Combinando Seu Óculos Favorito: Um Método Para Observar Preferências De Armações Com Crianças

Abstract

Among the eyeglasses wearers, the children have physical and mental characteristics changing during its development and growth, so the frames' design for this group, demands studies and depth research. In addition to considering requirements for formal and aesthetic resolutions suitable for children, the eyeglasses design should also consider perceptual and emotional aspects that awaken affection, making everyday use more pleasant and attractive. This paper is part of a research that aimed to define guidelines for the design of children's eyeglasses. The Human Centered Design approach was used considering children who wear eyeglasses, their guardians; the optical attendants and pediatric ophthalmologists. This article presents the method applied with children in which finished parts frames were showed for 144 participants, and they had to assemble their favorite eyeglasses combination, and also writing the the reason for that choice. The combinations pictures were analyzed by distribution of frequency according to pre established items from features of front and temple. The quantitative results enabled a qualitative discussion and analysis of the behavior and some similar patterns among the combinations and preferences of current marketed frames. This method's content was later triangulated and confront with the results of other methods applied for defining the guidelines for children's eyeglasses. The experience with this method demonstrates the possibility of its application in other investigations on product preferences, involving the users participation.