Published: 2008-12-09
ISBN:
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Purpose: This paper presents a design study undertaken to develop a concept motorcar interior based on the Hulme F1 supercar exterior prototype. The study focused on generating an appropriate visual design proposal with the support of the Perceptual Product Experience (PPE) framework to guide design progress and validate design work.
Methodology/approach: Throughout the project; the PPE framework was used as a tool to specify; direct and evaluate design work and to support design decision making. Design research work was categorised in the stages of contextual research; contemporary design analysis; design development; and design evaluation. Evaluation was done using a small quantitative-qualitative survey with external respondents; employing VAS scales; Likert scales and open ended questions.
Findings: This paper illustrates how the PPE framework can be applied as an effective tool for establishing an appropriately and creatively managed design direction during the design development process. Providing a number of benefits for design research; the framework helps position; benchmark and develop visual design characteristics within a contemporary market context. The framework also supports the development of appropriate; valid and measurable experience design criteria; which traditionally is difficult due to the subjective nature of design perception. The outcome of the external evaluation indicated that intended experiential design criteria had successfully been transformed as perceived by the respondent group.
Originality/value: The structure and tools of the PPE framework to analyse; categorise; specify; direct and evaluate creative design work in an area where design work traditionally relies on intuitive and subjective approaches. This is of value for communicating; managing and direction design work on operational and strategic levels of design; and has the potential to contribute to the quality assurance of design processes.
Perceptual product experience; PPE framework; automobile design; interior design; method; evaluation; design project
Abbot; Marcus et al. 2006. Engineering emotional product identities in high-luxury vehicles. In P. M. A. Desmet; M. A. Karlsson; and J. van Erp (Eds.); Design & Emotion 2006; Proceedings of The International Conference on Design and Emotion; September 27-29. Gothenburg; Sweden: Chalmers University of Technology.
Arnheim; Rudolf (1970). Visual Thinking. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
Autocar (2005). Media Gallery. Retrieved 07/04/2006 from http://www.supercarsnz.com/gallery.html.
Chandler; D. (1994). Semiotics for Beginners. URL http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/ [2006-04-05].
Crilly; Nathan; Moultrie; James and Clarkson; P. John (2004). Seeing things: consumer response to the visual domain in product design. Design Studies; Vol. 25; No. 6; November; pp. 547–577.
Desmet; P. M. A. (2002). Designing Emotions. Technical University of Delft; Delft.
Downton; P. (2003). Design Research. Melbourne: RMIT University Press.
Givechi; R. and Velasquez; V. (2004). Positive Space. In: Mcdonaugh; D.; Hekkert; P.; van Erp; J.; and Gyi; D. (Eds.); Design and Emotion: The Experience of Everyday Things. Taylor and Francis; London; pp. 12-17.
Gould; D. J.; Kelly; D.; Goldstone; L.; and Gammon; L. (2002). Examining the validity of pressure ulcer risk assessment scales: developing and using illustrated patient simulations to collect the data. Journal of Clinical Nursing; 10; pp. 697-706.
Jordan; Patrick (2000). Designing Pleasurable Products. London: Taylor & Francis.
Karjalainen; Toni-Matti (2004). Semantic Transformation in Design. Helsinki: University of Art and Design.
Karjalainen; Toni-Matti and Warell; Anders (2005). Do You Recognise This Tea Flask? Transformation of Brand Specific Product Identity through Visual Design Cues. In Proceedings of International Design Congress – 2005idc; International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR); Nov. 1 – 4. Yunlin; Taiwan: National Yunlin University of Science and Technology.
Krippendorff; Klaus (2006). The Semantic Turn: A New Foundation for Design. CRC Press: Taylor & Francis Group; Boca Raton.
Küller; R. (1975). Semantisk miljöbeskrivning (SMB). Stockholm: Psykologiförlaget
Mano; Haim; and Oliver Richard L. (1993). Assessing the Dimensionality and Structure of the Consumption Experience: Evaluation; Feeling; and Satisfaction. The Journal of Consumer Research; 20(3):451-466 (December).
Mather; George (2006). Foundations of Perception. Hove: Psychology Press Ltd.
Monö; Rune (1997). Design for Product Understanding. Stockholm: Liber.
Muller; Wim (2001). Order and Meaning in Design. Lemma Publishers; Utrecht.
Norman; Donald (2004). Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. Basic Books.
Osgood; C. E.; Suci; G. J.; and Tannenbaum; P. H. (1957). The measurement of meaning. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Reisberg; Daniel (1996). Cognition: Exploring the Science of the Mind. W. W. New York: Norton & Company; Inc.
Schütte; Simon (2005). Engineering emotional values in product design – Kansei engineering in development. Linköping: Linköping University.
Seva; Rosemary R.; Duh; Henry Been-Lirn; and Helander; Martin G. (2007). The marketing implications of affective product design. Applied Ergonomics 38:723-731.
Simon; H. A. (1992). Alternative representations for cognition: Search and Reasoning. In H. L. Pick; Jr.; P. van den Broek; & D. C. Knill (Eds.); Cognition: Conceptual and methodological issues (pp. 121-142). Washington; DC: American Psychological Association.
Solso; Robert L. (1999). Cognition and the Visual Arts. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Tversky; A. and Kahnemann; D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science; 211; 453-458.
Vihma; Susann (1995). Products as Representations: A Semiotic and Aesthetic Study of Design Products. University of Art and Design; Helsinki.
Visser; Willemien (2006). The cognitive Artifacts of Designing. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; Publishers; London
Wang; Diana (2008). What do you think about this car? Perception and meaning of automotive design in New Zealand and Taiwan. Wellington: Massey University.
Warell; A. (2005). Visual Form Commonality. Nordcode 5th international seminar; Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Trondheim; May 18-20.
Warell; A. (2006). Identity Recognition in Product Design: An Approach for Design Management. Proceedings of the 13th International Product Development Management Conference. Milan; Italy: Politecnico di Milano; June 11-13.
Warell; A. (2008a). Multi-modal visual experience of brand specific automobile design. The TQM Journal; Emerald Group Publishing Limited; August (forthcoming)
Warell; A. V. (2007). Visual experience of brand-specific automobile design: Studying appreciation; emotion and comprehension using the VPE framework. Proceedings of The First European Conference on Affective Design and Kansei (Emotion) Engineering; Lund University; June 18-20.
Warell; A.; Fjellner C.; Stridsman-Dahlström J. (2006). Visual Product Identity: Understanding identity perceptions conveyed by visual product design. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Design & Emotion. Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg; Sweden; September 27-29.
Warell; Anders (2001). Design Syntactics – A Functional Approach to Visual Product Form. Theory; Models; and Methods. Chalmers University of Technology; Gothenburg.
Warell; Anders (2008b). Modelling Perceptual Product Experience – Towards a Cohesive Framework of Presentation and Representation in Design. In Design & Emotion 2008; Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Design & Emotion; October 6-9. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Polytechnic University (forthcoming).
Young; Kenneth (2008). Interior Design proposal for the Hulme F1 Supercar. Wellington: Massey University College of Creative Arts.
