Master of Industrial Design

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Master of Industrial Design

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https://hdl.handle.net/1853/73249

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School of Industrial Design

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 96

Design guidance towards enhanced ophthalmological and rehabilitation communication with patients

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2025-01-10) Kim, Dahee Sophie

Vision rehabilitation is essential for helping Blind or Low Vision (BLV) individuals regain independence and navigate daily life. However, current ophthalmological care often relies on visually oriented, clinician-centered communication methods, creating significant barriers for BLV patients to access and understand health information. Accessible communication is critical for patient-centered care, yet little research has explored ophthalmologists’ expectations (predictions, desires, tolerances, and perceived rights), training, and familiarity regarding inclusive communication practices. This study investigates these gaps through a mixed-methods approach, integrating surveys, community engagement, and design probe deployment to examine how ophthalmologists perceive and implement novel communication strategies. Findings reveal that ophthalmologists often lack formal training and rely on family-mediated communication and simplified strategies, which limit BLV patients’ autonomy and effective information delivery. Although clinicians try to adapt to patients’ needs, unfamiliarity with non-visual methods and time constraints hinder consistent communication. This study proposes design criteria for curricula, training materials, and technology-enhanced products that prioritize accessibility, privacy, multilingual support, and durability. Ultimately, this thesis contributes a framework for understanding “modalities of care” that move beyond information delivery to address the complex dynamics of equitable, patient-centered doctor-patient relationships.
Designing a Technology-Based Approach to Support Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-12-08) Xie, Yuting

This study explores the design of a technology-based approach to support Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). While CBT-I is a first-line treatment for insomnia, its implementation faces barriers related to accessibility and patient engagement. The aim of this research is to prototype and test a mobile app that facilitates patient engagement with therapist-guided CBT-I and provides ongoing support throughout the treatment process. The study investigates three research questions: (1) What kind of support is necessary for CBT-I? (2) How can this support be delivered through a technological approach? (3) To what extent can the approach enhance the CBT-I experience? Through formative, in-depth interviews with professionals, concept evaluation interviews, and usability tests, we designed a mobile application and evaluated its usability. The results demonstrate that the approach has a moderate level of system usability, along with good ease of use and accessibility for each function. Usability factors evaluated included ease of use, accessibility, and satisfaction. The findings indicate that this design approach can support CBT-I by facilitating the implementation of CBT-I components, providing motivation, and assisting therapists in their work. Moreover, user testing provided additional insight into additional design opportunities. All in all, this study contributes to the growing body of research on insomnia interventions and highlights the potential of technology to overcome existing barriers in the implementation of CBT-I.
Optimizing Adaptive Eating Utensils for Individuals with Parkinson’s Through Mainstream Design for Enhanced Inclusivity

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-09-09) McCoid, Robert C.

This study aims to address the alimentary challenges faced by individuals with Parkinson's disease (PwP) by reimagining the design of adapted eating utensils tailored to this specific user group. Existing utensils, initially crafted to accommodate the motor skill challenges associated with arthritis, often fail to meet the distinctive needs of PwP. To bridge this gap and in line with the participatory design approach, our research commenced with a comprehensive qualitative study, including an exhaustive literature review on eating challenges associated with Parkinson's disease, adapted eating utensils, and assistive technologies. The study further investigates the specific eating challenges faced by PwP through surveys and semi-structured interviews to establish design requirements and features for adapted eating utensils. These requirements were then utilized in a co-design workshop, involving PwP, occupational and physical therapists, and designers, to collaboratively create features for assistive utensils aimed at enhancing eating autonomy and comfort for PwP during meals. Following the workshop, designers refined the initial concepts and developed 3D models, which were subsequently 3D printed for further evaluation by PwP. The participatory approach to designing eating utensils facilitated the creation of AT solutions better suited to PwP. The study underscored the importance of designing mainstream AT products, as these outcomes have the potential to enhance eating autonomy, reduce stigma, and improve the overall quality of life during mealtimes for PwP.
Light play to help parents stimulate the disliked vegetable consumption habit in kids using flavour-flavour learning plate

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-09-09) Soman, Radha Manoj

The goal of the study is to address food neophobia leading to vegetable aversion in 2-6-year-old kids, due to lack of consistent repetitive exposure to disliked vegetables in the home setting during early childhood. Through the literature review, it was revealed that the current methods do not sufficiently address flavor adaptation and light play in a plate system and more research is needed on it. Effective habits are formed through daily exposure, not just weekly, where the most influential factor is the vegetable's flavor, which can be both liked and disliked. Incorporating light play or gamification could enhance engagement and acceptance of vegetables in children. The online survey and online interviews revealed that parents acknowledge the importance of developing vegetable consumption habits through repetitive exposure, and struggle to feed these vegetables to kids during mealtimes, on a daily basis. According to parents, utilizing technology to track preferences and adapt meal planning based on the evolving tastes of kids is essential. Also, creative, colorful presentations and self-feeding strategies can enhance vegetable interest, and emphasizing health benefits without relying on external rewards fosters genuine acceptance of vegetables. In response, this study proposes an interactive plate system “DELIGHT” that helps parents assess kid preferences and behavior patterns using light play tackling visual appeal and presentation of vegetables. The primary strengths of DELIGHT lie in its innovative approach to flavor adaptation and daily exposure, which are critical in developing a positive attitude towards vegetables. By presenting vegetables with both liked and disliked flavors, DELIGHT encourages acceptance through repeated exposure and familiarisation. The incorporation of playful and interactive elements further enhances engagement, making mealtimes more enjoyable and less monotonous for children. Parents can monitor their kid's vegetable eating behavior through consistent tracking, and improving parent and kid mealtime interaction through positive reinforcement. The 7-day observation study results of DELIGHT showed improvement in the current vegetable consumption and acceptance behavior in kids and effectively helped parents monitor the consumption pattern. DELIGHT proves to be a promising solution for bridging the gap between current vegetable consumption levels in kids and dietary recommendations. By focusing on flavor adaptation, consistent exposure, engaging presentation, and positive reinforcement, DELIGHT aligns with best practices in dietary behavior change. Future iterations, informed by user feedback and ongoing research, will continue to refine DELIGHT’s features, ensuring it remains a valuable tool for fostering healthy eating habits in children and supporting their long-term health and well-being.
EMONNECT: A Case Study on Designing a Culturally Sensitive SEL Tool for Chinese Families

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-07-25) Li, Yaoqi

This thesis explores integrating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into Chinese family settings, addressing gaps in emotional education in China according to Game-Based Learning (GBL) theory. Structured SEL resources for Chinese children are scarce, presenting an opportunity to develop culturally sensitive tools. This thesis examines how GBL and cultural elements can improve SEL engagement. Using a mixed-methods approach, the thesis collects data through an online survey and focus groups to understand SEL implementation within Chinese families. Findings show the parents’ awareness of SEL and their main methods to teach SEL, highlighting the potential of games in family educational practices. Focus group discussions provided insights into the scenarios, challenges, and strategies Chinese parents use in SEL with their children. These insights informed the development of EmoNnect, a SEL educational tool, integrating traditional Chinese cultural resources. This blend of family gaming and SEL principles enriches discussions, strengthens bonds, and enhances emotional understanding. The thesis demonstrates that incorporating traditional cultural resources into modern tools can enhance SEL teaching in Chinese families. EmoNnect serves as a model for culturally sensitive SEL education, showing how traditional influences can enrich contemporary practices and support child development.
TIMEFLEX: Exploring Time Perception without Numbers through Tangible Interaction Method

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-05-17) Cheng, Ernuo

Modern people perceive time through precise but abstract and mechanical number time. However, the subjective nature of time perception and the need of flexible time management inspires us to explore the possibility of alternative time managing approach. This study introduces a concept of time that guide our lives based on the sequence and duration of events and explores the context where this concept can be more beneficial. Through a Concept-Driven interaction design approach and Research through Design method, this study designed an operable functional interaction prototype and conducted an exploratory user study to generate insights of the relationship between us with time.
Woven Speaker: Exploring the Potential of Technology and Craft Juxtaposition through Speaker Weaving

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-05-17) Romero, Lissette A.

Curiosity is an essential quality that is integral to the human experience and plays a crucial role in fostering creativity and promoting engagement. By understanding how to evoke curiosity through design, designers can leverage curiosity as a means to cultivate exploration and strengthen engagement with their creations. One approach to evoking curiosity through design is bringing conflicting elements together to prompt individuals to seek deeper understanding of the underlying relationships and explore creative possibilities between them. With this in mind, there is potential in uniting craft and technology, two seemingly polarizing domains, to foster these behaviors. This work explores the juxtaposition of craft and technology through weaving to create speakers and investigates how this juxtaposition can be utilized to ignite curiosity and lead a deeper engagement with technology. Following a research-through-design approach, a material recipe and weaving-based technique for speaker construction was developed. Utilizing the material recipe we conducted a hands-on speaker weaving workshop with ten experienced makers to gather insights on the implications and limitations of using craft and craft materials to build electronics. By integrating weaving methods and craft materials into the process of building electronics, an acceptance of imperfection was fostered and curiosity was sparked, which facilitated further exploration of technology. This thesis demonstrates the potential of juxtaposing craft and technology in product design, offering new pathways for designers to enhance user experiences with curiosity and engagement.
A Co-Designed Framework for Advancing American Sign Language (ASL) Digital Learning

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-29) Welkley, Avery White

Since its origins at the American School for the Deaf in 1817, American Sign Language (ASL) has drastically increased in use among the Deaf, hard-of-hearing, non-verbal, and hearing populations in the United States and Canada. Despite its surge in popularity, ASL holds a web of complexities and misconceptions that differentiate it from spoken languages. This thesis explores in-depth some of the common challenges hearing adult ASL learners face, along with the gaps between in-person and digital ASL learning, employing inquiry-based methods. Then, using the co-design method, this thesis further investigates how to design future ASL learning appropriate to the community's expectations and provides a framework for future ASL learning platforms, identifying necessary qualities and topics of instruction to be included on digital platforms.
Co-Design with Neurodivergent Students and Recent Graduates to Develop an Inclusive Pedagogy in Design Education

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-04-29) Bhattacharya, Karina Lani

This thesis aimed to learn from co-design workshops with neurodivergent industrial design students and recent graduates and develop an educational product for inclusive teaching practices within design studio courses. This approach aligns with the biopsychosocial model of disability, which encompasses listening to individuals personally affected and redesigning external factors that impact them. Themes drawn from the co-design workshops informed the design of Naranote, a digital template that assists students in expressing a story of their design process for their studio projects. Naranote was implemented among junior-level industrial design students while completing their current studio projects, and it was also implemented among portfolio workshop participants who used Naranote to integrate storytelling into a past project. This thesis contributes to general knowledge by proposing a novel methodology and recommendations for co-design with neurodivergent students and recent graduates. Secondarily, it proposes co-design as an approach for informing products to support inclusive teaching practices while providing two user studies as starting points for testing educational interventions.
Incorporating interactivity into product design with printed tactile interactive elements

(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024-01-16) Huang, Han

The rising prevalence of smart products accentuates the importance of embedding interactivity into industrial design. Currently, designers use mechanical electronic components like buttons and sliders and program them using a micro-controller such as Arduino board for prototyping. However, those conventional electronic components with fixed shapes and interaction methods are limited in terms of both the aesthetic and functional possibilities of prototypes. As a way to address the issue of the rigidity of the form and function of the prototypes, printed electronics, which are thin and flexible, offers an opportunity to develop interactive prototypes seamlessly integrating form and function. However, a drawback of printed electronics has been the absence of tactile feedback, restricting their application in tactile-dependent environments like eyes-free interactions. This project investigated a novel fabrication method to create printed electronics with tactile feedback and explored the usability and design space for visible and eyes-free environments. By comparing the usability of tactile electronic components with traditional flat printed electronic components, we collected design insights from users for utilizing and optimizing tactile electronic components. After that, a co-design workshop was conducted with eight designers to learn and explore potential design space of the proposed fabrication methods and summarize the design recommendations for applying tactile printed electronic components in visible and eyes-free environments. Through the study, I draw four main findings. First, tactile features enhance the usability of printed electronic components in visible environments by improving access, recognition, and utilization. Second, electronic components can be categorized into two groups based on their interactive methods and the intensity of the haptic feedback outcome. Third, in eyes-free environments, sliding elements benefit from a touchpad-like pattern with a clear starting point, direction, and boundary without detailed tick marks. Lastly, pressing elements benefit from confirmation spots, and a concave shape aids in verifying precise presses.