Search

Ear anthropometry is important in physical ergonomics for ear-related products. With various anthropometric methods, comparisons between different measuring techniques have not been sufficiently studied especially for ear dimensions. This study aimed at comparing traditional measurement and 3D scanning method for ear anthropometry, with addressing their usages in practice. For thirty participants, ear length and ear width were measured by the same investigator with two measuring methods. Traditional measurement was directly conducted with a caliper, whereas dimensions using 3D scanning technique were extracted from the point cloud acquired from a structured light scanner. Statistical results showed the differences between traditional and 3D scanning measurement, which can provide empirical evidences of differences between different measuring techniques for ear anthropometry. Additionally, the usages of different methods were discussed so that the proper method can be selected to match specific goals for future research.

Considering the complexity of product design, designers normally use a holistic approach to create a product based on target customers and market needs. To create products, many design tools and techniques used in most cases are qualitative. Although ergonomics design principals are widely taught in many design and engineering schools, it might be limited to anthropometry, usability testing, principals and check lists. Ergonomics research data and knowledge are not presented for easy use to designers, hence ergonomics aspects are often overlooked by designers during the ideation stage. Creative design, even though commercially successful, sometimes are looked down as it may not ‘pass’ the traditional ergonomics check list. Ergonomics tools need to be developed to consider the different stages in design. Ergonomics should consider developing tools and methods with designers in mind, so that ergonomics tools can be easily adapted by them. With a clear collaboration between designers and ergonomist better creative design with imbedded ergonomics can be created.

Technologies are changing the life of the human being. Fashion technology brings forward more and more convenience and comfort to people’s life. As the second skin, clothing plays a vital role on daily life. In aspects of art design, fashionable and colorful clothes make people obtain psychological satisfaction. From the ergonomic design, more attention was paid both on the physiological and psychological needs of the human being. For examples, the thermal physiology and compression comfort will directly have impact overall status of the health status of the human being. Especially, with development of functional fabrics and smart bio-medical sensors, functional and smart clothing has been an up-and-coming product for fashion industry and have been gradually accepted by the market. In the near future, with the changing of consumers’ consumption psychology, functional and smart clothing with fashionable design will be the mainstream of the market. Considering the fashion education system at present, fashion designers and fashion education will meet new challenges in the near future. Based on ergonomic design, innovative educations should be made accordingly. The research focused on the aspects of fashion education innovations, such as materials, clothing and accessories based on ergonomic design, which laid comprehensive foundations for functional fashion design.

Fashion for elderly is not a new concept in the fashion industry, but for Hong Kong market, it seemed much backward when compared to foreign countries. Modification on the new style silhouettes is a critical factor to increase the acceptance in Hong Kong market. This research hoped to demonstrate the new ideas of senior fashion and the new possible style were able to inspired fashion design students or designers to create their own collection with innovation and meaningful collections. Through understanding the senior fashion market, it was anticipated to benefit for the fashion lovers who are getting retired in the next 5 to 10 years. This study developed fashion elements of materials, graphic, embellishment, style and garments design with illustrations and adopted them to questionnaire survey to the elderly fashion in Hong Kong.

In order to achieve better comfort and fit for designed products it is important to understand the product and user interface and to analyze the interaction at the region of contact. Study of biomechanical properties of soft tissue can provide a good insight of this interface between user and the product. Biomechanical properties can help the designers in material selection which can improve the comfort and fit and help in serving the purpose of the designed product. A sample study of soft tissue thickness of human head and face was conducted using an ultrasound indentation device at selected locations. Results showed the variation in soft tissue thickness levels, which was further used to discuss the role of soft tissue properties in the field of ergonomic product design.

Footwear fitting and comfort is an important customer need which involves multiple factors. It includes both objective measurements and subjective perceptions, and can be influenced by shoe materials, weight and styles, foot shape, inside shoe climate, even colour and fashion. However, the influences of other design factors are still not clear. This research investigated the relationship between footwear design factors and footwear fitting and comfort. Two-level fractional factorial design analysis was used to evaluate the effects and find the vital factors. The results indicated that heel height has relatively significant influences on footwear comfort. High topline, low heel height, soft material, round toe, open toe, open heel and thin platform can provide better fitting and comfort.

Sustainability has become a global concern in recent years. The traditional production and consumption patterns bring heavy environmental burdens. As the increasing of sustainability and environmental awareness, not only the governments launched regulations and policies to reduce the environmental impacts, consumers also have begun to show interests in eco-friendly products. The footwear industry plays a significant role in the impact of the contribution of apparel section. Various analyses have been conducted on this field aiming at optimizing the footwear life cycle management and design strategy to reduce the impact. As one of the most important properties of wearing products, fitting and comfort can influence consumers purchasing and usage, thus indirectly affects the environmental impact of footwear considering the whole product lifetime. This study focuses on the role of footwear fitting and comfort in the environmental impact of footwear, analysing the influence of fitting in different product life cycle stages.