Tools to measure SENSORY characteristics
Showcase: Colour Emotion models
Abstract
These models were developed based on psychophysical experimental data using British and Chinese observers. All the colour stimuli (square colour patches) used in the experiments were presented under a D65 daylight simulator in a viewing cabinet. The colours were measured using a tele-spectroradiometer. The method of categorical judgement was used for data collection and analysis. The models developed include the scales: warm-cool, heavy-light, active-passive, hard-soft and like-dislike. These models can be applied mainly in the evaluation stage of colour design but can also be useful tools for colour selection and for marketing.
Tools in this category
Colour Emotion models
These models predict the relationships described above in terms of interval scale values. The input of each model includes the following three attributes for a given colour (in CIELAB colour system): hue, lightness and chroma.
Eye Tracking Analysis
Eye tracking devices register the eye gaze of users. A camera focuses on one eye and records its movements as the viewer looks at some kind of stimulus. Eye-tracker uses contrast to locate the centre of the pupil and use infrared light to create a corneal reflection (CR). The vector between these two features can be used to compute gaze intersection with a surface after a simple calibration for an individual. Based on this technology, a methodology has been developed for using in Kansei experimental studies.
HADRIAN v1
HADRIAN is the first human modelling tool to combine individual datasets for particular people together with a task analysis tool that allows for the automatic evaluation of concept designs in a CAD environment. A special feature is the embedded video clips of the individuals within HADRIAN, as this allows the designer to have empathy with these people. Designing should be about designing for people, not just numbers. We are also including simple cognitive and emotional data for each individual within HADRIAN. This is important as a person may be physically able to cross a busy road, for example, but not be able to in reality because of concerns about the traffic, of getting lost or of walking past graffiti or groups of teenagers.
I.D. Tool: IMPRINT DeSIGN TOOL
The uniqueness of the I.D. Tool is that it identifies the physical design attributes that a product have (or should have) in order to evoke the desired experience by the target customers. This is uncovered by a mapping of the mental reactions that creates the immediate affective impressions of the product as well as the long term opinions towards it.
Perceived Comfort Assessment
The underlying problem is that the terms “Comfort” and “Discomfort” are generally regarded as two end-points on the same scale. By defining “Comfort” and “Discomfort” as separate factors, where “Discomfort” refers to physical experiences and “Comfort” refers to mental impression of seats, much of the problems associated with sit comfort evaluation can be solved. Zhang et al. (1996) identified independent factors of comfort and discomfort in office chairs and found that the comfort factors were unaffected by the time spent in the chairs, implying that Comfort could be assessed immediately and, in addition, provide significant differences between chairs. Moreover, two seats would elicit different ratings of Comfort, depending on, e.g. the aesthetics of the cloth material (Zhang et al, 1996). Thus, people’s impression of aesthetics affects their perception and preference of seats (Helander and Zhang, 2001). For the automotive industry, this approach to Comfort and Discomfort give rise to more efficient and cost-efficient seat evaluations by focusing on the perceived comfort (unless there are no obvious violations of biomechanics design rules), with clear results in terms of the users’ preferences.
Quality Engineering approach for comfort assessment in virtual reality
By using planned experiments in a virtual environment.
Tabscale
The XY-tablet technique is a two-dimensional scaling technique to track people's perception of e.g. print quality.
User Compass Chart
The UCC contributes to a natural and stimulating characterisation of product qualities. Results are presented in a way that is understood and respected in industry.
Visual Scanning and assessment
The Visual scanning method provides fast, direct and understandable hands-on results on identifying and displaying critical design elements and features. The method provides a way to determine which visual elements of a product are considered to be the most visually characteristic, as perceived by a selected respondent group. The method also provides a way to determine the ‘visual importance’ or ‘weight’ through the process of pair wise assessment of visual elements in relation to each other. The method is easy to use with experts in design as well as with laymen. The results can be used for further analyses in combination with complementary methods such as Element Weighting, Design Format Assessment.
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