Entertainment Console for Indian and German Users

ABSTRACT

As the world becomes more global, products and technology used by different countries and cultures are often similar. We see the same products being used by people of various backgrounds even if it is not convenient to use due to several cultural differences. A design meant for Euro­peans is being used by the Asians as well. However, cultural interpretations, conventions, behavioural differences are different which makes the use or the sale of such products in different countries a failure.

This project involves a very clear understanding of the user, his behaviour, cultural interpretation, conventions, his interacti­on with the product and its use. The goal of the project is to design the same product for the two countries by studying the cultural differences and reflect this in its design and features.

As a part of an exchange program, German students from TU Darmstadt and Indian students from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay were involved in a project based on User Centric De­sign. This was an inter-disciplinary project with Mechanical engineering students, Industrial design and Interaction design students. The aim was to design two entertainment consoles for a Ger­man Kleinwagen and a B-segment Indian car based on several user interviews, persona and scenario development. At the end of the project, the differences in cultures were seen to impact the design of the product and its features.