How will Robocop communicate? : the design of a conceptual portable radio communication product for NZ police in 2018 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design at Massey University, Wellington

Abstract

This Master of Design study aims to communicate affective design principles within a Tait Electronics Ltd hand-held radio for the New Zealand Police to use in the year 2018. This investigation has three distinct research aims: A) Identify affective design principles appropriate for the design of current Tait portable police radios using the perceptual product experience (PPE) framework (Warell, 2008). B) Use speculative scenario planning to develop an understanding of how the requirements of Tait’s portable police radios will evolve over the next 10 years. C) Incorporate affective design principles and the brand values of Tait’s product range into a final conceptual portable police radio design for the year 2018. A comprehensive review of contemporary affective product design theory, case studies and other relevant literature was undertaken. This included affective product design (Warell, 2008), radio communication (Marzano, 2005) and future product forecasting (Lambourne, Feiz, & Rigot, 1997). Following this review the following research methods were selected for this study: 1) Future scenario planning 2) Current product-user interviews 3) Passive product observations Throughout the project iterative design methods were used, including 2D concept generation, concept development and 3D prototyping. The resulting conceptual product and associated documentation of this study will add to the existing body of knowledge around the application of affective design principles and portable police radio product design. Keywords: radio, NZ Police, usability, performance, experience, perceptual product experience (PPE), affective product design