When Appearance Changes Value
Design aesthetics, which have received increasing attention from researchers in fields, such as ergonomics, neuroscience, and marketing can attract consumers to a product and persuade them to buy it. The aesthetic process is rapid and implicit and can result in sensory pleasure and delight (Goldman, 2001; Handy et al., 2008). Although many studies proved that visual appeal can improve the perceived value of products for consumers (Charters, 2006; Venkatesh and Meamber, 2008; Kristensen et al., 2012; Orth and De Marchi, 2007), little is known regarding how design aesthetics affect the cognitive processing in consumers, especially at the neural level. Without reducing the importance of functionality, brand, and other attributes, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of design aesthetics on the price expectation–based neural response of consumers to products.
Studies pertaining to design aesthetics suggest that attractive features reside in an object; however, these features are influenced by sociocultural, historical, and technological factors (Frascara and Crozier, 1996).
The perception of aesthetics follows a hierarchical strategy, which suggests that people classify the aesthetics level of an object through pattern recognition based on visual clues without identifying all the details of the object (Berlyne, 1971). For example, consumers may perceive a product as beautiful or neutral according to their first impression of it. The perception that “beautiful is good” relates beauty to quality. Perceived quality indicates the cognitive evaluation of the intrinsic core benefit sought by consumers from a product (Teas and Agarwal, 2000; Orth and De Marchi, 2007). A beautiful form can improve consumer awareness of the usefulness and usability of a product (Hekkert et al., 2003). However, when the quality of a product is difficult to judge, which occurs frequently, people infer quality or price on the basis of extrinsic cues (Orth and De Marchi, 2007; Mumcu and Kimzan, 2015). (Shi et al., 2021)
I thought that this article was very relevant to the problem space that Marble Plastics gave us: How do we create value from the CNC waste that is produced? In this article, it broadens the definition of what makes a product valuable. The article points out how self-expressive and social dimensions can be communicated through the design of a product. This closely relates to Marble Plastics because the products that could be made from the waste can potentially communicate more meaning through its apperance. The characteristics of the material, such as the story, origin, and visible recycled properties, would allow consumers to express their own values through the ownership of the product. The material story itself can become part of the perceived value that the product has. One of the problems to be aware of is not allowing the story to do all the lifting. The design has to be good as well. The sustainability should strengthen the product's value while not solely relying on it.
References
Shi, A., Huo, F., & Hou, G. (2021). Effects of design aesthetics on the perceived value of a product. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 670800. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.670800
