Designkvalitet

Designkvalitet is a concept used in design disciplines to describe the overall quality of a design. It denotes the degree to which a product or system satisfies user needs and constraints through its form, function, and performance. Designkvalitet encompasses not only aesthetics but also usability, reliability, safety, durability, and sustainability, as well as manufacturability and lifecycle costs.

Common dimensions include aesthetics, usability, ergonomics, functionality, safety, durability, and environmental impact. Accessibility and cultural relevance may also be included depending on the context. In design theory, designkvalitet relates to fitness for purpose and conformance to specifications, balancing performance with desirability.

Evaluation approaches combine expert reviews, user testing, heuristic evaluation, and benchmarking. Frameworks such as ISO 9000 for quality management and sensing frameworks like SQuaRE provide structure, but perceived quality by users often drives final judgments.

Contexts: designkvalitet is relevant in product design, architecture, software, and service design. Achieving high designkvalitet can improve user satisfaction, brand trust, and lifecycle costs, while poor design quality can increase support needs and replace cycles.

Practices: early consideration of user needs, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and iterative prototyping are essential. Trade-offs between design quality, cost, and time are common, and long-term value is a hallmark of strong designkvalitet.