EXTENDING PRODUCT AFFORDANCES TO USER MANUALS

DS 88: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE17), Building Community: Design Education for a Sustainable Future, Oslo, Norway, 7 & 8 September 2017

Year: 2017
Editor: Berg, Arild; Bohemia, Erik; Buck, Lyndon; Gulden, Tore; Kovacevic, Ahmed; Pavel, Nenad
Author: Pavel, Nenad; Zitkus, Emilene
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Science, Norway
Section: Design Education Practice
Page(s): 198-204
ISBN: 978-1-904670-84-1

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide general guidelines on methods for designing user manuals. The goal is to illustrate the dependencies between product affordances, semantics, and user instruction. The study incorporates task-based reflective interviews with product design professionals who were charged with redesigning a manual for a product. The article emphasizes the application of a pedagogical instructional design (PID) approach to user manuals in which users aim to construct the meanings of a product and incorporate these into living practices.

Keywords: User Manuals, Instructional Design, Affordance

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