Investigations of product design engineering students intentions and a users perception of product character

This paper investigates the similarities and/or differences between the associations that are made by a user of a product with those that were the intentions of designers, in this case product design engineering students. Products can be designed to have a character, i.e. a mood that is conveyed through the form of the product, the use of material and colour. Designers often design a consumer product to target a particular market segment with a particular lifestyle or age group. Therefore, the character of a product is intended to appeal to the target user group. A total of 22 experiments with different user groups were undertaken. The aim of the experiments was to understand the correlation between the mood boards created by the designers and the associations made by the targeted user group, and also to understand the correlation between visual models of products created by the designers and the associations made by the targeted user group. During the experiments the participants were asked to describe the mood boards in their own words, and this was compared to the descriptions of the designers. They were also asked to describe the mood boards using a selection of terms which formed the coding scheme using adjective pairs. The coding scheme utilised a seven point scale using the Osgood semantic differential scales. It was found that only one of the five product tested was perceived in a similar way to that of the designer and was correctly associated with its mood board. The coherent ness of images on the mood board was also a factor. When describing their perceptions of the products, the participants' familiarity with the product range was a factor. Those who were familiar (and hence were likely to be a targeted customer) perceived the product in a more similar manner to that of the designer. In general, it was difficult for the participants to articulate why a product was perceived in a particular way, however a consensus was observed in a number of the products.