Utilization of Digital Human Model in Design Education: A Design Students’ Learning Survey and Case Study

This investigation explores the utilization of the digital human model (DHM) in design education, including a survey and a case study of design students’ learning results. The survey comprises an anthropometric investigation of 106 students of a university and an investigation of design students who use DHM. The study examines the design students apply DHM and product design to design scenes. The survey results show that the students’ design works can be divided into three types: (A) adjusting 3D human models (61.3%), (B) no adjusting 3D human models (23.6%), and (C) no importing 3D models (i.e., only cut-paste human shape images; 15.1%). Most of the students are able to use the low design threshold approach to generate good design works. In addition, the case study focuses on the students’ design works of door handle devices in public places during the COVID-19 epidemic. The results show that the simulated sensory feedback the virtual environment gives to the students lacks sufficient accuracy. Although designers could simulate the user’s operation in the early design stage, however, applying DHMs does not ensure the generation of optimal designs. In product design experiments, physical prototypes are needed to simulate the user’s working force, to which the optimal angles and shapes can be determined.