Integration of Culture in Product Design

This book explores the relationship between culture and design, a topic on which there is little previous research. Evidence from the literature shows that users around the world are no longer settling for standardised products and they want differentiated products and services. The pinnacle of good product design innovation is when it is grounded on the sensitive cultural analysis of users culture. A culture-orientated design model has been proposed to assist designers and design educators to consciously integrate culture in their design practice. The framework demonstrates how to specify, analyse and integrate socio-cultural factors in the early stages of the design process by advancing local thought, content and solutions. It advances a new approach to design education, theory, research and practice. It emerged that culture can be used as a resource of information and a source of inspiration for product innovation that connects with users traditions. The findings show that culture-orientated products have meaningful content that reflects users lifestyles, provides them with symbolic personal, social and cultural values to facilitate product acceptance.