Measurement and Visualisation of Evolutionary Changes in Product Shape for Justification of Styling Decisions in Design
DS 81: Proceedings of NordDesign 2014, Espoo, Finland 27-29th August 2014
Year: 2014
Editor: Miko Laakso, Kalevi Ekman
Author: Ranscombe, Charlie; Blijlevens, Janneke
Series: NordDESIGN
Institution: Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Section: Tools, methods and approaches in product development
Page(s): 865-874
ISBN: 978-1-904670-58-2
Abstract
Ample literature shows consumers have a general preference for product designs that are novel or different, but still recognizable. However, there exists little guidance or objective methods to establish the degree of difference that the appearance of a new product should have in comparison to competitors or its predecessors. Therefore, it is difficult for designers to justify the appearance of a design. To address this we explore the use of shape comparison software to measure and visualize differences in shape through a case study of the evolution of an iconic beer bottle design. Results show the potential of the method to provide objective measures for change in shape and visualization of the nature of change. Practical implications of gathering shape change data are in being able to make more specific design briefs and map to other data to investigate the market success of previous styling decisions.
Keywords: Measurement and visualisation method, product shape evolution, justification of styling decisions