The roles of engineering and spirit in product design

Abstract

This is an exploratory study on the nature of product design in which the role of engineering is seen analogous to role of spirit (life). Within the domain of product design if Product Experience (Desmet and Hekkert in Int. J. Des. 1(1):57–66, 2007 [1]) is recognized as one part, then Product Entity is present as the other part. The physical, emotional, and mental aspects that make up three distinct experiences, namely aesthetic experience, emotional experience, and experience of meaning, within the Product Experience, are also present in the Product Entity as embodiments. Any experience, including Product Experience, is something only those who have spirit (life) can realize in the sense that we human beings understand. Any product entity becomes a reality only due to engineering. In other words, engineering enables something to be a product entity and spirit (life) enables something to be a product experience. Therefore, the role of engineering is that of an enabler of product embodiment much like the role of spirit (life) as an enabler in product experience. Understanding of this nature could possibly help tackling the issues in development of product designs better.