Abstract
A product form that consumers perceive as attractive is currently being developed by architects and designers based on their experience and intuition. To design a product form that is aesthetically appealing to the consumers, it is necessary to understand the process by which humans process information relating to aesthetic sensibilities, including unconscious processes. This study aimed to elucidate the cognitive and neural processes relating to aesthetic sensibilities vis-a-vis product forms, using subjective evaluations and brain function measurements. Electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements were performed while the participants were fixated on an image of a product (the front mask of a car) and were aesthetically evaluating the product form (cool, cute, or beautiful). Participants also evaluated the subjective impressions of a product form, using a variety of adjective pairs. We showed that the process of information processing differed for each aesthetic evaluation of a product form (cool, cute, or beautiful). Since activities were observed in the prefrontal area immediately after the image of a product was shown, it was suggested that the participants were cross checking the product form with their own evaluation criteria from the early stage. The findings of our study have shown the possibility that design elements of an attractive product form may be understood from cognitive and neural processes.
