It’s not all about function: investigating the effects of visual appeal on the evaluation of industrial products using the example of product color

Abstract

Purpose Industrial markets are generally associated with objective decision-making in which rational and functional product benefits are central. Recently, however, subjective aspects of decision-making, such as visual appeal, are attracting research attention. The purpose of this paper is to examine, first, the effect of product color as a non-functional design element on attitude toward the product and, second, the underlying causal relationships of this effect in the context of industrial products. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an online quasi-experiment in the dental market with a sample of 300 dentists. The product stimulus was a picture of a treatment chair that varied in color. An analysis of variance tested the effect of product color on attitude. Structural equation modeling investigated the underlying effects of product evaluation. Findings The results indicate that product color affects attitude toward the product. Further, the authors find an insightful causal chain of direct and indirect effects on attitude. The most effective path runs via visual appeal and aesthetics, while haptics and functionality are of minor importance. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to provide empirical evidence for the effect of non-functional design elements such as product color on the evaluation of an industrial product. The results provide valuable insights into the effects on attitude in this context and stress the great importance of visual appeal and aesthetics in the product evaluation process.

Pengaruh Berbagai Nilai Makanan Organik Terhadap Kepercayaan Dan Sikap Masyarakat Dalam Melakukan Pembelian

“…Dilihat dari pertumbuhan nilai makanan organik, perkembangan konsumsi bahan makanan organik terus mengalami Ditinjau dari tingginya perkembangan tingkat konsumsi makanan organik, adapun alasan tertentu yang mempengaruhi masyarakat dalam melakukan pembelian, yaitu Attitude dan Trust yang dibentuk melalui Funcitonal Value, Emotional Value, Knowledge of Eco-Label (Hossain et al, 2022;Nguyen & Le, 2020;Watanabe et al, 2020). Produk yang menjadi pilihan konsumen dimana produk tersebut memiliki Functional Value yakni Produk memiliki kinerja yang baik, Produk memiliki nilai kerja sesuai informasi yang tertera, dan Produk dengan terlihat memiliki nilai kinerja atau fungsi yang tinggi (Wiedmann et al, 2019). Maka, konsumen akan menyikapi (Attitude) pada produk tersebut dengan sikap rasa emosional yang berbeda (Kim et al, 2021).…”

Are product design researchers and practitioners on the same page? The way professional product designers view creative design

“…Product differentiation is typically articulated via product design characteristics or attributes (Velasco et al , 2014) that include a number of elements and dimensions (Bruce and Daly, 2007). Scholars focus on four main dimensions for product design (aesthetics, ergonomics, functionality and symbolism), as well as a myriad of visual and non-visual elements (Creusen, 2011; Bloch et al , 2003; Wiedmann et al , 2019) such as shape, colour, pattern, materials and texture (Luchs et al , 2016; Maeng and Aggarwal, 2018; Lawson, 1983). For example, Davcik and Sharma (2015) are typical of this tradition in that they focus on how the characteristics of products relate to the ability to obtain a price premium; they refer only indirectly to the benefits consumers gain from these product features, and focus even less on the problems the products solve for consumers.…”

The missing link in the evolution of product design: a strategy roadmap towards product development success

“…(Maeng and Aggarwal, 2018; Westerman et al , 2012). In addition, the literature has infrequently considered non-visual elements/senses in design , such as tactile or haptic (Ranaweera et al , 2021; Wiedmann et al , 2019) aspects of PD (e.g. material and texture) that can be more or less visible (e.g.…”

“…Visual design elements (form/appearance: shape, colour, size, lines, style, harmony, symmetry, etc.) (Hoegg and Alba, 2011;Creusen and Schoormans, 2005;Maeng and Aggarwal, 2018;Westerman et al, 2012;Wiedmann et al, 2019) Non-visual elements/senses in design (Sonderegger and Sauer, 2015;Srinivasan et al, 2012;Reimann et al, 2010) Creativity/innovation (Mugge and Dahl, 2013;Micheli and Gemser, 2016;Nakata et al, 2018;Nakata and Hwang, 2020) Product personality (Noble and Kumar, 2010;Creusen and Schoormans, 2005;Govers and Schoormans, 2005) Mediators PD pleasure and attractiveness (Beverland et al, 2017;Ortd and Wirtz, 2014;Chitturi et al, 2008) Processing fluency (Landwehr et al, 2013;Sample et al, 2020;Lee and Shin, 2020) Personality congruence (Govers, 2004;Govers and Schoormans, 2005;Buettner, 2017) Designers' practices (in design process) (Ravasi and Stigliani, 2012;Crilly, 2015;Ahmed et al, 2003;Ban and Hyun, 2020;Alcaide-Marzal et al, 2020) (continued)…”