At Face Value: Visual Antecedents of Impression Formation in Servicescapes

Consumers may base employee impressions on physical appearance\ud and displayed personal objects. In a scenario experiment,\ud using photos of a physician and a 360-degree panorama of his\ud consultation room, we examined the effects of appearance and\ud tangibles on impression formation. Study 1 shows that observers\ud employ various strategies of combining information from different\ud sources when forming an impression of the employee’s friendliness\ud and competence. Whereas previous research has shown that impression\ud formation based on personal appearances proceeds in an\ud automatic fashion, the findings of study 2 indicate that impression\ud formation grounded in the perception of tangibles requires more\ud elaborate processin

Shake it off; Radical meaning innovation in product design

This paper describes two techniques aimed at design-driven product innovation. Both techniques focus on providing a different, initially disruptive, perspective form which to approach a design assignment. As a result, sticky meanings and conventions are shaken loose, opening up avenues for considering new meanings that set the stage for design-driven product innovation.. Workshop results suggest that the techniques are effective in this respect; product solutions were original and out of the box and as such were ‘radical’ rather than ‘incremental’

The bodily basis of product experience

Based on the work of Lakoff and Johnson, this paper argues that part of our product experience is rooted in bodily interactions between people and their environments. Lakoff and Johnson convincingly demonstrated that repeated bodily interactions of a similar kind lead to the formation of image schemas guiding our understanding of verbal expressions. Here, it is proposed that the same underlying principles also govern our understanding of the expression of products. If correct, product expressions theoretically structured by the same underlying schema must be highly related. An experimental study involving chairs partly confirmed this prediction. The paper closes with a tentative discussion on how a chair's perceived expression could be related to the embodiment of schemas in its spatial and material features

Brand visualization: Effects of "product shape- typeface design" congruence on brand perceptions and price expectations

This research addresses effects of congruence of symbolic meanings connoted through product shape and typeface design on brand perceptions and price expectations. Based on processing fluency accounts, it is predicted that shape-typeface congruence, as opposed to shape-typeface incongruence, positively affects perceptions of brand credibility, brand aesthetics, and product value, the latter reflected in higher price expectations. These predictions were tested in two studies in which shape and typeface of a fictitious brand of bottled waters were manipulated. Findings from both studies were in line with our predictions. Moreover, study 2 indicates that perceived brand aesthetics mediates the effect of shape-typeface congruence on price expectations

Light as a feather: Effects of packaging imagery on sensory product impressions and brand evaluation

Inspired by the increasing importance of packaging design for product and brand management, this study tests effects of movement visuals and location of imagery on sensorial product impressions. Participants were exposed to a packaging variant for a fictitious brand of washing powder. Subsequently, they smelled packaging contents, estimated package weight, and evaluated product and brand. Findings show that movement visuals connoting upward (versus downward) movement resulted in the experience of a less concentrated smell, but only when presented in the top-left region of the package. Furthermore, imagery located in the top-left (versus bottom-right) region induced lower estimates of package weight. Additionally, findings show that location and movement visuals impact brand image formation and consumer preferenc

Symbolic meaning integration in design and its influence on product and brand evaluation

Previous research and theorizing in product design and consumer psychology testifies to the importance of congruence among symbolic meanings connoted through elements in visual communications such as advertisements, product appearance, and product packaging. However, understanding of the processes whereby meaning congruence impacts consumer response is limited. In this paper, we propose a framework for understanding congruence effects in design based on recent studies addressing processing fluency. Based on these findings, the authors propose that incongruence thwarts impression formation of product and brand by inducing ambiguity, thereby negatively affecting attitude formation. However, research indicates that congruence effects may vary across consumers. Hence, in the experimental study presented, effects of ‘advertising slogan-product shape’ (in)congruence were studied as a function of consumers’ tolerance for information ambiguity. Results from this study indicate that incongruencies are particularity distressing for consumers with a low tolerance for ambiguity in everyday life. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed