School staff
Personal profile
Eddy has worked at Loughborough University since 2002 as a researcher in User Centred Design. He has been involved in a number of both commercial and applied research projects. This has included providing technical ergonomics input to product developers, conducting product appraisals, occupational health and safety research, experimental capability testing and developing inclusive design tools and teaching materials.
Eddy’s primary research interests are in designing for an ageing population and design education. He was one of the key researchers on the i~design 3 research programme, where he conducted a number of experimental studies that investigated older adults capabilities in real world contexts.
Eddy designed and developed an online inclusive design resource ( ‘Context Calculator’ ) which is the first design tool to detail context capability data; the tool will form part of the inclusive design toolkit.
Further output from the i~design 3 research programme, by Eddy Elton and Colette Nicolle, includes key guidance for designers on context of use, which can be found on the Designing With People website.
Research carried out by Eddy in design education has primarily been on the Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT) project. This project focussed on developing User Centred Design teaching resources for the Design and Technology Curriculum at Key Stage 3.
Eddy is currently registered as a part-time PhD student at Loughborough University in the area of inclusive design. His thesis focuses on 'generating and translating context capability data to support the implementation of inclusive design within industry.'
Eddy is also involved in reviewing conference and journal papers (Journal of Engineering and Design, Applied Ergonomics, CWUAAT and INCLUDE) and chairing conference sessions (Include and Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors). Furthermore, he regularly teaches design and ergonomics on the undergraduate and post-graduate courses at Loughborough.
Teaching
Department of Engineering and Materials
MPA009 - Applied Design Ergonomics module:
- Product Design Process
- Product Design Specification
- Designing Pleasurable Products
MPC019 - Designing for vulnerable users:
- Designing for Children
- Capabilities of older users
- Designing everyday products
Design School
HUC/HUP114 - Disability, Ageing and Inclusive Design:
- Designing for Children
- Capabilities of older users
- Designing everyday products
Research
Research Group: User Centred Design.
Projects
2005 - present: Public Engagement workshops on ergonomics and inclusive design. Workshops include:
- How fit is your mobile phone?
- Ergonomics in action
- The interactive coal miner
- Designing for people that are 'WELL' old
- 3rd Age Olympians: gaining health through gaming for the over 60's
2006 - 2010: i~design 3: extending active living through more effective inclusive design.
2010 - 2011: Designing Our Tomorrow (DOT): engaging secondary school teachers in the principles and tools of inclusive design to enable their students to think creatively.
Featured publications
Elton E and Nicolle CA (2011) Translating inclusive capability for designers. Proceedings of INCLUDE 2011, Royal College of Art, 6th International Conference on Inclusive Design, 18-20 April 2011, Helen Hamlyn Centre, RCA, London.
Clift L and Elton E (2011) Designing for people that are ‘WELL’ old. Proceedings of INCULDE 2011, Royal College of Art, 6th International Conference on Inclusive Design, 18-20 April 2011, Helen Hamlyn Centre, RCA, London.
Nicholl B, Hosking IM, Elton E, Lee Y, Bell J and Clarkson PJ (2011) ‘…we’re not designing for a specific user at key stage 3’. Teachers’ lack of planning of user-centred tasks in Design and Technology at key stage 3 in England and implication this has for pupils understanding of complex design tasks. Proceedings of PATT 25 & CRIPT 8: Perspectives on Learning in Design & Technology Education. Goldsmiths University of London.
Elton E and Nicolle C (2010b) The Importance of context in Inclusive Design. Ergonomics Society Annual Conference 2010 - Keele University. Contemporary Ergonomics 2010.