Craft by you: acquiring consumer's idea to the product development for handicraft business in Thailand

Abstract

In this research, the procedure for cocreation between handicraft producers and users was developed, in order to study how handicraft producers could overcome the limitation in NPD process especially consumer's insight and user's need information. Therefore, enable handicraft producers to develop new product that meet actual consumer demand. The action research was conducted based on participatory design philosophy and user innovation concept. The voluntary handicraft producer and potential customer of handicraft products were engaged with the research which brought an idea from the customer to the producers, then screened by the production limitation of material and skill. The handicraft producer and the users participated the remoted design process in the controlled environment guided by the researcher which both parties had exchanged new product idea and together finalised the design, which was created into the prototype by the handicraft producer. Although this method was never studied, the workshop revealed the potential of cocreation and participation of design, also confirmed that the platform that encourage the users to reveal the idea for their benefit, could created the handicraft producer' ability of product development.