Examining the impact of design variables and media richness on responses to product design

Abstract

This study makes examines the influence of product design cues, environment congruence, and media richness on users' cognitive and affective responses to product design. These three factors were systematically manipulated in a 2x2x2 full-factorial experiment. A sample of 181 participants was used to test the study hypotheses. This study employed a between-subject design, and participants were randomly assigned to one of the eight experimental conditions. The results from statistical analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed the influence of product design cues, environment congruence, and media richness on cognitive and affective responses. The results of this study revealed that higher quality of product design and environment congruence did lead to a more positive aesthetic and affective response. In addition, the results showed a significant two-way interaction between environmental congruence and design cues for perceived aesthetic. Results however, didn't show a significant influence of design cues and environment congruence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of-use. Moreover, it was confirmed that media richness significantly predicted the perceived ease-of-use, although no statistical significance was found for perceived aesthetic and perceived usefulness. This study has practical implications across various domains including product design, marketing and retail merchandising, and communication and media studies.