Exploring types and characteristics of product forms

Incorporating emotional value into products has become an essential strategy for increasing a product's competitive edge in the consumer market. It is therefore important for product manufacturers to understand how products affect consumers' emotions. This study was undertaken to investigate the types and characteristics of household products that elicit pleasurable responses, in particular among young, college-age consumers. The results of the study could suggest the types and characteristics to consider when developing pleasurable products aimed at young consumers. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 participants in order to collect responses that showed evidence of pleasurable feelings. From 262 initial images chosen, 19 were extracted as stimuli for the interviews. Data analysis was used to group key sentences obtained in the responses. The results produced 14 characteristics that could be categorized into five types of pleasurable forms: Aesthetic, Bios, Cultural, Novelty and Ideo. Among the responses of the interviewees, those related to Aesthetic and Bios forms were mentioned most frequently and thus, these forms were found to be the ones most likely to elicit consumer pleasure. Moreover, it was found that the responses to hi-tech products tended to highlight characteristics related to the Aesthetic type of pleasurable form, and the responses to kitchen products to the Bios Form.