Man-machine interface design

The paper summarises briefly the overall objectives of industrial design when applied to engineering, the nature of the problems to be solved and the techniques available. It emphasises that, although visual aspects of engineering design are important, the primary aim of industrial design in engineering is often to improve system performance, efficiency, reliability and safety under service conditions, through analysis of the man-machine relationships, and application of ergonomic techniques and of ergonomic aspects of form, colour and graphics to the operational, control and maintenance interfaces. A philosophy in support of industrial design is suggested which emphasises especially the importance of including the man-machine interface requirements in the initial engineering specification for development, without which analysis of these factors is likely to be delayed until a late stage in the project, when it becomes impracticable to adjust the design to accommodate them.