Investigating the influence of product perception and geometric features

Research in emotional design and Kansei Engineering has shown that aesthetics play a significant role in the appeal of a product. This paper contributes to establishing a methodology to identify the relationships between perceptions, aesthetic features, desire to own and background of consumers. Surveys were conducted with 71 participants to gather their perceptions of 11 vase concepts. Advanced statistical analyses, including mixed models, were applied to allow generalisation of the results beyond the data sample. Significant relations between the desire to own a product and how the product is perceived were found (the desire to own was found to be related to beautiful, expensive, elegant, exciting, feminine, common and dynamic vases), as well as between the perceptions and the parameters describing the form of the vases (a vase was perceived as beautiful if it had many curved lines and was simple and tall). An automated mixed model analysis was conducted and revealed that general rules can be found between aesthetic features, perceptions and ownership, which can apply across gender and culture. The findings include design rules that link aesthetic features with perceptions. These contribute to research as guidelines for design synthesis and can either be implemented via shape grammars or parametric modelling approaches. These rules are also interesting for 3D printing applications, especially important when the consumer is the designer. Some of these design rules are linked to the desire to own a product, they have implications for industry, and they offer guidelines to creating attractive products that people want to own

Extending the Implicit Association Test (IAT): Assessing Consumer Attitudes Based on Multi-Dimensional Implicit Associations

Background: The authors present a procedural extension of the popular Implicit Association Test (IAT; [1]) that allows for indirect measurement of attitudes on multiple dimensions (e.g., safe–unsafe; young–old; innovative–conventional, etc.) rather than on a single evaluative dimension only (e.g., good–bad). Methodology/Principal Findings: In two within-subjects studies, attitudes toward three automobile brands were measured on six attribute dimensions. Emphasis was placed on evaluating the methodological appropriateness of the new procedure, providing strong evidence for its reliability, validity, and sensitivity. Conclusions/Significance: This new procedure yields detailed information on the multifaceted nature of brand associations that can add up to a more abstract overall attitude. Just as the IAT, its multi-dimensional extension/application (dubbed md-IAT) is suited for reliably measuring attitudes consumers may not be consciously aware of, able to express, or willing to share with the researcher [2,3].Product Innovation ManagementIndustrial Design Engineerin