ng: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Enginee http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5576.html DESIGN RESEARCH PRIMARY. SECONDARY AND TERTIARY DESIGN A closer examination of primary, secondary, and tertiary design issues as applied in the automotive industry illustrates these gender differences. Pri mary design issues concern unique physical differences, such as size and shape, body proportions, reach(arm and leg length), and strength. Secondary design issues focus on the following: usage, which addresses not only practi cality but also such safety and security concerns as antilock brakes, airbags, power locks, delayed lighting, cellular phones, and child seats; functionality, ncludes such things as ease of entry and egress; and affordability which includes quality, perceived value and price, and motivation. Finally tertiary design issues focus on social and cosmetic characteristics. Those include clothing and overall fashion orientation Let us investigate some examples of primary design issues. For years, an average-size American Caucasian male was the accepted"model"of the typi cal customer. Women tend to be shorter than men, so arm and leg reach-to a brake pedal or gearshift, to instrument panel controls, or to a shoulder harness--have become primary gender-design issues. When researching door handles and door handle heights for the Windstar, for instance, we discovered that there can be as much as a 2-inch difference between the hand width of a small female and a large male. These different dimensions therefore dictated the design and placement of the Windstar handles. Visibility over an instru ment panel or rear seat is another primary design issue. Windshield wipers on the Ford Ranger, for example, were reengineered after we determined that the wiper blades could impair the vision of shorter-than-average drivers Secondary issues are less tangible because they focus ers' differing motivations and usage patterns. Focus groups confirmed that women place great importance on functionality and affordability. The success of the minivan design, for example, can be attributed to prominent, but simple, functional design features. These include the large side door that opens and allows easy access for children, infant car seats, pets, groceries, and other go, as well as cupholders that are strategically placed and designed to hold ren's juice boxes and bottles, which have proven to be real benefits for children and. therefore for mothers Another secondary gender-design issue that underscores the differences between men and women is emphasis on safety. Women consistently request safety-related design features, such as power locks, power windows, and de layed interior lighting systems. They want integrated cellular phones and hild seats. Women clearly understand the benefits of functional safety items such as airbags and antilock brakes, and they have been instrumental in creat ing a demand for such features to be standard, even on entry-level vehicles Finally, there are the tertiary design issues. Traditionally, it is these tertiary issues--cosmetic design issues--that companies have found easiest to Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved4 DESIGN RESEARCH PRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND TERTIARY DESIGN A closer examination of primary, secondary, and tertiary design issues as applied in the automotive industry illustrates these gender differences. Pri￾mary design issues concern unique physical differences, such as size and shape, body proportions, reach (arm and leg length), and strength. Secondary design issues focus on the following: usage, which addresses not only practi￾cality but also such safety and security concerns as antilock brakes, airbags, power locks, delayed lighting, cellular phones, and child seats; functionality, which includes such things as ease of entry and egress; and affordability, which includes quality, perceived value and price, and motivation. Finally, tertiary design issues focus on social and cosmetic characteristics. Those include clothing and overall fashion orientation. Let us investigate some examples of primary design issues. For years, an average-size American Caucasian male was the accepted “model” of the typi￾cal customer. Women tend to be shorter than men, so arm and leg reach—to a brake pedal or gearshift, to instrument panel controls, or to a shoulder harness—have become primary gender-design issues. When researching door handles and door handle heights for the Windstar, for instance, we discovered that there can be as much as a 2-inch difference between the hand width of a small female and a large male. These different dimensions therefore dictated the design and placement of the Windstar handles. Visibility over an instru￾ment panel or rear seat is another primary design issue. Windshield wipers on the Ford Ranger, for example, were reengineered after we determined that the wiper blades could impair the vision of shorter-than-average drivers. Secondary issues are less tangible because they focus more on consum￾ers’ differing motivations and usage patterns. Focus groups confirmed that women place great importance on functionality and affordability. The success of the minivan design, for example, can be attributed to prominent, but simple, functional design features. These include the large side door that opens and allows easy access for children, infant car seats, pets, groceries, and other cargo, as well as cupholders that are strategically placed and designed to hold children’s juice boxes and bottles, which have proven to be real benefits for children and, therefore, for mothers. Another secondary gender-design issue that underscores the differences between men and women is emphasis on safety. Women consistently request safety-related design features, such as power locks, power windows, and de￾layed interior lighting systems. They want integrated cellular phones and child seats. Women clearly understand the benefits of functional safety items such as airbags and antilock brakes, and they have been instrumental in creat￾ing a demand for such features to be standard, even on entry-level vehicles. Finally, there are the tertiary design issues. Traditionally, it is these tertiary issues—cosmetic design issues—that companies have found easiest to Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5576.html