The practice of toy design and the theory behind it is studied with particular interest in the ways in which these areas contribute, if at all, to child development. The assessment of the ways in which we play and the toys we have as children with respect to its influence on adulthood will be studied. As well as literary research an interview with a senior designer is carried out. This concludes that the role of the toy designer is complex and subject to the demands of users as well as regulations. A questionnaire was given to 28 respondent ages 18- 25 years; the subject was a retrospective view of toys and their influences on the respondent's current lifestyle. The major conclusions draw from this was that toys not only influence the development of key skills, but also of the positive or negative view on our childhood. These findings show that it is important for designers to draw upon academic research, as well as undertaking their own to create influential toys of quality.

This research aims to establish how typing how smartphone typing may inhibit user, and ultimately whether it is a hindrance or help. Chapter 1 aims to discuss the evolution of smartphones. Chapter 2 explores the science and theory behind soft keyboards and how to determine and compare their usability. The following chapter investigates the alternative input methods currently available on smartphone devices. The final chapter discusses the result from testing 6 smartphone users to assess which method is most efficient, and also discusses results from the questionnaire completed by 30 smartphone users. This research concludes that alternative input methods such as Swype and SwiftKey offer substantial benefits to users and are comparable with common typing speeds found on computer keyboards.

The study aim was to assess the impact of Li-ion technology on the power tool field. Lithium-ion batteries were compared to nickel-based batteries, ascertaining their suitability for power tool applications. Li-ion was found to be best suited due to its increased capacity. Two observational studies were completed on outdoor sites exploring the benefits of the technology over mains-powered tools. The increased range of Li-ion tools improved the site experience for the user. All of the benefits recorded were knock-on effects of the increased battery capacity. Five interviews were then completed to determine the impact of the technology on the user. All users agreed the technology to be a landmark and that it has improved their efficiency on site. Finally, a case study was completed investigating how Li-ion has affected the market, and it was found that the technology has been used strategically;encouraging the user to buy from one manufacturer.

The focus of this research is to explore emerging technologies and the impacts they can have on mobile devices and their applications. Such a study is important in understanding technological innovation within the context of mobile devices. An exploration will be carried out into which technologies have the potential to revolutionise mobile devices and how long until they reach mainstream adoption. Benefits and limitations of mobile devices being at the forefront of technological innovation will also be explored.The main conclusions drawn from this study include designers' opinions that, Augmented Reality and Gesture interfaces were the two technologies with the highest potential. Haptics will revolutionise mobile gaming and Natural Language Question Answering (NLQA) is seen to have voice recognition issues impeding its current levels of practicality. Flexible screens are now being mass manufactured, but will initially enter the E-reader market before being implemented into other devices. Augmented reality and NLQA will take five to ten years to fully mature. Haptic technologies are verging on entering the consumer market, whilst gesture controls will take five years to reach.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of technology within anti theft devices. Currently a well-established market has been developed around such devices, however no literature has measured the views of consumers. Consequently this paper discusses the consumer's views with the development and portrayal of anti theft devices. This study reviews existing literature and conducts primary research in the form of questionnaires and interviews to further discuss the aims through qualitative and quantitative data. Overall anti theft devices that incorporate advancements in technology, are successfully contributing to the reduction in theft along with other factors. Consumers are aware of these effects and as a result respect these devices that they are investing in.

Apps are transforming how people organise themselves and work. Apps can be found that perform some of the most niche tasks and industry specific apps are on the increase. The aim of this study is to explore how apps can become tools to the practicing industrial designer by analysing the design process. Surveys were sent out to both student and professional designers. Two case studies were used to explore two design apps currently available. A third case study analysed the design process of IDEO to provide a detailed breakdown of a typical design process. It was discovered that there are no apps dedicated specifically to industrial designers and most designers were not making use of their smart device as a design tool. It was also learnt that tablet market penetration (UK) is set to increase to 35% by 2015 which could mean there will be an increased need for apps as design tools. The study uncovered many different ideas for apps which could specifically be useful in the product design process. This could mean that when the market is ready, there is a lot of potential for apps to be used as design practice tools.

Existing automotive system is not sustainable, in terms of environment and global economic balance. The End of Life Vehicle Legislation introduced by the European Union is a producer responsibility directive that aims to ensure vehicle manufacturers take responsibility for both the disposal and, more importantly, the recovery of their vehicles. The book is concerned with investigating and concluding the following question: To What Extent Will End of Life Vehicle Legislation Affect Future Car Design? This covers the following sustainability related topics in depth: Context of the legislation, Eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment, Closed Loop, Design for Dis-assembly and Modularity, Producer Responsibility, and alternative ownership methodologies.

Existing automotive system is not sustainable, in terms of environment and global economic balance. The End of Life Vehicle Legislation introduced by the European Union is a producer responsibility directive that aims to ensure vehicle manufacturers take responsibility for both the disposal and, more importantly, the recovery of their vehicles. The book is concerned with investigating and concluding the following question: To What Extent Will End of Life Vehicle Legislation Affect Future Car Design? This covers the following sustainability related topics in depth: Context of the legislation, Eco -design, Life Cycle Assessment, Closed Loop, Design for Disassembly and Modularity, Producer Responsibility, and alternative ownership methodologies.

Advances in Science and Technology have brought about greater potential i.e. enabling technologies. However creativity and innovation are subjective terms and it is difficult to pinpoint what is needed in order to "be creative," the designer is still responsible for the initial ideas, a responsibility which is unlikely to be alleviated. It seems that the design process is not progressing fast enough in order for the benefits of these enabling technologies to become evident in consumer products. In order for this to happen, design firms must ensure that their employees remain educated on new technological developments and software engineers need to communicate thoroughly with designers to ensure that computer based design progresses in the right way.

Advances in sport shoe design, materials, technology, and their impact on athletes from the early 20th Century are discussed in detail. Research discusses that the involvement of podiatrists (foot scientists) initially sparked the introduction of the first technologically enhanced features. Secondary research consists of a comparison between classic shoes of old and the innovative shoes of today. Touching on the effects they have had on performance as well as the medical impacts Further progression in sport shoe design and their effects on sportsmen and women are discussed. This investigation may provide a history of sport shoe design arid material improvements, and a discussion of experiences and results that show the impacts on athletes.

Companies large and small spend huge sums of money developing a particular look and feel to their products. A brand image and reputation which is often reflected in the quality of their products. But what happens when a rival company imitates that look to take advantage of the market that the successful product operates in? The imitator can come into the market with reduced development costs and take advantage of the market that now exists for that product that the existing company created. However it is possible to copy an existing product so closely that it is difficult to distinguish the two. This can potentially damage the sales of the proven product already on the market and damage its reputation. The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of intellectual Property (IP) in the UK and Europe in both the design process and the competitive business environment. The research will focus on the different methods of protecting ideas and how they are infringed with a slant towards design rights. Case studies will be taken from the smart phone and tablet markets in light of recent (and on going) litigations in this area."

This investigation explores the role innovations play in the healthcare system within the UK. Discussions include the debate surrounding the definition of the term innovation, as well as the importance of innovations on patients and the current barriers that halt innovations being implemented. The study concludes by suggesting that the term 'innovation' is overused and therefore it is unsurprising that many people become confused, suggestions are made for more detailed definitions and possibly clearer definitions within specific industries. Other conclusions include recommendations on the way innovations are approached by the healthcare industry as well as the believed barriers to innovations.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are well documented for their energy efficiency and usage diversity, but their poor colour rendering and colour temperature has slowed their adoption for domestic use. Expensive per unit in comparison to traditional light sources, they nonetheless dominate the research and development labs of some of the world's leading lighting manufacturers. This research project explores what it is that has got the lighting industry so excited about this technology that was discovered almost 90 years ago, whetherconsumers will share their enthusiasm and aims to establish the extent to which LEDs have revolutionised the lighting industry. This research project is an insightful, critical and interesting view into a rapidly developing technology which, if its current weaknesses are overcome, could change the way we see lighting and contribute to the slowing of global warming.

This research is an exploration into the influence of mobile apps and mobile devices on the design of products. The research relies on secondary data to demonstrate how mobile device design has changed as well as their usage. The primary data was collected by using a survey questionnaire methodology. The research reviewed the design of the mobile phone as the product in question. Findings show that mobile apps have had an influence on the design of products however; technology has driven this change, not apps themselves. The research contributes to the understanding of the relation between product design and usage of complementary products.

This research was undertaken to investigate how and why sports products have evolved; the main reasons for their evolutionary change and the effects of these changes within the world of sport. A central difficulty will be in ensuring that every aspect of this subject is investigated to ensure that the correct areas of influence are discovered. This investigation will enable an understanding of the reasons and influences of product change within the sports industry; the direct influences and indirect issues surrounding the design of sports product development.

This study carries forwards research seeking to identify and understand the relationship and links between product attributes and consumer perception, through means of an explanatory study. The research constituted of fifty two people who ranged between 18- 39 year old, all of whom completed qualitative research studies in the form of a questionnaire. This qualitative method utilised locations such town centres and/ or high footfall areas. A further nine participants sat interviews which exploited more open and indicative data. Supporting this, quantitative methods consisting of surveys, looked into studying 'green products (GP's) and identifying attributes which focused towards sustainability. Some qualitative data was presented in quantitative form, such as charts. The findings from such data strongly suggested and identified GP's attributes and consumers perceptions towards them, which, along with the data, also recognised poor correspondence between the two.

Additive Manufacturing is a new manufacturing method which adds material layer-by-layer to produce an object. This report set out to investigate a number of questions relating to Additive Manufacturing and its implications on current design practice, products and users. An introduction to Additive Manufacture as a process and how it has evolved from Rapid Prototyping is given. This report documents the Design for Manufacture constraints which Injection Moulding, a traditional manufacturing method, incurs and gives details of why most do not apply to Additive Manufacturing. The main freedom of traditional constraints comes from the nature of Additive Manufacturing being tool-less and therefore considerations such as constant wall thickness and non-undercutting geometry are not applicable. New constraints when 'Designing for Additive Manufacture' are given and explained including the need to remove support material or excess resin from within hollow geometry. Further still this report investigates consumer awareness and reception to Additive Manufacture through primary research in the form of a questionnaire - the first research of its kind into this topic.

Toys and play occupy a large portion of a child's lifetime, providing a basis for a magnitude of skills and developmental stages. They can provide solitary amusement or help to facilitate a game with others. Not only are toys considered to be fun, but they can also help a child to learn new skills and progress through their younger years thus labelling them as educational.The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of toys and play on children under the age of 7. It was important to not only use secondary research in the form of books and web journals but to also obtain information from primary sources through the use of questionnaires.Primary research stages address the relationship between toys and child development from a parental view, answering questions and providing information that was not found during the literature review. 2 questionnaires were used to gain answers to a variety of questions about toys, play and child development and consumer habits of parents.

The definition of packaging is as follows: "Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages and all the development and manufacturing processes that are required to create the packaging. In order to develop consistent successful packaging within the competitive and fast moving food and cosmetics market, premium brands must liaise with consumers in order to maintain an optimised brand design for their products.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are well documented for their energy efficiency and usage diversity, but their poor colour rendering and colour temperature has slowed their adoption for domestic use. Expensive per unit in comparison to traditional light sources, they nonetheless dominate the research and development labs of some of the world's leading lighting manufacturers. This research project explores what it is that has got the lighting industry so excited about this technology that was discovered almost 90 years ago, whether consumers will share their enthusiasm and aims to establish the extent to which LEDs have revolutionised the lighting industry. The author sourced reliable data from LED manufacturers and energy efficiency regulators, using lighting-specific magazine articles to ensure that all data used is current at the time of writing. Once a statistical comparative is formed, the opinions of lighting industry experts are considered and compared, and drawn on to form a conclusion.

The relationship between sport and technology is nothing new. In recent years innovation and technology has advanced rapidly, increasing the questions regarding the effects, it is having within competitive sport: Are the outcomes being dictated by equipment. Is the effect on sport positive or negative? should such technology be prohibited and when? An investigation into the effect technology applications (within equipment) is having on sport using swimming as an example, due to controversy surrounding technology use over the last decade.

Prior pedagogical models have failed to take into account new contextual and mobile methods of learning with the advances in technology-mediated learning. This book puts forward a pedagogical approach, namely, future innovative in-service teacher education in Europe. It is concerned with the educational use of information and communication technologies, specifically with the development and dissemination of a new pedagogical strategy for open and distance learning through in-service teacher education in schools across Europe.