What is the function of a figurine Can the repert

Authors: Helena Isakssson Persson

Publish Date: 2015/07/28

Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 541-565

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Abstract

Teaching design and product development at upper secondary school level in Sweden is a matter of interdisciplinary considerations Education in product development at this level prepares students for further studies and career in engineering or industrial design Knowledge of artefacts is an important element in the education In coherence with the visual and rhetorical strategies characterising the knowledge field students learn how to develop an idea to a final product In this study twelve engineers and industrial designers professionals representing the knowledge field of product development are studied regarding their interpretations of eight preselected artefacts Data is collected and analysed using repertory grid technique The aim of the study is to examine whether/what we can learn from the informants’ experiences and knowledge that is relevant to education in design and product development at upper secondary school level Findings show that four of the artefacts appear to be carriers of attributes that reveal the interviewees’ definitions of the artefacts’ functional nature From these findings it is shown that the interviewees’ definitions of concepts concerning aesthetics/decoration and function can be seen as cultural expressions How the repertory grid technique is used in this particular study is thoroughly described and the results relevance for education is discussed

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