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Design to fail? The reasonably foreseeable failure and misuse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

Harald Schaub*
Affiliation:
University of Bamberg, Germany
Petra Badke-Schaub
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands

Abstract

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This paper examines the critical concept of "reasonably foreseeable failures and misuse" in product design. The psychology of failures and the ethical/legal implications are highlighted. The approach aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges associated with integrating reasonably foreseeable user failure and misuse into the design process. By taking a proactive approach to failure and misuse, designers can not only increase product safety, but also stimulate innovation that takes into account a wide range of user behaviour, including in unexpected circumstances.

Type
Human Behaviour and Design Creativity
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2024.

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