Title: Dynamics of shifting viewpoints: an investigation into users' attitudes towards products

Authors: Georgi V. Georgiev; Kaori Yamada; Toshiharu Taura

Addresses: Center for Ubiquitous Computing, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland ' Organization for Advanced and Integrated Research, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan ' Integrated Research Center, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan

Abstract: This study focuses on how products are viewed by their users. In order to capture users' viewpoints, we focused on how the virtual 3D model of a product was examined (rotated/translated/moved by the user). We attempt to understand these viewing mechanisms by focusing on the dynamics of shifting viewpoints and verbal features during the generation of product impressions. The notion of dynamics of shifting viewpoints in this study refers to changes between 'still viewpoints' and 'moving viewpoints'. If, in a given period when product impressions are generated, a viewpoint does not change, it is defined as a still viewpoint, whereas a moving viewpoint refers to shifts in the ways in which the products are viewed during a given period. The notion of verbal features involves the quantitative characteristics of verbalisations. The findings from an experimental observation show that the dynamics of shifting viewpoints, verbal features, and user's preferences are related.

Keywords: product experience; user experience; human behaviour in design; dynamics of viewpoints; shifting viewpoints; user impressions; user preferences; product design; think aloud; protocol analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2017.084505

Journal of Design Research, 2017 Vol.15 No.1, pp.62 - 84

Received: 17 Jan 2016
Accepted: 07 Feb 2017
Published online: 09 Jun 2017 *

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