1. Core Topic 6 The Responsibility of the Designer
This topic will cover the areas of:
Ergonomics
Anthropometrics
The Designer and Society

2. Ergonomics
A combination of the Greek ergon (meaning work) and nomia (meaning management of organisation) H.Murrell (1940)
DEFINITIONS
“The fit between man and machine”
“The interface between humans and their
environment”

3. Ergonomics
The discipline of Ergonomics traditionally covers all aspects of the interface, ie. physiological, psychological and sociological.
Because of this the term “human-factor engineering” is being used as it focuses on anthropometric data and usability studies. This helps to aid the process of making products easier to use, safer and better matched to the human body.

4. Anthropometrics DEFINITION
“The study of the measurements of the human body”
It is therefore that part of ergonomics which deals with body measurement, particularly size, strength and physical capacity. It was developed by Henry Dreyfus in the USA in the 1940/50’s.
eg.Rip-cord/lift buttons/target populations

5. Anthropometrics
To be universally effective, anthropometrics are used to describe the “user” or “target population” for a particular product.
Having data available on these groups takes the guesswork out of designing. Basic statistical information is used to interpret these data, eg. Percentile study.

6. Percentile Study
A “percentile” is a unit comprising 100th of the population.
Many products are designed to be used by
the users who fall between the 5th and the 95th percentile. e.g. mass produced clothes
Some products, eg. washing machines, are designed for the 50th percentile and therefore all tend to be the same height.
Some products are made adjustable, so they ‘fit’ a bigger percentile range. e.g. medical clothing, aprons, hats

7. Percentile Study
5th POPULATION th F R E Q U N C Y

8. Percentile Study – Skewed Distribution
This is where the graph of anthropometric data does not give a normal distribution curve and is ‘skewed’ to either side of the median.
This can happen if the data is not fully representative of the sample population, if the sample is too small, or if the sample comes from one particular social, ethnic or cultural group.

9. Task
1. In your booklet, draw a normal curve of distribution showing the median and the 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles.
Draw another graph showing a skewed distribution and explain why this might be so.