Health, leisure and beauty activities are increasing in popularity in the United Kingdom, with a particular emphasis on self-help and alternative health practices. One product type that has increased sales with this expansion is the hand held electric massager. These are products that use vibration as a means of alleviating muscular strains and pains, as well as promoting relaxation. Paradoxically these products are extremely popular as gifts, but are discarded after an initial period of use.Products that respond to real user needs will be successful in the market. Designers cannot guess or assume such needs; they must immerse themselves within the user experience to effectively ascertain user needs. Research has become a fundamental activity within design to support evidence-based decision-making, ensuring that answering real user needs is central to product development.The research team was commissioned by a British manufacturer of electrical consumer products (including massagers) to investigate user attitudes and perceptions of existing products, to try to identify areas of user dissatisfaction. The manufacturer also concerned about a possible stigma attached to these products because of an association with sex aids.In stage one, the research team of an industrial designer and design researcher consulted on a one-to-one basis with a sample group of users and health/beauty therapists. The team identified a significant problem with users perceptions and experience of existing massagers. Many products had a number of operational disadvantages and this combined with doubtful efficacy to lead to users becoming disillusioned with them.At stage two, the research team expanded to include a health psychologist and professional therapist, setting up focus group discussions for product handling and evaluation with expert physiotherapists, occupational therapists and neurologist. There was universal agreement that most existing products had little therapeutic benefit and in
This article is a version after peer-review, with revisions having been made. In terms of appearance only this might not be the same as the published article.the hands of untrained users they might actually aggravate the conditions they were meant to alleviate. This stage exposed some fundamental differences of opinion between the professional therapists and manufacturers of existing products about the appropriateness of various operating principles. Most therapists employ manual massage as a reliable and effective technique for rehabilitation and relaxation. They were unconvinced that electrical vibration produced comparable results and were concerned about the harmful effects of vibration on muscle and nerve tissue. Although the manufacturer involved was keen to secure product endorsements from key professionals, this proved impossible to achieve with existing products. This stage did result in the identification of promising directions for future product development in collaboration with users resulting in a range of conceptual designs, wh...