ng: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Enginee http://www.nap.edu/catalog/5576.html Designing Vehicles in Changing Times address. For example, through the 1960s and 1970s, cars were equipped with vanity mirrors for the right front passengers. When the auto companies recog nized the growing prominence of women in the marketplace, vanity mirrors were installed on the left-hand visor as well. since more and more women were driving. It was a relatively simple, but superficial, solution. The stereo- typic treatment of tertiary design issues can be seen in the introduction in the 1950s of La Femme, a car designed"for women only. With its tea-rose brocade interior and matching hat and handbag, La Femme designers and engineers addressed fashion or tertiary gender-design issues only, and they ailed to understand what women really wanted and needed. OTHER INDUSTRIES FACE SAME ISSUES in Today, many companies are responding to the increasing impact of women Razors About 5 years ago, Gillette discovered, through focus groups and in-home tests. that although both men and women shave. there are clear differences in primary and secondary gender-design issues in razors. Men shave in front of well lit mirrors; women usually shave in dimly lit showers. Men use short shaving strokes for the face, whereas women use long strokes for legs, which is an awkward task with traditional T-shaped razors. Women tend to see shaving as a chore. Men see it as a skill-a rite of passage--especially mong teenage boys. Armed with a new thought process, Gillette developed the Sensor for Women. It has a uniquely shaped handle and head, better suited for a womans hand and for making long strokes. Now, more than half of all razors sold to women are sensors and gillette's market share has risen to over 67 percent, up from 55 percent just 2 years ago Athletic shoes Ten years ago the term"womens athletic shoe"meant generic aerobic models that were simply smaller versions of mens cross-trainers. According to an industry spokesperson, "the only thing that classified it as a woman's shoe was a pink stripe.. and little else. Nike's research and development team developed shoes--men's shoes-based on pressure points, shape, weight adding, and size and then scaled down these shoes for women. In reality though, a woman's foot is shaped differently from a mans and has different pressure points. It took a complete rethink by Nike and a new focus on women consumers to react, but Nike did it. Building on research, Nike began designing separate molds to ensure a better fit and greater comfort for its female customers Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reservedDesigning Vehicles in Changing Times 5 address. For example, through the 1960s and 1970s, cars were equipped with vanity mirrors for the right front passengers. When the auto companies recog￾nized the growing prominence of women in the marketplace, vanity mirrors were installed on the left-hand visor as well, since more and more women were driving. It was a relatively simple, but superficial, solution. The stereo￾typic treatment of tertiary design issues can be seen in the introduction in the 1950s of La Femme, a car designed “for women only.” With its tea-rose brocade interior and matching hat and handbag, La Femme designers and engineers addressed fashion or tertiary gender-design issues only, and they failed to understand what women really wanted and needed. OTHER INDUSTRIES FACE SAME ISSUES Today, many companies are responding to the increasing impact of women in the marketplace. Razors About 5 years ago, Gillette discovered, through focus groups and in-home tests, that although both men and women shave, there are clear differences in primary and secondary gender-design issues in razors. Men shave in front of well lit mirrors; women usually shave in dimly lit showers. Men use short shaving strokes for the face, whereas women use long strokes for legs, which is an awkward task with traditional T-shaped razors. Women tend to see shaving as a chore. Men see it as a skill—a rite of passage—especially among teenage boys. Armed with a new thought process, Gillette developed the Sensor for Women. It has a uniquely shaped handle and head, better suited for a woman’s hand and for making long strokes. Now, more than half of all razors sold to women are Sensors, and Gillette’s market share has risen to over 67 percent, up from 55 percent just 2 years ago. Athletic Shoes Ten years ago the term “women’s athletic shoe” meant generic aerobic models that were simply smaller versions of men’s cross-trainers. According to an industry spokesperson, “the only thing that classified it as a woman’s shoe was a pink stripe . . . and little else.” Nike’s research and development team developed shoes—men’s shoes—based on pressure points, shape, weight, padding, and size and then scaled down these shoes for women. In reality, though, a woman’s foot is shaped differently from a man’s and has different pressure points. It took a complete rethink by Nike and a new focus on women consumers to react, but Nike did it. Building on research, Nike began designing separate molds to ensure a better fit and greater comfort for its female customers. 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