Product design has been recognized as an opportunity for differential advantage in the market place. The appearance of a product influences consumer product choice in several ways. To help product development managers in optimizing the appearance of products, the present study identified the different ways in which the appearance of a product plays a role in consumer product evaluation and, hence, choice. In addition, the implications for product design of each role are listed, and managerial recommendations for optimizing the appearance of products are given.Based on a literature review, six different roles of product appearance for consumers are identified: (1) communication of aesthetic, (2) symbolic, (3) functional, and (4) ergonomic information; (5) attention drawing; and (6) categorization. A product's appearance can have aesthetic and symbolic value for consumers, can communicate functional characteristics and give a quality impression (functional value), and can communicate ease of use (ergonomic value). In addition, it can draw attention and can influence the ease of categorization of the product. In a large qualitative study (N 5 142) it was tested whether these roles indeed exist in consumers' process of product choice and whether they are sufficient to describe the way in which product appearance plays a role for consumers. In addition, qualitative insight into these roles was gained. After making a choice between two answering machines, subjects were interviewed about the reasons for their choice and the product information they used to form the judgments underlying their choice reasons.The six appearance roles indeed proved relevant for consumers and were sufficient to describe the influence of product appearance on product choice. The number of ways in which appearance played a role for consumers differed between 0 and 5; most subjects mentioned two different ways in which appearance influenced their product choice. The aesthetic and symbolic roles were mentioned most often.The preferred shape (e.g., rounded or angular), color, or size were found to differ depending on the way in which product appearance played a role for subjects. For example, bright colors may be valued from an aesthetic point of view but may diminish the impression of quality (i.e., functional value). This makes it difficult to optimize all roles and illustrates that the product value that is most important for consumers when purchasing a specific kind of product should be the starting point in the design of the product appearance. Furthermore, the influence of shape, color, or size on a certain kind of product value-aesthetic, symbolic, ergonomic, or functional-differed between subjects. One person may like a rounded shape, while another may prefer a rectangular shape. This means that the value of guidelines indicating how the perception of a specific kind of product value can be engendered

The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-year period from 1995 to 2014, as Practitioner Points• Offers managers a comprehensive, structured view of design and an ability to better plan their use of design.• Identifies and develops a broad array of strategic elements of design to balance a traditional focus on its aesthetic role.• Highlights tactical suggestions to improve efficiency, optimization, and performance.• Identifies seven design trends which have implications for managerial challenges and opportunities.

Purpose -Product design is an important marketing variable. Most literature about consumer preference for product design focuses on aesthetic product value. However, the appearance of a product also influences consumer perception of functionalities, quality, and ease of use. This paper therefore, seeks to assess how preference for visual complexity and symmetry depends on the type of product value that is important to people. Design/methodology/approach -In a conjoint study the utility of visual complexity and symmetry in determining preference for eight VCR pictures are assessed (n ¼ 422). These utilities are used as dependent variables in regression analyses with the different product values (aesthetic, functionalities, quality, and ease of use) as independent variables. Findings -The effects of visual complexity and symmetry on consumers' preferences depend on the product value to which consumers paid attention. Research limitations/implications -To increase insight into the relationship between design and consumer product preference, the impact of a design on consumer perception of all types of product value -not only aesthetic value -should be taken into account. Originality/value -This research has direct implications for managers overseeing aspects of product development relating to aligning the design effort with target customers and determining specific product design executions.

This essay identifies five research opportunities that concern consumer response to product design. The first opportunity involves the need for more research on the interaction between form and function in consumer product evaluations. To this end, more knowledge about how product appearance characteristics influence consumer evaluation of both product form and function, and how this differs between countries and in time, is needed. The second research opportunity concerns the influence of consumer input in the front end of new product development on product success. Although the positive effect of market information use on product success is known, more actionable insight into which consumer information or input is beneficial in which circumstances is largely missing. The third opportunity for research concerns how to include subjective product attributes in concept testing. Getting valid feedback from consumers, which includes functional as well as emotional and experiential aspects, can improve proficiency in the early stages of product development. In this essay, several ways of approaching this research endeavor are highlighted. Next to enhancing market receipt and the assessment of product design, two topics that concern consumer response to product design from a more managerial viewpoint are identified. The first of these is strategic management of product styling. The importance and opportunities of visual design for brand management has gained more attention in the literature; different strategies and the cases in which they are beneficial are issues for further research. And finally, the design of product service systems (PSSs) provides opportunities for future research. Here, engendering perceptual unity between products and services and an explicit managing of meanings and feelings that PSSs should communicate are issues at play.

Purpose -A focus on product aspects that are most important to target consumers helps communicating product advantage to consumers, both in product design and in marketing. In previous studies, relations between the importance of functional and expressive product aspects and gender, age and social class have been indicated. However, knowledge of the relation of demographic variables to more specific product aspects is more informative for product development and marketing purposes. The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the relative importance of product aspects for different consumer groups as important information for product development and marketing. This study seeks to identify relations between gender, age, education and income, and the importance of aesthetic aspects, symbolic aspects, functionalities, ease of use and quality in buying a product. Design/methodology/approach -Consumers (n ¼ 247) covering a range in age, gender, education and income, indicated the importance of several product aspects in the purchase decision for ten differentiated product categories. Next to relations between demographic variables and product aspect importances, the influence of social significance of the product category on these relations was assessed. Findings -A number of significant relations between age, gender, education and income and the importance of aesthetic and symbolic aspects, functionalities, ease of use and quality in making a purchase decision have been found. Originality/value -Relationships of several demographic variables with more specific product aspects -namely aesthetic, symbolic, functionalities, ease of use and quality -have been identified. Knowledge of these relations will help companies to better adjust their products and marketing efforts to fit consumer preferences.