The project was carried out in cooperation with the department of product development IOS at IKEA. The work included improvements of a new existing product that Ikea soon will release on the market, Observatör, a wall bracket for flat screens. The product is supposed to fulfil the needs within this market for IKEA. However, since Ikea was not satisfied with it, our work was to carry out the improvements that were specified in the beginning of the project. Another task in the project was to develop a side-product that is supposed to be used together with Obeservatör for storage of DVD/decoders.The project included labour as problem definition to final technical drawings and a prototype.

The purpose of this study was to examine how local producers in the food and confectionery segment in Västernorrland, Sweden, working to communicate that the product is locally produced through its packaging design. We have chosen to look at how they work with the right packaging design because it is such an important part of the product marketing. A further aim was to examine how consumers perceive the packaging design of the locally produced products and how they consider that the packaging design communicates the product as locally produced. We have also analyzed the graphical elements contained in the locally produced product packaging through a semiotic analysis.The theoretical framework is based on theories in brand communication and Visual Communication, specializing in packaging design?s visual elements.The method used in this study is a qualitative method.

Smartphone applications, or apps, are an increasingly important part of omnichannel retailing. While the adoption and usage of apps for communicating with consumers has grown exponentially over the past few years, there is little academic research in this area. The primary purpose of this thesis is to describe how the involvement in a product category affects consumers' intention to use a retailer-branded smartphone application during their shopping trip. Drawing upon recent IS-literature with models TAM and UTAUT, our results indicate that product category involvement constitutes an important factor on the intention to use a retailer-branded smartphone application. By viewing involvement as a multidimensional construct, our study shows that the degree of hedonic and expressive value a product cateogry provides consumers with has important effects on intention, and these relationships are not moderated by consumers' age.

The purpose of this study was to examine how local producers in the food and confectionery segment in Västernorrland, Sweden, working to communicate that the product is locally produced through its packaging design. We have chosen to look at how they work with the right packaging design because it is such an important part of the product marketing. A further aim was to examine how consumers perceive the packaging design of the locally produced products and how they consider that the packaging design communicates the product as locally produced. We have also analyzed the graphical elements contained in the locally produced product packaging through a semiotic analysis.The theoretical framework is based on theories in brand communication and Visual Communication, specializing in packaging design?s visual elements.The method used in this study is a qualitative method.

This diploma work project is a product development project which purpose is to redesign a braking system for a walking frame. The system that was developed diverges the force from the user to braking power, and includes a service brake as well as a parking brake. The most important components of the system are a grip handle on where the user holds on to and a braking handle on which the user operates the brake from. The system also includes a power transmission component, braking package and other mechanical components. All of the components wasn?t developed in this project, several off them has been reused from the existing system.This product has been developed to meet the requirements and standards presented from the principal, Ahlberg Leber.

In today's producing companies, there is a high demand on early integrated productdevelopment. One way to facilitate communication between departments and collaborationbetween people and thereby enable early sharing of product information within the companyis to use PLM, Product Lifecycle Management.The CAD environment at Scania is at the moment being upgraded from Catia v4 to Catiav5. In this stage it is important that also the interacting computer systems in Scania?s PLMenvironment are adjusted and in the future join the development. Scania has an idea of howthese systems will be developed as the transition from Catia v4 to Catia v5 is being carriedout.

The main drivers of luxury consumption is to obtain prestige and status, therefore the possibility of visible consumption of products is a key dimension of the product. Typical examples of luxury goods include cars, handbags and watches. These are consumed in the public arena where the possibility to show off the product and the brand is the greatest. When examining luxury products and what drives men and women to pay premium prices for a brand and for a logo, a fascinating finding is that there are products that fundamentally lacks these attributes, but which are considered to be classic luxury products. An example of this is perfume.

This bachelor thesis argues for consumers' views on origin labeling effect and their willingness to pay for goods with this kind of label. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence and to measure willingness to pay for a national origin labeled product previously only competeing with a less expensive conventional product, when a further regional product is introduced in the purchasing decisions of consumers. This is achieved by testing whether Simonson's (1989) theory of the compromise effect is applicable to increase consumers' willingness to pay for eco-labeled food products. The factors affecting the willingness to pay; trust in eco- label, opinions about the products of their own nation and the surrounding region. Furthermore presents theory about what underlying the consumer consumption choices.In order to achieve credible results 240 respondents have participated in a questionnaire survey.

Detta arbete består av två delar. En litteraturstudie med stort fokus på jorden och en praktisk undersökning av trädraden vid Västergatan i Eslöv där vegetationen består av Acer platanoides och Stephanandra incisa 'Crispa'. Litteraturstudien omfattar: ? egenskaper man kan förvänta sig i en urban jord ? markpackningens betydelse för jordens vattenhållande förmåga samt för växterna ? vikten av lufttillgång för växternas rötter ? hur markporförekomsten påverkar dräneringsförhållandena i jorden ? kort om pH och näringsämnen ? hur vägsaltning påverkar marken och växterna ? vikten av etableringsskötsel, åtgärder vid slitage/sabotage ? kort om ohyra och rotskador vid anläggningsarbete Fallstudien omfattar: ? undersökning av träden genom ? omkretsmätning av samtliga träd på den aktuella sträckan ? årsringsmätning med hjälp av borrkärnsprover hos fem slumpmässigt valda träd ? okulär analys ? undersökning av marken genom ? enkla jordanalyser med hjälp av agronomkäpp ? att känna på marken med penetrometerkäpp ? analys av en 94 cm djup provgrop, med dess fyra horisonter ? bedömning av rotförekomst I min undersökning har träden varit svåra att analysera, eftersom de saknat bladmassa och grenverket sitter mycket högt. Jag tog borrkärnsprover ur veden för att bedöma årsringstillväxten, men dessa är för få för att jag ska kunna dra några pålitliga slutsatser ur dem och jag har enbart hittat borrkärnemätning på en lönn i litteraturen. Min slutsats är att marken är kompakterad till kraftigt kompakterad, beroende på djup.

The purpose of this study is to investigate a loyalty card and its relation to accompanying promotional benefits, and their linkages to grocery retail service loyalty. Also, the aim sets out to find relationships between demographic variables and proneness towards the promotional benefits, the loyalty card, and loyalty. A quantitative approach has been assumed and empirical data has been collected through the use of questionnaires. The data has been analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analysis. An operationalization used to measure satisfaction of the loyalty card and attitudinal loyalty is also presented.

The way we design our cities today will affect the living conditions for future generations. Planning as a discipline can become crucial to attain a sustainable urban development with an increased quality of life among the urban population and an improved environment. Urban Agriculture in the Sustainable City -a case study in Managua is a Diploma Work that deal with poverty issues, aspects of sustainability and development work. We have had a theoretical starting-point, but our focus has been on the case study i.e. the practical part, that we carried out in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Today about half of the worlds 6,3 billion people live in cities. The demographic growth of the countryside has declined, while the population in the cities is considerably increasing.

In a time where many Asian metropolises experience an expansive development new urbanconditions are created and the already existing disappears or being replaced. Asian cities develop ata pace that is unprecedented in our history and which, through a western perspective can seemharsh. By focusing on an urban complex in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province ofSichuan China, the study asks; is it possible to see this rapid urbanization from another perspective?The study examines the local and global dimensions of Raffels City, and how concepts such asnostalgia and authenticity, related to the city, can be understood in an urbanization that is so markedby massive demolitions. The study shows that these concepts can be expressed in several ways, andthat an awareness of them does not necessarily control the view of the city..

This report covers the product development of a new type of extendable table for the company Karl Andersson och Söner. The company wants to expand their product collection with a new product. Karl Andersson och Söner is a well-known family company that has been located in Huskvarna since 1898, and they are producing furniture for private- and the public environment.The aim with this project is that the product should lead to increased sales, as well as expand their collection to appeal a wider audience. The work is permeated by two issues, to achieve as good results as possible. The issues will bring up how to make a table better, in terms of the competitor?s options, and how to apply a design process to develop a table that meets the markets needs and requirements.The design process of the work consists of strategically picked parts from three separate design processes.

Al Gore may have helped put global warming on the agenda. However, it is not a new subject. Neither is so called green marketing a new phenomenon within branding and communication. As more and more companies establish environmental strategies there exist beliefs that the environmental focus is becoming a triviality, which is the reason for this study. Implementation of words such as ?environmentally friendly?, ?green? and ?global warming? is becoming more and more widespread and frequently used within marketing communication.

High brand equity is a great asset for companies that operate their business in a free and competitive market. Brand equity can arise from both product-related and non-product related attributes and may be viewed from many different perspectives. This study examines which different attributes that contribute to enhance brand equity from customers point of view at the Swedish market for agricultural machinery. The study have been developed using a comprehensive literature search in order to investigate the field regarding brand equity and brand image. The literature review results in one product specific and one non-product specific approach in order to examine factors that contribute to enhanced brand equity. This takes the form as one survey-based approach regarding the non-product related attributes which is examined by interpreting the extra value added by different attributes.