An Investigation on the Inconsistency of Consumer Preferences for Product Appearance: A Case Study of Residential Solar Panels
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v007t07a047-detc2014-34799.pdf
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3.7 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
9afa949604c3960a615378007e6e42f8
Author(s)
Ferik, Sami El
Shaukat, Mian Mobeen
Bao, Qifang
Yang, Maria C.
Date Issued
August 2014
Journal
Volume 7: 2nd Biennial International Conference on Dynamics for Design; 26th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology
Publisher
ASME International
Citation
Bao, Qifang, Sami El Ferik, Mian Mobeen Shaukat, and Maria C. Yang. “An Investigation on the Inconsistency of Consumer Preferences for Product Appearance: A Case Study of Residential Solar Panels.” Volume 7: 2nd Biennial International Conference on Dynamics for Design; 26th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology (August 17, 2014).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The importance of the appearance of consumer products is widely understood. This paper considers an evaluation of the appearance of a technology-oriented product, the residential solar panel, from the perspective of individuals. This study uses a quantitative approach, visual conjoint analysis, to determine preferences for product appearance of solar panels, and further explores how presenting a solar panel in its context of use can influence the consistency of consumer preferences. Approximately 200 survey respondents were shown two kinds of images of solar panels, one of a standalone panel and the other of a panel installed on a roof. Results show a significant shift of preferences when first showing the non-contextualized image and then showing the contextualized image. Such preference inconsistency provides insights with which to inform the process of user-needs revealing.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2014-34799
