1 Comfort Experience

P. Vink, C.J. Overbeeke, and P.M.A. Desmet

CONTENTS

1.1 Importance of Comfort .................................................................................... 1

1.2 Importance of Discomfort................................................................................ 1
1.3 Striving for (Dis)Comfort ................................................................................ 2
1.4 Comfort Knowledge Is Needed ....................................................................... 3
1.5 Aspects of Comfort in an Airplane ................................................................. 4
1.6 Aspects of Comfort in the Literature .............................................................. 5
1.7 Aspects of Discomfort in the Literature.......................................................... 7
1.8 Comfort Is for Everyone.................................................................................. 8
1.9 Comfort and Ergonomics................................................................................. 8
1.10 Comfort and Emotion ...................................................................................... 9
1.11 Conclusions .................................................................................................... 11
References................................................................................................................ 11

1.1 IMPORTANCE OF COMFORT

Everyone pays attention to comfort. When buying a bed or a car, or flying across
the ocean, comfort comes into play. Therefore, manufacturers of products such as
seats, cars, beds, hand tools, and production lines strive for comfortable products in
order to stay ahead of competition.
Comfort is influenced by many factors in the environment. That means that it
is not easy to design, market, or manage with a focus on comfort. However, knowl-
edge about comfort is a requisite when designing an airplane interior, working in
the marketing department of a hand tool manufacturer, managing the optimal per-
formance of office workers, or trying to measure discomfort as a precursor of back
complaints.

1.2 IMPORTANCE OF DISCOMFORT

Reducing discomfort — another issue discussed in this book — is not a luxury. To
stimulate optimal human performance, discomfort should be prevented. The tram
cabin should in fact be built around the driver in order to accommodate his perfor-
mance. The same applies to the environment of the assembly worker and to the
software system of the office worker. Optimal human performance is needed to stay
ahead of competitors, and reducing discomfort can be a great help in this regard.

© 2005 by CRC Press

2 Comfort and Design: Principles and Good Practice

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
back legs arms neck/shoulder

FIGURE 1.1 Percentage of workers in the EU having pain in the back, legs, arms, or neck
and shoulder during more than 25% of the working time, based on 1000 workers in each EU
country (Merllié and Paoli 2000).

Also, discomfort is a precursor of complaints in the back, neck, and arm and should
also be prevented for that reason. Discomfort can lead to musculoskeletal problems
(Proper et al. 1999) that cost society a lot of money. In a longitudinal study where
1789 subjects were followed for 4 years, a high score on postural muscular discom-
fort resulted in a significantly higher percentage of sick leave due to musculoskeletal
injuries such as back and neck pain. This is a serious problem in Europe (Fig. 1.1),
which makes preventing discomfort very important.

1.3 STRIVING FOR (DIS)COMFORT

However, at least three problems face us in striving for comfort:
• The exact cause of discomfort or comfort is unknown. There is no model
available that describes the cause of comfort.
• Every individual has his or her own meaning for comfort. Comfort is a
subjective phenomenon.
• The comfort design process is not described, and the approach is unknown.

These three problems that will be discussed in this book are interwoven, but for
clarity the model, the subjective experience, and the approach are separated. The
model and the subjective experience will be described in Chapter 2 and the approach
in Chapter 4. Chapter 3 describes a theory on sitting comfort. The theory explained
in Chapters 1 through 4 will be applied to actual cases in Chapters 5 through 22.
Chapter 23 concerns costs and benefits.
The present chapter describes aspects related to comfort and the way it is linked
to other fields of study and applications.

© 2005 by CRC Press

Comfort Experience 3

1.4 COMFORT KNOWLEDGE IS NEEDED

There are of course manufacturers who claim that their product increases comfort
because they say that they have a special sensor for that or because an expert
looked at it. Of course to some degree everyone has some knowledge of comfort
that can be generalized, and some predictions can be made. However, for profes-
sional situations or in buying beds (which are used about one-third of our lives)
it is not wise to base it just on beliefs. Discomfort in an earth-moving machine
or along an assembly line could lead to mistakes or back complaints. A lower
level of comfort in an airplane could result in fewer bookings because nowadays
various data for comfort ratings are easily obtainable on the Internet (Table 1.1).
Therefore, design approaches involving experiments with the real end users are
preferable. This is not simple, however. Just asking end users “Do you think it
will be comfortable?” or “Is it comfortable when you use it?” won’t give enough
input for a design. In this book, several methods are used to link the comfort
experience with the design.
Many studies show the positive effects of a design process in which end users
play an important role (see Chapters 5 to 22). Two of these studies are

• An approach including user tests that led to a more comfortable paint

scraper (see Chapter 15), which resulted in higher sales ratios
• An improved assembly line (see Chapter 9) that led to higher productivity
and more satisfied workers

TABLE 1.1
Example of an Internet Seat Comfort Rating
of Airliners
Seat comfort
Airliner rating
Finnair 8.2
Singapore Airlines 8.2
British Airways 7.5
Austrian Airlines 7.2
Malaysia Airlines 7.0
Cathay Pacific 6.9
Continental Airlines 6.8
Delta Airlines 6.8
South African Airways 6.8
Air France 6.7
Iberia 6.7
KLM 6.6
United Airlines 6.6
US Airways 6.5
Lufthansa 6.3

Source: www.vliegtarieven.nl (August 2003).

© 2005 by CRC Press

4 Comfort and Design: Principles and Good Practice

1.5 ASPECTS OF COMFORT IN AN AIRPLANE

Comfort or discomfort is often noticed during a long-distance flight in economy
class (Fig.1.2). Many aspects of discomfort and comfort play a role during the flight.
• Thermal comfort. One could experience dry air, cold feet, or a draft.
This not only influences skin temperature, but could also result in expe-
rienced discomfort in the respiratory system.
• Acoustic comfort. Noise could cause some inconvenience. However, a lot
has been done to reduce acoustic discomfort in airplanes. Better materials
that deaden the noise, or even active antinoise systems, have been applied.
• Visual comfort. Sometimes the screens are of poor quality, resulting in
visual discomfort.
• Physical comfort. Restricted leg space, the position of the screens, and
reduced movement possibilities could result in back and neck discomfort,
but also in problems such as deep vein thrombosis.
• Discomfort due to vibrations and shocks does not often play a major
role during a flight, but it could be experienced as well.

FIGURE 1.2 In airplanes the hip–knee space often results in discomfort.

© 2005 by CRC Press

Comfort Experience 5

Apart from the influence of the environment, our perception also plays an
important role (Fig. 1.3). The way we perceive the environment is influenced by
our history and mood. We could experience this flight more comfortably because it
is better than previous flights, or we could experience a comfortable flight because
the care provided by the flight attendant puts us in a good mood.

1.6 ASPECTS OF COMFORT IN THE LITERATURE

The above-mentioned aspects of comfort are also described in the scientific liter-
ature. The MEDLINE database lists 261 papers with comfort in the title between
April 1993 and April 2003. By far most of these (140 out of 261) concern climate
or thermal comfort (Fig. 1.4), which means that this is an often-studied area. An
aspect of comfort not mentioned in the example of the airplane is comfort related
to the treatment of sick persons. Measurements of the effects of medicine or nursing
(pain/patient comfort) are seen in these papers. Research on this aspect is mentioned
in 28 out of the 261 papers. The third most often mentioned issue is physical
comfort (28 out of 261 papers). It concerns research regarding seating, posture,
physical loading, and foot pressure measurements. Only six studies mention more
than one aspect (within the others category of Fig. 1.4), so most of the studies are
monodisciplinary.

FIGURE 1.3 Emotional aspects do play a role in the comfort experience and are not forgotten
in the exterior design of this plane.

© 2005 by CRC Press

6 Comfort and Design: Principles and Good Practice

thermal comfort

acoustic comfort

vibrations/shock

visual comfort

physical comfort

perception

pain/patient comfort

others

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

FIGURE 1.4 Aspects of comfort mentioned in the titles of 261 scientific papers (database
Medline, Applied Ergonomics).

Another search in the Swetsline database for the word comfort in a title resulted
in 44 papers (Fig. 1.5) published between April 1993 and April 2003. Again, thermal
comfort is most often mentioned, but so are vibration and shock. Acoustic comfort
and physical comfort are third and fourth, respectively.

thermal comfort

acoustic comfort

vibrations/shock

visual comfort

physical comfort

perception

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

FIGURE 1.5 Aspects of comfort mentioned in the titles of 44 scientific papers (database
Swetsline, Ergonomics).

© 2005 by CRC Press

Comfort Experience 7

1.7 ASPECTS OF DISCOMFORT IN THE

LITERATURE
Several aspects of discomfort are also found in the scientific literature. Between
April 1993 and April 2003, 109 papers with discomfort in the title are listed in the
MEDLINE database. Most of these papers concern pain studies (43 out of 109) and
musculoskeletal aspects of physical discomfort (35 out of 109). These 35 studies
concern the effects of postures or assembly tasks on musculoskeletal discomfort,
but they also discuss pressure during seating (Fig. 1.6).
It is interesting to note that comfort is mentioned more in climatic studies or
studies regarding thermal comfort, whereas discomfort is mentioned more in the
titles of studies regarding pain and musculoskeletal loading. To some extent this
relationship is also found in the research among nonexperts. Chapter 2 refers to a
study by Zhang et al. (1996) in which discomfort is related to clustered descriptors
such as fatigue, restlessness, pain/biomechanics, strain, and circulation. Comfort is
more related to clustered descriptors such as impression and relaxation.
Recent research (Kuijt-Evers et al. 2004) showed that the important aspects for
the end user differ according to the product. For handheld tools, functionality and
reliability are important aspects closely related to comfort (Kuijt-Evers et al. 2004),
while in seats comfort is strongly related to the terms relaxed, at ease, and happy
(Zhang et al. 1996). Because of the fact that knowledge is available on the experience
of comfort related to handheld tools, seats, vehicle interiors, and work stations, these
four areas are described separately in this book. A description of the theory and
examples are given for each area.
Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 describe the theory, and Chapters 5 to 10 discuss the
reduction of discomfort in work. Chapters 11 to 14 concern comfort in seat design,
Chapters 15 to 18 in handheld tool design, and Chapters 19 to 22 in vehicle
interiors.

1.8 COMFORT IS FOR EVERYONE

Everyone has an opinion about comfort. After reading this text, some readers will
experience discomfort due to the lack of lumbar support in their chair. Others will
feel incredibly comfortable and enjoy the fascinating text in combination with the
excellent figures. It is difficult to predict if someone will experience discomfort, or
comfort, or nothing at all. This book views comfort as a subjective phenomenon;
the comfort of a product can be evaluated only by the user. A product in itself can
never be comfortable. That is why this book pays much attention to how a user
should be involved in the design process. The end user should be involved because
he is the expert on his task and work. This end-user involvement is studied in the
area of participatory ergonomics (see Chapter 4). With the help of participatory
ergonomics, the design process can be structured with special attention on how to
take the participants into account, especially the end user.

© 2005 by CRC Press

8 Comfort and Design: Principles and Good Practice

thermal discomfort

acoustic discomfort

vibrations/shock

visual discomfort

physical discomfort

perception

pain/patient discomfort

others

0 10 20 30 40 50

FIGURE 1.6 Aspects of discomfort mentioned in the titles of 109 scientific papers (database
Medline, Applied Ergonomics).

1.9 COMFORT AND ERGONOMICS

There is a strong connection between ergonomics and comfort.

Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the under-
standing of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the
profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to
optimize human well being and overall system performance.

www.iea.cc/ergonomics (December 2003)

In fact, ergonomics is the discipline that studies how the environment should be
adapted to strive for optimal human performance. One of the outcomes of an
ergonomic design is comfort, or reducing discomfort. Accordingly, ergonomics is
the discipline that is crucial in optimizing the environment to arrive at an experience
of comfort. Therefore, much of the knowledge in this book overlaps with ergonom-
ics.
One difference between comfort and ergonomics could be that in comfort more
attention is paid to the experience of the end user and to affective behavior. However,
attention to experience and affective human behavior is also growing among ergo-
nomists, which is proven, for instance, by a conference organized by ergonomists
on this subject (Helander et al. 2001). Dul and Kahmann (2001) state that it is not
expected that many ergonomists will become specialists in emotional experience.
As a consequence of the statement mentioned above, that the comfort of a
product can be evaluated only by the user, much attention should be paid to how a
user should be involved in the design process. As noted earlier, this end-user

© 2005 by CRC Press

Comfort Experience 9

involvement is dealt with in the area of participatory ergonomics — the adaptation

of the environment to the human (that is, ergonomics) together with the proper
persons in question (participants) (Vink 2002).

1.10 COMFORT AND EMOTION

Given the fact that the concept of comfort has an experiential component, it can be
considered to be related to our emotions. In recent years, the design community has
shown a growing interest in these emotions.
Because comfort is also influenced by the state we are in, it has a relationship
with emotions. Kansei engineering is one method used to incorporate and study
human emotions in an early stage of the design process. One of the founders of the
method is Nagamachi (1998) from Japan. Kansei is a Japanese concept and difficult
to translate into one word. It has to do with the human emotions. In an example of
Kansei engineering, designs of parts of the vehicle interior of a Mazda were shown
on a computer screen to future users (Nagamachi 1998). The users attributed words
to what they saw in various designs. Speed indicators were shown in various designs:
round, long, with gothic numbers, and so on. In this way the emotions of car drivers,
measured as reactions on speed indicators in the dashboard, could be recorded and
used as input in the design. Using Kansei engineering, data were also gathered on
reactions to beer cans (Ishihara 1998). A group of 16-year-old women that had never
drunk beer before could describe the taste.
A similar but opposite study was performed by Smets and Overbeeke (1995).
Students of industrial design were asked to design 3D models of bottles for energy
drinks. The emotion caused by the taste was to be expressed in the bottle design.
The drinks were tasted and based on the taste, the bottles were designed. These
bottles were shown to naïve subjects, which means that the subjects did not know
which taste was coupled with which bottle. The subjects were asked to match the
bottles and tastes, and the accuracy of matching appeared to be very high. This
means that it is possible to incorporate emotion experiments into the early stages of
the design process.
For the development of comfortable products it could be wise to have some
knowledge of emotion and design. The emotional content of design is also important
in a work setting. Manufacturers of professional products and machines anticipate
this trend, which was also featured in a conference on affective human factors design
(Helander et al. 2001).
Researchers at the Delft University of Technology aim to develop approaches
and instruments that offer designers handles for discussing the emotional impact
of the product design with the intended users. Desmet et al. (2001), for example,
developed the emocard method, a nonverbal self-report instrument. It was devel-
oped because Desmet and Hekkert (1998) found that emotions are difficult to
verbalize, especially the type of subtle, low-intensity emotions elicited by prod-
ucts. Furthermore, asking users to describe their emotional responses requires
cognitive involvement, which may influence the responses themselves. Therefore,
the emocard method was designed to enable users to express their emotional
responses without the use of words.

© 2005 by CRC Press

10 Comfort and Design: Principles and Good Practice

The instrument consists of 16 emocards that depict cartoon faces with 8 distinct
emotion expressions on 8 male faces and 8 female faces. These expressions vary
within the dimensions of pleasantness and arousal. With these two dimensions

FIGURE 1.7 The 16 emocards developed by Desmet et al. (2001) that support finding
emotional reactions to products.

Russell (1980) created a “circumplex of emotions,” which was used as a visual

structure for the set of emocards (Fig. 1.7).
In a discussion, the emocards help the participants to express their emotional
responses. For instance, participants can select a card that best expresses their
emotional responses to a product. Participants can also put the cards in order of
relevancy. In this way, the cards can be used both as an aid to objectify emotional
responses and as an aid for starting a conversation on these responses with a designer
or researcher.
Recently, Desmet (2003) developed a new nonverbal self-report instrument that
measures a set of 14 distinct emotions: the Product Emotion Measurement instrument
(PrEmo) (Fig. 1.8). Each emotion in this set is portrayed by an animated cartoon
character employing dynamic facial, bodily, and vocal expression and is presented
on a computer interface. Participants can report their responses by selecting those
animations that correspond with their felt emotion(s). The unique strength of PrEmo
is that it combines two qualities: it measures distinct emotions and it can be used
cross-culturally because it does not ask respondents to verbalize their emotions. In

© 2005 by CRC Press

Comfort Experience 11

FIGURE 1.8 PrEmo interface.

addition, it can be used to measure mixed emotions, that is, more than one emotion
experienced simultaneously.
Instruments such as emocards and PrEmo are not only worthwhile for product
design, but they can also be used by management and employees in participatory
workstation optimization.

1.11 CONCLUSIONS
Knowledge of comfort and discomfort is important in designing chairs, beds, hand
tools, and working environments. A long-distance flight could make us aware of
the different aspects of comfort. Every passenger could experience a different com-
fort aspect during the flight because comfort is a subjective phenomenon. The fact
that it is a subjective phenomenon and the fact that various aspects influence comfort,
make it difficult to study. A lot is known about the thermal aspect of comfort, an
aspect that is most frequently mentioned in the literature.
This book is more focused on the aspects of comfort related to product design,
which is a rather new area. It is closely related to ergonomics and emotional aspects,
so these issues will also be described in this book. The part of ergonomics that
studies user involvement in the design process (participatory ergonomics) is espe-
cially interesting because comfort is a subjective phenomenon. Therefore, a separate
chapter will be dedicated to this topic.

© 2005 by CRC Press

12 Comfort and Design: Principles and Good Practice

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Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Desmet, P.M.A. and Hekkert, P. (1998) “Emotional reactions elicited by car design: a mea-
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Desmet, P.M.A., Overbeeke, C.J. and Tax, S.J.E.T. (2001) “Designing products with added
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Ergonomie, 26(5): 15–20.
Helander, M.G., Khalid, H.M. and Ming, T. (2001) Proceedings of the International Confer-
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