Material considerations in product design: A survey on crucial material aspects used by product designers

The competitive market rising from the increase in product consumption makes product designers consider more about materials than before. Materials, indeed, have been extensively studied in science and engineering for years. Existing materials selection sources can serve as useful function in giving up to date information on technical (physical, quantifiable) characteristics of materials. However, designers also use some intangible aspects with the aim of expressing their intentions; attributing some meanings to their products through their appropriate choices of material. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate materials selection process in product design in order to find out what kinds of aspects of materials are significant for product designers in their selections. This paper includes an experiment conducted with 20 professional designers. The findings from the experiment were used for establishing a required data table representing the material considerations of designers in materials selection. The crucial role of intangible characteristics of materials in their selections is emphasized.