Perceived Simplicity of Three-dimensional Objects

- Quantitative Approach for Effective Visual Communication in the Design Process -

抄録

The term “simplicity” is often used to express an impression about the appearance of an object. In a previous study, we found that simplicity strongly affects the visual tiresomeness of a product. Because attention was predominantly directed to the simplicity of a specific product in previous studies, the influence of the function or characterization of the product was inevitably reflected in the results of these studies. Therefore, more fundamental studies are required to help us obtain unadulterated characterizations of simplicity and to apply those characterizations in designing a variety of products. Because of such needs, we focus on the figurative attributes of three-dimensional objects and their arrangements, and try to clarify the morphological attributes of simplicity by considering the nonlinear relations among them. In a preliminary experiment of this study, 11 different features were extracted as the morphological attributes involved in the perceived simplicity of three-dimensional objects. These attributes include surface shape, features of component size, regularity of arrangement, number of components, symmetry, number of different components, continuity of the components at their joints, stability of each component (except for the base part), stability of the entire model, center of gravity, and motif. Among these morphological attributes, we found two combinations of attributes that contribute to perceived simplicity: one involves a balance between number of different components and features of component size, number of components, stability of the entire model, and stability of each component, and the other relies on the combination of surface shape, number of components, and symmetry.