Long-Term Analysis of Affective Qualities That Change Over Time: A Case of Lotion Container Design Based on Visual and Tactile Attributes

Abstract

An attractive product successfully attracts people when it is first introduced. More importantly, it maintains people’s interest throughout its lifetime. A product’s ability to maintain attractiveness is an important factor in the design of a long-life product. Yet, what specific product qualities provide this aspect of attractiveness and what specific design attributes affect quality. People perceive product quality by the use of different sensory modalities such as vision and touch. The dominance of a particular sensory modality and perception of product quality may change over time during product use. Two aspects are involved in this type of time-series change: (1) physical changes in the product (e.g. deterioration) and (2) users’ psychological changes during their experiences with a product. In this paper, we propose an experimental methodology that can be used to quantify the effects of design characteristics in relation to certain sensory modalities on users’ appraisals of product quality and on the customers’ beliefs during continued product use. The methodology analyzes changes in effects with respect to design parameters in relation to certain sensory modalities and in relation to two aspects of change. We applied the methodology to the design of a face lotion container. Qualities perceived by both vision and touch exerted significant effects on participants’ decisions to purchase a product and continue its use. We asked 30 female participants aged between twenty and thirty years to use a sample daily for one month. Participants were required to record their opinions of the samples (online assessment). On the first day, one week, and one month later, we invited participants to visit the laboratory. During those visits, they were asked to assess 24 samples that contained different visual designs, varied surface finishes, differing amounts of lotion, and different surface conditions (offline assessment). Based on these results, we demonstrated that the significance of design factors that participants perceived by different sensory modalities qualitatively and quantitatively changed over time. In this case study of lotion container design, we discovered that the potentially significant effect of a delicate surface finish that provided comfortable tactile sensations regardless of surface conditions on quality perception during long-term product use.