ABSTRACT
Comfort and pleasure are both concepts that are receiving growing attention as a possible means of adding value to products. Sawaki and Price (1991) reported on the Human Technology Project in Japan, showing that factors such as comfort, enjoyment (a synonym for pleasure) and usability have increased in relative importance as part of product quality. Usability-comfort enjoyment constitutes
ABSTRACT
The ambition of this paper is to position the concepts of comfort, pleasure and usability in relation to each other, using as a basis the theoretical framework on pleasure with product use. The theme for this chapter is the relationship between comfort and pleasure in product use. The starting point considered is that pleasure with products goes beyond usability. In this context, comfort can be considered as an aspect of both usability and pleasure. The distinction between comfort and pleasure, what differentiates them and also how and where these two concepts intersect, is one focus. The empirical background for this study comes mainly from the context of car seat comfort, where the authors have performed two experimental studies. A wider interpretation of the concept of comfort is also brought into the discussion, based on a study of office seating and work on human comfort. Furthermore, a small questionnaire study about pleasure and comfort related to cars and car seats was conducted. This provided data to illustrate the relationship of comfort with pleasure in the context of the evaluation of the design of automobiles and their seats. The studies performed allow us to suggest hypotheses about the interrelation between comfort, pleasure and usability. Implications for industry include the findings that interpretations of these concepts are overlapping and would benefit from more distinct understanding. Practitioners are working with and need these concepts in order to create good, worthwhile and successful products. A final section argues the role of human factors in product development, considering comfort and pleasure in the light of environmental sustainability.
