COLLECTIVE BRAND IMAGERY WEAVE: CONNECTING BRAND VALUES TO PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS USING PHYSICAL COMPLEX INSTALLATION
Year: 2015
Editor: Christian Weber, Stephan Husung, Gaetano Cascini, Marco CantaMESsa, Dorian Marjanovic, Monica Bordegoni
Author: Mulder-Nijkamp, Maaike; Chueng-Nainby, Priscilla
Series: ICED
Institution: 1: University of Twente, the Netherlands; 2: TU Delft, the Netherlands; 3: University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Section: User-Centred Design, Design of Socio-Technical Systems
Page(s): 169-178
ISBN: 978-1-904670-72-8
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
Branding is almost fully embedded as a strategic asset. Companies must develop products with designs that not only appear attractive but also carry distinctive references, manifest in the values of the brand. However, those values are sometimes intangible and evoke different meaning between consumers. Therefore it is a challenging job to manipulate design features to elicit the ‘right’ associations, especially for novice designers. This paper discusses a workshop where we implemented a method based on the collective imagery framework to explore seven values (prestige, superior, quality, excitement, audacious, performance, simplicity). The method establishes an embodied common ground for co-designers to envision, enact and connect the complex network, which connects brand values to product characteristics. In the workshop participants were asked to create visions with each other by sharing personal stories. The physical structure built by participants to show their values in spatial structure. We conclude that it is useful to use physical installation to determine meanings of values that inform product characteristic for a brand to be recognisable.
Keywords: Product Architecture, Co-Design, Design Methods, Brand Design, Product-Service Systems (PSS)