Assistive Technology and User-Centered Design: emotion as element for innovation

The present article approaches as central theme the Assistive Technology. Its main objective is to enhance the understanding of the user-centered design and the emotional dimension involved in the process of innovation of the assistive equipments. The adopted method was the situational analysis. Starting from counterpoints with renowned authors of the literature and emphasizing the fact that disability is an individual experience, pleasure and emotion are approached to clarify the design method in order to provide positive experiences for the necessary affective link between product and user. As a result, it becomes clear the possibility to provide the assistive equipments with style, formal, functional and emotional quality inspiring the innovation processes that harmonize the designer's ideas with the real needs of the users who constantly struggle with the improvisations and the lack of design. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.