Influence of Designers' Kansei on Design Outcomes

Abstract

Most kansei studies have focused users' kansei, namely the affect and emotions of users when interacting with a product. With a different perspective on kansei moving from the user to the designer, we aim at studying designers' kansei during the process of designing. In this paper, we examine how external stimuli, like images and sounds, influence the design process and the creation of design concepts. More specifically, we investigated the effect of stimuli on recall of memories and feelings by designers and how these impressions were incorporated in the creation of design concepts. Our findings showed that auditory stimulation supports the generation of design concepts with high-level properties (user experience), as compared to visual stimulation.