Abstract
This study aimed to suggest practical and useful design directions for furniture for the rapidly-increasing university dormitory population. The process of the study took four steps; theoretical research, in-depth interview based on questionnaire, analysis, and development of design directions. Interviews were conducted with 25 university students living in dormitories in Seoul to find out problems with the existing furniture, students' satisfaction with the furniture, and their needs for other options. From these interviews, we found a few problems with dorm units, such as insufficient storage space, spaces too small for privacy, monotonous & standardized furniture design, and lack of multi-purpose furniture, etc. To support college students' complex lifestyles, five design directions were suggested from the analysis, such as a furniture design with highly multiple uses, modular furniture design, sufficient storage space, an application of various colors & materials, and practical use of dead space. Among these, two items were selected to be manufactured by the furniture design company. We expect that our suggested design directions for dorm furniture will support students' complex lifestyles, and satisfy students' needs with highly enhanced and better designed environments.
