Design Evaluation Model Based on Consumer Values: Three-step Approach from Product Attributes, Perceived Attributes, to Consumer Values

Recently, consumer needs are diversifying as information technologies are evolving rapidly. A lot of IT devices such as smart phones and tablet PCs are launching following the trend of information technology. While IT devices focused on the technical advance and improvement a few years ago, the situation is changed now. There is no difference in functional aspects, so companies are trying to differentiate IT devices in terms of appearance design. Consumers also consider design as being a more important factor in the decision-making of smart phones. Smart phones have become a fashion items, revealing consumers' own characteristics and personality. As the design and appearance of the smartphone become important things, it is necessary to examine consumer values from the design and appearance of IT devices. Furthermore, it is crucial to clarify the mechanisms of consumers' design evaluation and develop the design evaluation model based on the mechanism. Since the influence of design gets continuously strong, various and many studies related to design were carried out. These studies can classify three main streams. The first stream focuses on the role of design from the perspective of marketing and communication. The second one is the studies to find out an effective and appealing design from the perspective of industrial design. The last one is to examine the consumer values created by a product design, which means consumers' perception or feeling when they look and feel it. These numerous studies somewhat have dealt with consumer values, but they do not include product attributes, or do not cover the whole process and mechanism from product attributes to consumer values. In this study, we try to develop the holistic design evaluation model based on consumer values based on three-step approach from product attributes, perceived attributes, to consumer values. Product attributes means the real and physical characteristics each smart phone has. They consist of bezel, length, width, thickness, weight and curvature. Perceived attributes are derived from consumers' perception on product attributes. We consider perceived size of device, perceived size of display, perceived thickness, perceived weight, perceived bezel (top - bottom / left - right side), perceived curvature of edge, perceived curvature of back side, gap of each part, perceived gloss and perceived screen ratio. They are factorized into six clusters named as 'Size,' 'Slimness,' 'No-Frame,' 'Roundness,' 'Screen Ratio,' and 'Looseness.' We conducted qualitative research to find out consumer values, which are categorized into two: look and feel values. We identified the values named as 'Silhouette,' 'Neatness,' 'Attractiveness,' 'Polishing,' 'Innovativeness,' 'Professionalism,' 'Intellectualness,' 'Individuality,' and 'Distinctiveness' in terms of look values. Also, we identifies 'Stability,' 'Comfortableness,' 'Grip,' 'Solidity,' 'Non-fragility,' and 'Smoothness' in terms of feel values. They are factorized into five key values: 'Sleek Value,' 'Professional Value,' 'Unique Value,' 'Comfortable Value,' and 'Solid Value.' Finally, we developed the holistic design evaluation model by analyzing each relationship from product attributes, perceived attributes, to consumer values. This study has several theoretical and practical contributions. First, we found consumer values in terms of design evaluation and implicit chain relationship from the objective and physical characteristics to the subjective and mental evaluation. That is, the model explains the mechanism of design evaluation in consumer minds. Second, we suggest a general design evaluation process from product attributes, perceived attributes to consumer values. It is an adaptable methodology not only smart phone but also other IT products. Practically, this model can support the decision-making when companies initiative new product development. It can help product designers focus on their capacities with limited resources. Moreover, if its model combined with machine learning collecting consumers' purchasing data, most preferred values, sales data, etc., it will be able to evolve intelligent design decision support system.

소비자 가치기반 디자인 평가 모형: 제품 속성, 인지 속성, 소비자 가치의 3단계 접근

최근 정보 기술의 발전 속도가 매우 빠르게 변화하고 있다. 스마트폰과 태블릿 같은 IT 기기에서 이런 변화들이 두드러지고 있다. 이전의 IT 기기들은 기능상의 혁신과 진보를 통해 소비자들을 끌어들였지만, 현재는 IT 제품 상에서 기능상 발전과 혁신은 둔화되었다. 기능상 차별점이 줄어든 시점에서 기업들은 외관과 디자인적 측면에서 차별화를 시도하고 있다. 스마트폰의 외관적 변화를 반영하듯 소비자들도 성능보단 디자인을 스마트폰 구매의 중요 요인으로 삼고 있다. 스마트폰은 패션 아이템의 하나로 자리매김하게 되었고, 스마트폰의 디자인과 외형이 지속적으로 중요해짐에 따라 해당 제품에 대해 소비자들이 느끼는 디자인 가치가 무엇인지도 중요해졌으며, 무엇에 영향을 받는지도 중요해졌다. 소비자들이 느끼는 가치가 중요해짐에 따라 소비자들이 해당제품의 디자인에 대해 평가하는 메커니즘을 밝힐 필요성이 존재하며, 적절한 가치를 전달하기 위해 디자인을 평가할 수 있는 모형이 필요하다. 디자인과 관련한 기존 연구들은 소비자들의 인지와 가치 부분에 초점을 맞추어 연구를 하였지만, 제품 속성 자체에 대한 부분은 고려하지 않은 경향이 있으며, 제품이 갖고 있는 객관적인 속성들에 따라 소비자들의 인지가 변화하는 과정과 최종적으로 느끼는 가치에 대한 메커니즘을 밝힌 연구는 부재한 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 본 연구는 스마트폰 제품이 갖고 있는 객관적 속성인 제품 속성과 객관적 속성을 통해 느끼는 소비자들의 인지, 가치에 대해 평가할 수 있는 메커니즘을 설계하고, 이를 평가할 수 있는 3단계 디자인 평가 모형을 제시하려 한다. 3단계 디자인 평가 모형은 제품 속성, 인지 속성, 소비자 가치까지 모든 단계를 고려한 정량화된 모형으로 스마트폰 분야만이 아닌 사용자경험 분야에 전반적으로 적용 가능할 것으로 기대하며, 기업이 갖고 있는 소비자 데이터와 결합한다면, 특정 소비자층을 겨냥한 제품 생산 및 설계가 가능한 지능형 디자인 가치 평가 모형으로 발전할 수 있을 것으로 예상한다.