers, design and marketing managers, and brand experts from both companies, we identify two different ways a brand and design team can be organized and how each influences the process of the localisation of spatial experiences. Our findings highlight issues related to a team's structure, the use of different design processes and how these influence the building of strong, locally relevant spatial experiences.

The future focus of research in the automotive sector will be on automation and data-driven technologies. These technologies provide new services and values to customers, owners and other stakeholders in mobility. We propose a wizard-of-oz like method to evaluate future user needs and redesign the current approach of vehicle development. The mobility box provides a modular and extendable framework to merge user centred design with vehicle data acquisition. This enables the design of services and properties for unknown mobility concepts.

The prospect of autonomous vehicles and associated technologies has disrupted traditional modes of vehicle operation and ownership. This requires automotive designers to shift their focus from designing vehicle form to consider the design of transport experiences. As such, there is a need to explore how best to support automotive designers in communicating user experiences (UX) alongside the physical design of vehicles. This paper presents an industry case study conducted with Ford Design Asia Pacific to assess the embodiment of UX in early concepts. Attributes of generalised model for UX are mapped to designers' storyboard illustration for the experience of an advanced concept for an autonomous vehicle interior. Results show how a mix of captions, sketches of users and contextual features illustrate different attributes of user experience. From findings we conclude firstly, the need to develop a toolkit to help designers communicate descriptions of as yet designed interactions. We also conclude that sketching contextual features of experience can provide a starting point to develop aspects of UX that can be used to differentiate and identify the Ford brand.

Given that we live in a time within a growing competitive healthcare market, the customer experience and healing opportunities are on top of the priority list. However, little attention has been dedicated on how to merge the disciplines of architecture, healthcare and management to create healthcare environments to enhance the customer experience and the healing process. The goal of this paper is to explore how design can foster customer-perceived intimacy within a healthcare context to achieve enhanced customer outcomes, such as customer well-being. Understanding the importance of customer- perceived intimacy is paramount, as customers are constantly exposed to intimate situations. The study suggest that there is potential for such situations to be wrought with problems involving complexities associated with human cognition, emotions, physiological responses, and behaviors. A literature review is undertaken to highlight the antecedents and the short-term and long-term outcomes of customer- perceived intimacy. As a result, the paper provides a conceptual framework that raises many questions that need to be answered. In doing so, a solid foundation for future inquiry has been laid.

A study to understand the experience of autonomy with durable products was undertaken based on qualitative research. The study involved thirteen participants, who selected a durable product that enhanced autonomy. Using in-depth interviews, the map of experience and interaction properties the experience was studied. Our findings indicate that there are three structures involved in the experience of autonomy: orchestration, control and product integration. The three structures are described in detail. It was also identified that the experience of autonomy enhances positive experiences and stimulates wellbeing. Designers can apply the three structures of autonomy to underscore design decisions.