The goal of human-centered product design is to create products that are useful, usable, and desirable. For many years, human factors has been about research, modeling, and evaluating the functional usefulness and usability of products and systems. In recent years, however, the role of emotion in product design has become a 'hot topic' for human factors professionals, and a variety of methods have been developed for identifying emotional needs and the emotional response people have to products. In this paper, a preliminary study aimed at developing an integrated understanding of the functional and emotional aspects of user experience with cell phones is discussed. A variety of techniques were employed and the combined data analyzed to develop a holistic picture of the user experience. We anticipate that the results of the study will serve as 'proof of concept' for future development work.

This paper describes the development of a studio-based approach for teaching ergonomics and human factors to undergraduate engineering students. Studio-based methods in engineering education draw on the concept of a "design studio" as the basis for learning and applying fundamental skills and knowledge through a series of directed exploration and design projects under the guidance of the course instructor. The use of these methods for teaching foundational courses in ergonomics and human factors is especially promising, as laboratory experiences and design projects are often an integral part of the course. The first course to implement these methods was Ergonomics and Work Measurement in the spring semester of 2010. The author's experiences and lessons learned will be described, as will the evaluation methods and preliminary results.