Design sports equipment with an activity-centred approach: An alternative to sports ergonomics

In sports ergonomics, there is a disparity in the attention given on the one hand to the speci- fication of the equipment and on the other hand to the user's activity. However, design useful, usable, and appropriable equipment requires an understanding of the user actual activity. The aim of this arti- cle is to present activity-centred design that seems to be an alternative approach to designing sports equipment. Our approach will be illustrated with a design project of ice axes for ice climbing and dry- tooling which is conducted in close co-operation with manufacturers of technical gear for sport climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering.

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