OVERVIEW

A study was conducted to develop design criteria by asking a questionnaire and observing groups of professional designers who work with design, graphic, animation, and engineering softwares.

Hand major motions and its relation with CTS
Faraji & Farahmand express four motions that are predictable within an interaction between a user’s hand and a regular computer mouse:
• Pronation of forearm;
• Ulnar and radial deviation of wrist;
• Dorsi flexion of wrist;
• Extension, bending and lateral motions of fingers.

“If these motions exceed the excessive values, it leads to WMSDs in upper limbs. In fact these excessive situations will increase the carpal tunnel pressure”. -Faraji, A., & Farahmand, M. R. (2013).

STUDY

The study was broken up into categories group A being Designers working with Design, Graphic, and animation softwares, Group B being designers working with Other sofwares and Group C being Designers working with engineering softwares. Sub groups (Example A-1, A-2 etc..) were also made.

Designers working with Design, Graphic, and animation softwares
(group A) [Insighst]

” Sub group “A-1” consists of users who work professionally with graphic design softwares like Photoshop, 3ds max, Maya, Corel draw, etc. When they are working with their specialized softwares, they use keyboard very few (while have lifted their hand from mouse) and grip the mouse continuously for long time.“

“Sub group “A-2” consists of users who work professionally with engineering design softwares like AutoCAD, Solid works, Catia, Rhinoceros, Alias studio tools, etc. In comparison with previous sub group, this one has more keyboard use for data and dimension entering.”

Other (Students, employees, secretaries etc..) (Group B) [insights]

Rather than spending long periods of time with a specific program, this group would usually spend long hours over multiple applications (Ex, Word, PowerPoint, etc..)

Designers working with engineering softwares
(group C) [Insighst]

“Users of group “C” use engineering softwares like C++, Matlab, Spss, Etabs, MS project, Primavera, Minitab and so forth. In this group mouse use is far less than sub group “A-2”. In this softwares data and text entering with keyboard is much more than design, graphic and animation softwares.”

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

The following is a list of design criteria that this study created by assessing the questionnaire given to users:

“Ergonomic criteria
• Decreasing or eliminating the wrist deviations as ulnar and radial deviation and dorsiflexion;
• Prevention of user for controlling the mouse by leaning his hand on top of the desk;
• Considering a supporting surface for wrist that preventing callus creation on the skin of this region;
• Preventing forearm from pronating with excessive angles;
• Preventing from Static and powerful grips;
• Prevention of user’s fingers bending, stretching or lifting up while clicking;
• Following the product’s form from the form of user’s hand and being non-symmetrical;
• The mouse size and the user’s hand size being equal; Applied Mechanics and Materials Vol. 440 195
• The mouse key possessing enough length to cover the users’ hand size difference and fingers position in relation with it;
• Designing a right hand mouse for left-hand users;
• Designing the surfaces that are in touch with user’s palm, somehow that preventing user’s palm from perspiration;
• Restriction of the Index finger for left click and scrolling and the Middle finger for right click. Functional criteria
• User quick ability in interaction with keyboard and no time consuming mouse grip;
• Accuracy decreasing that happening in mouse control by forearm, compensating with some arrangements;
• The keys position being somehow that does not active accidentally;
• Cursor possessing maximum movement with minimum scroll wheel rotation;
• Designed mouse must be light and portable;
• Designed mouse must not have additional keys;
• Designed mouse must be cordless;
• Final product price should be maximum 20 Euros. Aesthetical criteria
• Product gestalt should not be very strange or very innovative to make rejection in customers;
• Product dominant color should be black, particularly in areas that are in touch with user’s hand;
• Product gestalt should induce professional sense, modernity and being lovely.”

References

Faraji, A., & Farahmand, M. R. (2013). “An ergonomic computer mouse for professional designers.” Applied Mechanics and Materials, 440, 194. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2080/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.440.194