http://hdl.handle.net/10397/1912 Search the Channel search http://repository.lib.polyu.edu.hk/jspui/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/10397/4969 Title: Street furniture design for night life : case study of Hong Kong<br/><br/>Authors: Song, Hongyang<br/><br/>Abstract: With increasingly crowded conditions and fiercely commercial competition, urban planners and scholars have been looking for ways to alleviate these social issues in cities. Mixed-used spatial and temporal dimensions have been proposed and put into practice to confront these pressures, and extended night-life is regarded as one response to these pressures. The concept of the 24-hour society, furthermore, has been put forward to provide a round-the-clock service for urban residents. However, street furniture design has not kept up with social changes, because the default functionalities of street furniture are designed for daytime. This leads to inefficient street furniture performance at night, in terms of inclusive designs for night identity, night hygiene and night safety, resulting in frequent complaints and criticisms from urban residents and tourists. Current research into street furniture has predominantly focused on increasing the illumination of street lighting, rather than improving the all-round quality of street furniture. This inappropriate solution has further exacerbated environmental issues, such as energy consumption and lighting pollution, and has also resulted in a lack of consideration for different lighting requirements at night. Furthermore, innovative technologies have seldom been explored or utilized in street furniture design. Thus, the issues of night-street furniture are particularly complex and require comprehensive research for improvement. Based on this research gap, this study focuses on comprehensively improving the quality of street furniture to meet the various requirements of extended night-life. Four factors directly relating to street furniture form the core research concepts, represented as spatial, temporal, behavioral and individual factors. In considering and describing these four factors, two solutions have been identified and explored in a field study. First, the literature suggests that an innovative technological solution is crucial, as technology has dramatically changed lifestyles and activities in the process of urban nighttime development. The core issues around street furniture, generated from case studies in Hong Kong, have been determined to contribute to an orientation of technology. The second solution includes consideration of the fact that in high density communities, pocket public spaces can provide working-class people with opportunities for gathering, chatting, walking dogs and other recreational actives. However, the situation of pocket public spaces has been deteriorating due to lack of management and research into street furniture. Therefore, a case study was conducted in Tin Shui Wai, a high-density new town with a majority of working class people, to examine the current street furniture in terms of the four basic factors. As a result, these four factors were re-organized as spatial characteristics, temporal concentration, behavioral patterns and individual attributes to construct a comprehensive perspective on street furniture design. Design principles based on the four factors are proposed to improve street furniture designed for night life.<br/><br/>Description: x, 315 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.; PolyU Library Call No.: [THS] LG51 .H577P SD 2011 Song http://hdl.handle.net/10397/4322 Title: Managing design in Chinese manufacturing industry<br/><br/>Authors: Liu Xihui<br/><br/>Abstract: Since the term of design management emerged in the 1960s in Britain and Japan, the basic knowledge body of it has been established based on numerous studies. However, with its broad and vague scope, there is not a confirmed definition of it. At present, the three-levels theory of design management content, which was defined by Borja de Mozota in 1998, usually is utilized as research frame in this new discipline. The approach to design management also varies in different countries, because of their different history of design, utilization of design in industries, development of design consultancies, evolution of design education, and content of design management. In the UK, with the longest history of modern design, design management tends to be an independent function related to management. It lacks linkage with the practice of industries, however, and is limited to academic studies. In the U.S.A., design has been integrated into industries from its beginning. Based on it, design management emerges as a part of management profession. In Japan, supported by the government, design was utilized in its rapid-growth economy after WWII. It is viewed as an important element of Japanese innovation management, which contributes to the 'Japanese Miracle.' These various approaches also lead to diverse definitions and understanding of design management. In China, design management emerged based on its own background. The concepts of modern design were not really introduced into China until the Open Policy in 1978. After that, it has developed rapidly accompanying with the rapid-growth economy in the last thirty years. However, a gap between design theories and practice in industries has become evident. On one hand, its design theory is mainly borrowed from foreign countries without relating to local conditions. On the other hand, it seems that Chinese companies have developed their own ways of managing design in their practice. In addition, though theories of design management were introduced into China in 2000, it still has the same problem as design: a gap between Chinese local practice and conditions.; In this instance, it is necessary to understand design management practice in Chinese companies and find solutions for bridging this gap through researching practice of managing design in Chinese companies. These reflect the two objectives of this study: to describe the basic situation of design management in Chinese manufacturing industry; and to explore the ways of managing design in Chinese manufacture-based companies. This study conducted a combined research approach, in which qualitative research took dominate place. In the first stage, to understand design development in companies, hard and reliable data had been collected and analyzed through a quantitative approach: a survey. As a result, 117 valid questionnaires were received from companies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Yangzte River Delta (YRD). At a second stage, to explore characteristics of design management in Chinese companies, rich and deep data was achieved through a qualitative approach. Twelve companies were selected based on the results of analyzing questionnaires. The characteristics of design management in China were obtained through comparing the cases with the criteria. This finally led to six models and the recognition of Chinese approach to design management. As a research initiative, this study contributes to the knowledge of design management in China in multiple aspects. An overview of managing design in Chinese companies is obtained, based on solid data from the survey of Chinese companies in the PRD and the YRD. The in-depth description of each interviewed company is organized into cases studies, which are the materials both for education and for establishing a framework of Chinese design management. With 12 cases and six models, practitioners of design management can learn practical experience and ways of managing design. In this instance, this study contributes to the practice, academic basis and education of design management in China by offering first-hand information and systemic understanding for Chinese and overseas researchers, as well as practitioners and educators of design management.<br/><br/>Description: xx, 399 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.; PolyU Library Call No.: [THS] LG51 .H577P SD 2010 Liu http://hdl.handle.net/10397/4289 Title: Towards designer-centered design brief formulations in industrial design : relating design brief perception to design expertise and design context<br/><br/>Authors: Lau, Wing-chuen<br/><br/>Abstract: How to formulate a design brief is the original research question for this study. Three (cognitive, expertise, and contextual) approaches can be summarized from the existing design theories. The cognitive approach originated from the rational problem-solving paradigm focuses on varying a design brief formulation (in terms of its content and presentation) in order to stimulate designers to produce more innovative design concepts. The expertise approach related to the reflection-in-action paradigm emphasizes the dependence on a designer's expertise to actively frame a problematic situation provided by a design brief. The contextual approach investigates professional practice in commercial settings by prescribing guidelines to formulate a design brief in order to facilitate communication among multiple stakeholders in a design project. Adopting a systemic perspective, these approaches can be integrated into a quasi-theory of design brief production. Nonetheless, there is no explicit feedback mechanism to progressively improve these predominately prescriptive approaches of formulating design briefs. In order to close the feedback loop explicitly, card-sorting exercises were used to explore how a design brief is perceived and interpreted by designers with various levels of expertise in the educational and professional context of industrial design. The analysis leads to a tentative framework of design brief reception summarizing how design context, design expertise, and design brief formulations influence designers' initial perceptions of design briefs. The results suggest that the current theory seems to concern only with stimulating cognitive factors of the perceiving designers while the tentative framework of design brief reception suggests that designers' perceptions are very integrated that are affected not only by cognitive factors (individual domain knowledge, skills, and abilities), but also by affective (personal preferences, prior encounters with similar design tasks) and conative (self-confidence) factors as well as the given context. By neglecting the context and these non-cognitive factors, design brief writers are in a position that tends to underutilize many designers' potential. A designer-centered approach of formulating design briefs is proposed based on these findings. The study concludes by juxtaposing these two complementary frameworks as the first step for evolving a more balanced approach to design brief formulations.<br/><br/>Description: xvii, 250, [94] leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm.; PolyU Library Call No.: [THS] LG51 .H577P SD 2010 Lau http://hdl.handle.net/10397/4000 Title: A study of product identity : its practice in Chinese manufacturers<br/><br/>Authors: Chen, Jie<br/><br/>Abstract: Driven by the growth of economy, Chinese manufacturers are seeking to create more value through original design. Product identity has emerged as a significant strategy for product design and development in terms of branding. This thesis begins by offering an overview of the current Chinese product design and analyses the major difficulties that are widely perceived. While the experience of more developed economies is used for comparison, it is shown that there exist many issues that are linked to the Chinese cultural and historical situation, as well as to the circumstances of rapid economic growth, where there is unmet demand for skilled and experienced designers. The utility of clearly defining product identity in Chinese settings is suggested. Then it turns to define the nature of product identity and sets it in relation to various corporate strategies for product development as seen from the viewpoints of academic researchers and practitioners. Product identity development strategy is described in relation to different market positions -dependent, traditional, responsive and pioneering. Product identity life cycle is used to understand how product identity is established, develops, matures, (or declines) and how it is a matter to which innovation can be applied.; Case studies form the core of this thesis and it is from these that an understanding of the Chinese situation has been elaborated. Through these, it is asserted that product identity as practiced in China can also be seen to occur in stages that are related to corporate development and product development strategy. Stages of product identity in Chinese manufacturing are identified through an analysis of recent strategies undertaken by mobile phone manufacturers. This group of case studies also reveal that a 'star product' is often the most effective and best understood way for Chinese manufacturers shift to a higher PI stage. Another further set of case studies offer insights about the ways in which PI is used to develop different kinds of products (ranging from consumer goods to capital goods) in relation to different markets (domestic and global). Three detailed case studies are used to show how product identity is initially built, then maintained and developed, and sometimes turn to for innovations. These case studies also demonstrate how it is created through the interactions of managers, internal design departments and external consultants. In the course of these discussions, an integrated PI development approach is proposed and further discussion is offered regarding the character for PI's in particular contexts. This thesis concludes with a discussion of directions in which product identity could evolve so as to provide greater value to Chinese manufacturers.<br/><br/>Description: 202 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.; PolyU Library Call No.: [THS] LG51 .H577M SD 2007 Chen