Design for Enhancing Material Appreciation: An Application on the Palm Tree Midribs

Design for Enhancing Material Appreciation: An Application on the Palm Tree Midribs

Alaa El Anssary, Nariman G. Lotfi

Abstract. Despite academic and professional efforts to extend the uses of palm midribs in production, there is lack of user appreciation or interest in the end product. Most studies focus on the palm technical characteristics to compete with standard wood, disregarding emotional factors that are essential in product promotion. Recent applications eliminate material naturalness, creating artificial substitutes and confusing users who prefer material genuineness. The study aims to analyze perceptions that could lead to the integration of palm midribs into local products by demonstrating visual and tactile attributes. The research highlights designer involvement in product development. Due to the material nature, engineers and designers must collaborate to develop products technically and emotionally. Two experimental design methods were conducted with participants from each group concerned with developing the material. Participants evaluated the material surface from their perspectives in terms of visual and composition. Results revealed that diverse feelings of tactile attributes create sentiments and intellectual curiosities, evoking value and appreciation for the material. Although both groups perceive and communicate differently, they have similar objectives: successful material implementation. In order to enhance designer-engineer cooperation, a multidisciplinary platform was developed enabling material features to be integrated in product development. By focusing on palm by-product naturalness designers and engineers can create meaningful and delightful user experiences.

Keywords
palm tree midribs, material appreciation, emotional design, user perception

Published online 4/20/2019, 10 pages
Copyright © 2019 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA

Citation: Alaa El Anssary, Nariman G. Lotfi, Design for Enhancing Material Appreciation: An Application on the Palm Tree Midribs, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 11, pp 315-324, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644900178-27

The article was published as article 27 of the book By-Products of Palm Trees and Their Applications

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

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