Stigma is a research theme that has no more than three decades of history. There has not been a consensus or an established theory about Stigma. To date, most studies are still debating about Stigma from different perspectives, mostly from sociologists’ and psychologists’ points of view.
The concepts of Stigma have been evolving intensively and continuously since it was first established; along with the complexities coming from the changes in society and environment. Nowadays, the phenomenon of Stigma is considered more complex than discrimination. Stigma is a process which is directly related to a power situation; it is considered as product of people labeling, association of undesirable characteristics (negative stereotypes) to labeled persons, the placement of labeled people in distinct categories, “us” and “them”; it finally results in loss of status and discrimination for labeled persons.
This complex and new topic starts to attract interest from different fields; such as Industrial Design. Nowadays, there is a stream of trend in which designers include more people in the use of a product, so avoid any label or stereotype on product is important. The Universal Design (UD) principles enable the use of a product for the biggest range of people possible, respecting any possible chronic limitations from potential users.
Within the use of UD principles, the task of designing a product requires special tools to identify which kind of product shapes avoid negative labels on people who have chronic health problems; what shapes will not cause them being labeled as incapable; which kind of shape characteristics will receive negative stereotypes on users, such as weak, handicapped and sick people. This study used Kansei, an emotion-engineering concept, which was created in Japan. By utilizing Kansei concept and tools, it is hoped that this study will help designers to identify the emotions, adjectives, stereotypes, and Stigma behind product forms, therefore avoiding Stigma.
Glucose Meters, the product to measure sugar level of Diabetes carrier, was used as a case example for this study. The reasons for choosing this product is mainly because Diabetes is a chronical disease that can produce diversified consequences to its carriers, it might bring physical effect as severe as amputation and also psychological effects such as Stigma.
The importance and uniqueness of this study lies in the core of Stigma; the labeling phase that mainly happens because the label is attached to someone not for one’s outlook or way of life, but for the medical device that one uses. For that reason, the analysis of product shapes that can remove Stigma attached to one’s disease, encouraging people from different ages to use it; reducing feelings of regret and pity from others and from themselves.

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