The social nature of objects is recognized in their formal or aesthetic aspects, but this does not always generate guidelines for design in the functional aspect. Recently, cognitive dimensions have been incorporated into product design. Our intention in this article is to argue and demonstrate the importance of socio-cognitive interactions in the design of work instruments at the level of physical relations, always treated in accordance with biomechanical models. Taking as example the design of a work station for pharmaceutical products inspection, we show how the design had also to take into account the subjective conditioners derived from the social context in which the activity occurs.
Ergonomics conception; social form of instruments; participatory project
