Abstract:

This research covers a product design and development process, in which some phases or stages are involved. The first stage, one of the most important and highly relevant, is focused on the user, and is the recognition of the needs of them. Regarding the stage of identifying needs, there are various techniques for collecting and interpreting user needs, some of these techniques are qualitative and others of a quantitative nature, however, in the 70s, a methodology to analyze the needs of users called Kansei Engineering (IK).

User´s emotional needs are the starting point for designing and developing products. This research shows how to apply Kansei Engineering methodology in order to comprenhend furniture users emotions and sensations in the Santo Tomás University classrooms. By using qualitative and quantitative information’s gathering techniques through surveys and focus groups of students and professors and by showing furniture images that provoques visual stimuli, the data about favourable and unfavourable perceptions, sensations and emotions was obtained. the kansei words of the focus group could be obtained, which are precisely used in the surveys to accomplish a questionnaire with the semantic differential method, serving to evaluate the client's requirements. Thus, the requests obtained from the process helped to create new university furniture concepts which serve as a initial step for innovation in designing products.

Keywords:

Kansei engineering, product design, classroom furniture, emotions and sensations, needs.