Assessing Social Behaviour Towards Near-Body Product Users in the Wild: A Review of Methods

DS 116: Proceedings of the DESIGN2022 17th International Design Conference

Year: 2022
Editor: Mario Štorga, Stanko Škec, Tomislav Martinec, Dorian Marjanović
Author: Muriel De Boeck, Jochen Vleugels, Dirk Van Rooy, Kristof Vaes
Series: DESIGN
Institution: University of Antwerp, Belgium
Section: Industrial Design
Page(s): 2087-2096
DOI number: https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2022.211
ISSN: 2732-527X (Online)

Abstract

Prior to wide adoption, a product must find social approval, which is especially true for near-body products as they are considered part of the human body. Based on a theoretical foundation, this study aims to provide an overview of methods to assess natural behaviour towards users of visible near-body products in uncontrolled environments, i.e. in the wild. Approaching the matter from a product design perspective, this article is primarily intended for designers of near-body products who wish to gain insights into the social behaviour of people towards users wearing their design proposals.

Keywords: social acceptance, research methodologies and methods, near-body products, human-centred design, human behaviour