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Specialist in human factors or needfinding

Description

Industrial designer specialising in users are responsible for researching and analysing the people who use products in order to find opportunities for improvement and innovation or for launching new products, although always from the users' viewpoint. If it is difficult to use, if it can be improved, if it can have other uses or if it is used poorly or in unplanned settings, if it is socially accepted and when, if the product is different for men and women, if it is safe, if they buy it, etc. These are all aspects that they study. Designers of human factors work with the product or industrial system from the perspective of people's capacities and limitations, including physical, mental, psychological, social, etc.

Tasks

  • Study and analyse users and their environment.
    Locate the product user profile and all their characteristics, including demographic, social, etc., in order to be able to create a study and analysis framework.
  • Identify opportunities for improvement and for launching new products.
    Qualitative research is usually implemented using different techniques such as observation, group dynamics, personal interviews of users and other agents involved.
    This research deals with product utilities and benefits, the purchase process, times, places and ways of using the product, etc.
    After all this has been researched, the designer creates a report with research results and identifies product improvements or launches a new product. This identification and definition of the opportunities has enough detail so that the design team can start the design project. Can end up identifying and suggesting shapes, features, colours, textures, smells, etc.
  • Supervise execution of the draft project and design project.
    Supervise the draft design project to verify that it matches the briefing or document where the improvement opportunities were specified. Depending on the company structure, particularly if it is small, can end up also creating the industrial design draft project.

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Centre per al desenvolupament professional Porta22

Barcelona Treball (Porta22)
Llacuna, 156-162, 08018 Barcelona
bcn.cat/treball

900533175
Monday to Friday from 9 to 18 h

Generalitat de Catalunya
Unió Europea FEDER
Unió Europea FSE