抄録
In a mature marketplace of mass-produced products, most industrially manufactured consumer goods cannot be easily distinguished simply on the basis of their engineering. Given only small differences in product engineering, customers increasingly base their purchasing decisions on the degree to which their aesthetic and emotional preferences are fulfilled, not how well the product functions. Current designers must consider users' personal preferences and sensibilities, if they are to offer well-designed and appealing products in a competitive marketplace. This paper proposes an analytic method for extracting criteria relating to human sensibilities and product aesthetics that reflect the demands of potential customers and environments that the products will be used at. Two aspects are analyzed: the "self-assertion" of the product, and its "environmental fit". The analysis also suggests a method for applying these criteria in order to maximize a given product's human appeal, rather than its technical superiority.
