StylingCards as a Design Method : From Stylistic Intentions to Concrete Form.

Sammanfattning

This study investigates the development of a method called StylingCard for use within the industrial design process. StylingCards are explored as a tool for translating abstract stylistic intentions into more concrete form decisions during product development. The method has been studied within the industrial design program at University of Gävle and is also used in design practice as a way of working with stylistic direction. Despite this, the method is rarely clearly described or formally defined within design research. The project therefore aims to investigate and structure the method in order to understand how it can be used in a more systematic way. Designers often use words such as minimal, robust, soft, or technical to describe stylistic directions. However, the connection between these words and actual form decisions is often informal and intuitive. The purpose of the study is therefore to investigate how such stylistic descriptions can be translated into form in a clearer and more structured manner. The project also focuses on how meaning and interpretation influence the perception of form. Research in psychology and design theory shows that people do not interpret objects solely based on function, but also through the associations and meanings communicated by form. Shape, materials, proportions, and visual details can signal different qualities and create impressions that affect how a product is understood and experienced. This suggests that stylistic descriptions can be linked to identifiable form characteristics that can be analyzed and structured. StylingCards are therefore explored as a possible intermediary between descriptive language and physical form. The idea is to investigate how style-related words, visual references, and form characteristics can be combined into a more structured format that supports designers in defining and translating stylistic intentions during the design process. The expected outcome of the project is the development of a practical StylingCard method that can help designers work more systematically and communicatively with form and stylistic direction within the industrial design process. However, this is primarily a foundational structure created for the method, rather than a fully established system. It should therefore be understood as an early and usable version of the method, with significant potential for further development.