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.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 2nd Biennial International Conference on Dynamics for Design; 26th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology |
| Publisher | American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780791846407 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2014 |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference |
|---|---|
| Volume | 7 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:Copyright © 2014 by ASME.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Modeling and Simulation
- Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Science Applications
- Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
