Course: Kansei Engineering
Venue: Newcastle University
Dates: 19th & 20th November 2008
Cost: £600
Kansei Engineering is a revolutionary concept in product and service development based on the integration of customers' preferences in terms of emotional requirements into the design process. It is a cutting edge design tool which can potentially increase sales as the manufacturer/provider is able to produce a product or service which evokes the required emotions in consumers.
The course will start off with an introduction to the concept: what "Kansei" actually means. Following this there will be a discussion on how emotions are used in purchasing decisions and how we can establish the semantic universe (the words that are commonly used to describe the product) through interaction with the manufacturer and consumers using questionnaires. How we obtain a representative sample of participants for the study and how we design our surveys are questions that will also be discussed. The second day of the course will focus primarily on the analysis of the questionnaire data. We will look at graphical techniques, methods of comparing responses between participants and also discuss more advanced statistical techniques such as Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Logistic Regression Analysis and see how they can help identify which products are viewed similarly as regards emotion and why. Both days will consist of an equal balance of theory and worked examples.
At the end of the course, participants will devise action plans for post-course application of the Kansei Engineering methodology.
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Typical Kansei Engineering projects:
* it can be found that the suspension, the gear ratio and the engine power of a car have an effect on impressions such as "sporty", "powerful" and "elegant"
* it can be found that the width of toe, fastening type, material and colour of an orthopaedic shoe have an effect on impressions such as "attractiveness, "comfort", "quality" and "longevity"
* it can be found that the number of buckles, padding thickness and harness weight of a rock-climbing harness have an effect on impressions such as "easy to put on", "unrestrictive" and "stylish"
Kansei Engineering can be used to answer questions such as:
* Why do we buy?
* What emotions do our customers use when making their purchasing decisions?
* Which design elements evoke the required emotions in our customers?
The course trainers were partners in a European project called Kensys which looked at the implementation of Kansei Engineering in European industry. They have used the methodology in product and service design applications.
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