The Importance Of Product Design

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The design and development of new products involves transforming a potentially-viable market opportunity into a tangible product distributed for the pursuit of selling to consumers (Krishnan and Ulrich 2001). In order to design a product that will be considered valuable and of benefit to consumers, it is necessary for the designer to understand what drives consumer needs and expectations and what will influence consumption behaviours. Because new products are critical for many businesses to achieve financial growth and build competitive advantage (Pitta and Pitta 2012), design of a product requires much more emphasis and consideration placed on consumer behavioural aspects, such as emotional responses and perception, to give consumers a sense …show more content…

This is why designers, theoretically, must be more considerate of the five senses when designing a new product. Research indicates that consumers maintain emotional and irrational responses which influence the purchasing process, thus making experience a fundamental aspect of product design and development (Schmitt 1999). Emotional connections to a product can be constructed through the direct effort to appeal to the senses (Hulten 2011). Research further indicates that consumer behaviour is directly affected by designers capable of influencing consumer emotions and memories (Krishna …show more content…

Visually, consumers exploit dynamics of volume, composition and proportion. From a tactile perspective, evaluations are made related to density, temperature and general product texture. From an emotional view, consumers build narratives and personal experiences as intangible objects. There narratives and experiences are theoretically linked with one’s sensory experiences, however the level to which the five senses influence perceptions of product and consumption behaviours is not fully understood in the literature. Hence, this study maintains the capability to potentially produce new knowledge in how incorporating elements related to the five senses can assist product designers in achieving market

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