Short answer
Designers must actively research and consider the visual landscape their target consumers inhabit, using this knowledge to inform product aesthetics and communication to enhance positive reception.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Proceedings of the Design Society (2023)
- Method
- Cognitive analysis framework
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Consumers' initial aesthetic judgments of new products are significantly influenced by their pre-existing mental images of similar products and concepts, impacting how easily they process the new offering. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2023 study published in Proceedings of the Design Society. Using Cognitive analysis framework, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers must actively research and consider the visual landscape their target consumers inhabit, using this knowledge to inform product aesthetics and communication to enhance positive reception.
Visual References Shape Consumer Aesthetic Perception and Processing Fluency
Consumers' initial aesthetic judgments of new products are significantly influenced by their pre-existing mental images of similar products and concepts, impacting how easily they process the new offering.
Proceedings of the Design Society · 2023
Key Findings
- 01Consumer aesthetic perception is heavily reliant on internal visual references.
- 02The alignment between a new product's design and a consumer's visual references impacts processing fluency.
- 03A gap can exist between designer intent and consumer interpretation due to differing visual reference sets.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers must actively research and consider the visual landscape their target consumers inhabit, using this knowledge to inform product aesthetics and communication to enhance positive reception.
How to apply
Conduct market research to identify dominant visual archetypes and competitor product aesthetics that consumers are likely familiar with. Then, design products that either align with these archetypes for familiarity or offer a novel interpretation to stand out.
Project actions
- 01When researching your target audience, ask about products or styles they find appealing and why.
- 02Consider how your design might remind users of existing products, and whether that's a good or bad thing for your project.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Highlights the cognitive underpinnings of aesthetic perception.
- +Provides a framework for analyzing user responses beyond simple preference.
Limitations
It's hard to know exactly what visual references every single user has in their mind, so your assumptions might not apply to everyone.
Reliability & validity
The validity of the findings depends on the accuracy of the proposed cognitive framework and the methods used to elicit and analyze consumer responses to visual references.
Think critically
To what extent can designers truly control or predict the visual references a consumer brings to an interaction, and what are the ethical implications of manipulating these references?
Design Principles
"Leverage established visual schemas to enhance product familiarity and positive aesthetic reception, or strategically diverge to create novelty and disruption."
Understanding the role of visual references is crucial for designers aiming to create products that resonate with target audiences. When a product's visual cues align with a consumer's established mental models, it leads to smoother cognitive processing and potentially more positive aesthetic evaluations.
What This Means for Your Design
When people see a new product, they compare it to other things they already know in their head. If it looks familiar and easy to understand, they tend to like it more.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this research to justify your design choices by explaining how they align with or diverge from common visual references in the market.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The aesthetic perception of new products is significantly shaped by consumers' pre-existing visual references, influencing processing fluency and overall reception. Understanding these mental models allows designers to create products that either leverage familiarity for easier adoption or strategically introduce novelty to capture attention.
Source
Proceedings of the Design Society
TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE INFLUENCE OF VISUAL REFERENCES ON CONSUMER AESTHETIC PERCEPTION
journal · 2023
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about visual references shape consumer aesthetic perception and processing fluency?
- Designers must actively research and consider the visual landscape their target consumers inhabit, using this knowledge to inform product aesthetics and communication to enhance positive reception. Evidence: Proceedings of the Design Society (2023).
- Why does "Visual References Shape Consumer Aesthetic Perception and Processing Fluency" matter for design?
- Understanding the role of visual references is crucial for designers aiming to create products that resonate with target audiences. When a product's visual cues align with a consumer's established mental models, it leads to smoother cognitive processing and potentially more positive aesthetic evaluations.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers must actively research and consider the visual landscape their target consumers inhabit, using this knowledge to inform product aesthetics and communication to enhance positive reception.
- What were the main findings?
- Consumer aesthetic perception is heavily reliant on internal visual references.. The alignment between a new product's design and a consumer's visual references impacts processing fluency.. A gap can exist between designer intent and consumer interpretation due to differing visual reference sets.
- What research method was used?
- Cognitive analysis framework.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2023 journal from Proceedings of the Design Society.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- Conduct market research to identify dominant visual archetypes and competitor product aesthetics that consumers are likely familiar with. Then, design products that either align with these archetypes for familiarity or offer a novel interpretation to stand out.
- What are the limitations?
- Individual differences in visual references make universal prediction challenging; the framework focuses on cognitive processes rather than direct measurement of aesthetic preference.