Aesthetics and Ergonomics - Siddharth Bhide
Aesthetics and Ergonomics Aesthetics is a branch of Product design which
deals with the look and feel of the product
Ergonomics is the branch of Product design which deals with the human aspect of comfort and ease of operation
Aesthetically perfect product need not necessarily be Ergonomic and vice-versa
A product should be a balance of Aesthetics and ergonomics, without altering its functionality.
Aesthetics
Definition:
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty.
It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensory-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste
Factors affecting Aesthetics:
Visual : Sight (colour, contour, composition)
Tactile : Touch (texture, temperature, grip)
Olfactory : Smell
Auditory : Sound
Gustatory : Taste
Kinesthetic : Motion
Aesthetics, mostly, deals with the “first visual impression” that an object gives to the viewer. This object may be anything, a person, a gadget, a painting etc. or as in our case a clean, well managed boiler house.
We make aesthetic choices everyday in things like clothes, books, food, bikes and cars, shoes, deodorants, jewellery etc.
Aesthetics also depends on the environment of the viewer
A person may have a one look for his office furniture and completely opposite look for his living room
A warm cup of tea will be very inviting in the rains but the same cup of tea at the same place wont be pleasurable on a hot summer afternoon
So, Aesthetic experience is not only about liking or disliking, its about the interaction between the product, consumer and the environment.
In a nutshell….
Aesthetics is all about the “feel good” factor
Now lets see some examples of aesthetics in our daily work
Ergonomics Definition: Ergonomics is the study of designing
equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities.
Ergonomics is employed to fulfill the two goals of health and productivity.
Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability.
A simple daily example
So, Ergonomics is basically the science in which the workplace is made to suit the operator.
Here workplace not only means the table and chair..but it also includes placement of the various elements which are necessary to get a job done like tools, job, controls etc.
Ergonomics plays a vital role in the design of control panels, cockpits, workcenters etc.
Ergonomics is a highly specialised branch in the automotive industry and consumer goods
Erogonomics in day-to day life
Now lets see a few images which will throw more light on Ergonomic design
Design of workplace
“Ergonomics” for us In our type of industry, Ergonomics plays a vital
role from the Boiler operator’s point of view. A few examples are listed below
Control room: All the displays and visual alarms should be placed at eye level. The eye level will depend on whether the operator is sitting or standing
The Visual displays should be clearly visible and lighting in the room or the surroundings should be such that there is no reflection or glare on the displays
All the levers, buttons, etc. in the control room, which are hand operated should be placed below shoulder level and above the waist level
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