Investigating the influence of product perception and geometric features

Abstract

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, 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 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 and they have implications for industry, they offer guidelines to creating attractive products that people want to own. Research in Engineering DesignNovember 2016 2 KEYWORDS Emotional design, kansei engineering, aesthetics, perception, product form and geometry.

An Exploration of the Relations between Functionality, Aesthetics and Creativity in Design

“…The functionality of a product satisfies customer needs through problem solving and prevention while the aesthetics of a product produce experiential pleasures through viewing, sense of ownership, interaction or consumption (Rahman et al, 2010). Perez Mata et al (2017) indicated that aesthetic appeal is now used to provide consumers with additional value, in a competitive market of products with similar functionality. Also, Orsborn et al (2009) claimed aesthetics are a crucial factor in consumers' buying decision and satisfaction.…”

Surface Theory

“…We react most emotionally towards those products that fulfill or obstruct our goals (Desmet, 2012) and every act of interaction has the possibility of creating an emotional response. This emotion is being increasingly applied to a design context as it has become clear that "not considering these emotions in the design process is a missed opportunity" (Desmet, 2012); research by Perez Mata et al (2017) already explores the need to identify and target an emotive response from a product, linking this to a person's "desire to own" a product. The design of emotion within products is increasingly part of the growing set of tools that designers need to understand in order to keep up with market trends as the goal of ID shifts to creating an emotional story and experience, not just an artefact (Crossley, in McDonagh et al, 2004).…”

“…Emotions can be seen as "conscious experiences that constitute evaluations of external stimuli" responding to the physical body (Perez Mata et al, 2017), the nature of this means that emotion "tints all human experience" (Tuan, 1977). Emotional range is widely well understood within the "Western stereotypes" (Feldman- Barrett, (2020), as cited in Hammond, 2020) of the popular six "Universal Emotions" by Paul Ekman (Ekman, 1992); those being fear, sadness, anger, happiness, surprise and disgust.…”

“…This reduces the reliance on intuition and experience alone. In the area of 3D printing, this could also be beneficial when the consumer is the designer" (Perez Mata et al, 2017).…”

“…Guidelines with design education have long existed as a way to reduce designers' "reliance on intuition and experience alone" (Perez Mata et al, 2017) most prominently of these started from books the likes of The Measure of Man by Henry Dreyfuss (1967) that enabled designers in the automobile and furniture industries a precursory understanding of ergonomic necessities, although it was not until the release of the second edition (Tilley, 1993) that a second gender was properly acknowledged in the book and the book is largely compiled from data on white Americans.…”