Stigma

This dissertation looks at how negative associations that certain products carry, due to their relationship with stigmatised users, may be removed or reduced. There are several methods identified and tested which constitute either methods of disassociation from the stigmatised user or education about the stigmatised condition. The methods are then compiled into a tool that is used to generate concepts that are tested to gauge:
1. The ability of the design industry to respond to the issue of creating products with potentially negative associations.
2. The potential of the methods to create innovative solutions.
This was carried out in two stages:
1. By interviewing professional designers, to gauge feedback from the different methods, and eliciting sketch responses of products that could carry a negative association
2. Testing the sketch responses on mainstream users to see whether any negative association was evident.
The methods were endorsed by the designers, and the results from the mainstream testing were encouraging. However, some potential limits were identified, and recommendations made regarding the implementation of the methods as a viable product design tool.