Experiential characterization of materials in product design: A literature review. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Veelaert, Lore; Du Bois, Els; Moons, Ingrid; Karana, Elvin
• Is Part Of: Materials & design. Volume 190(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Materials and design -- Experiential characterization -- Materials experience -- Product design; Materials -- Periodicals; Engineering design -- Periodicals; Matériaux -- Périodiques; Conception technique -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108543
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-1275

Abstract

Abstract: Driven by the competitive market that product designers face today, a growing interest emerges in exploring experiential material qualities to enhance product experience. The maturing of the research area calls for standardization to evolve to more streamlined and systematic approaches to conduct characterization experiments. To this aim, we conducted a literature review on 64 cases of experiential characterization studies in the materials and design domain. In this paper, we summarize the current state of the art, formulate an overview to facilitate systematic studies to explore experiential qualities of materials, and identify gaps or opportunities for further research. The presented learnings shed light on the following aspects used in materials experience studies: (i) variables, (ii) stimuli, (iii) interaction modalities, (iv) experimental set-up, (v) methods employed in the conducted studies, and (vi) respondents. Two important gaps were identified with regard to the physical material representations in an abstract form as a critical element for multimodal material characterization experiments, and to an integration of extensive user aspects beyond demographic variables to facilitate consumer segmentation . Additional future research suggestions were formulated, concerning within-material-class comparisons, complementary methods and experimental set-up, and the temporality of materials experience. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image Highlights: Abstract physical material representations are defined as crucial aspect of multimodal material characterization experiments. The integration of extensive user aspects is needed to facilitate consumer segmentation within materials experience context. A gap is defined in longitudinal studies to understand the temporality of materials experience.