way.’
What are negative things you associate with China?
Most of the negative associations were related to product and fabrication. A few examples were, bad work environment, mass production and counterfeiting. But a few others which repeatedly returned were, overpopulation, smog and not taking the environment into consideration, strict political regime, censuring and communism.
Does the fact that a product originates from China have any influence on your opinion about it?
At least 17 respondent out of 39 said it didn’t matter to them that the product was designed and produced in China. Only 8 people said they would think the product was or of low quality, or produced under poor circumstances or a copy of another product. The remaining 14 respondent said that it didn’t have a direct influence on their opinion, but that it depended on different factors. They would look at the product a bit more carefully or wanted to know under which circumstances it was made. Most of them noted that it depended on the type of product. Most of them knew a lot of products were produced in China, so they knew
not everything what was produced there was of low quality.
What are the expectations of the product when it originates from China?
Almost all respondents expect that the quality is lower than when it would be produced/designed elsewhere, but they do expect a good price-quality ratio. But even though most respondents expected a lower quality most of the time, it was noted multiple times that this doesn’t apply to every product. Of some products the quality is high, and with product categories such as decorative products there was a smaller chance that it’d break since it was a product which isn’t constantly used by the consumer.
Even though, not all respondents thought it was bad that the quality was lower than that of Western products, since you would pay a far cheaper price, and so it was to be expected.
Do these expectations differ per product category?
Consumers expect a lower quality for mechanical products or electronics, but these are based on the fact that there is a bigger chance that it breaks
when it is repeatedly used. For static product which are for show the expectations was a lower quality through a not so smooth finish. Also the price was a leading factor in the expectations of the quality, a low price must mean that the quality is lower as well. Most of the respondent thought it varied per product, but some still thought it was the same for every product.
From the survey two attributes were gathered that were weighed as most important attributes when evaluating a decorative product. After the analysis of the survey, the following attributes were chosen to get more insight in:
- Price
- Appealing appearance
The price seems to be an important factor independent of if it’s sold in a store or an online shop. The appearance is a leading character as well, especially in the first stage of seeing the product. The questions which will be tried to answer here are, what is the influence of the three mental processes on the attributes price and appealing appearance? This means, what happens to the design of the decorative product, when I want to focus on a certain price category? Or when I want the appearance to match the tastes of the Dutch consumer? And in each mental stage, how is it noticeable?
Together with three Dutch interviewees these questions were discusses to get more insight in what these mental processes may mean for the physical design. The examples given hereafter are acheived through those interviews.
Price is a non-product related attribute, thus reflective, but it has an effect on the visceral and behavioral processes as well. This is because form and function are both dependent on the price category that the product is going to be sold in. The appearance has to match the tastes of the target group which effects the reflective attributes but also the physical product, which is part of the visceral and behavioral level. It also says something about the type of products that group uses, which relates to the function those consumers expect from that specific type of product.
Influence of the visceral processes on the price
The principles which make up visceral reactions are universal, and attention from consumers all over the world can be caught with these principles. These principles will not be listed here, but a few examples will be explained. During this level physical features dominate. Form, look, sound, smell, feel. Price tells the consumer something about the quality to be expected.
Examples:
- Material, it communicates a level of quality and an expected price. Humans have a natural
instinct to find certain materials to be of a better quality, for example, certain types of wood or metal. And have a feeling of lower quality with materials such as plastics. (Even though plastics can be of high quality, depending on the way it’s used.) - Heft. The previous point leads to the weight of the product. The judgment of the material might have to do with the weight as well. When judging two identical product but with different weights, how does one judge them? The heavier pen will be judged as more expensive, since quality materials for this product are likely to be heavier. Plastic pens, cheaper pens, are lighter. But this varies per product and have to be taken into consideration. Because aluminum is a very light metal, but more expensive than a lot of other metals being used in consumer products.
- Shape. Designers have to look at similar products in the same price category in that particular price range or at the target groups preferences. It was noted before that there are universal principles which humans find ‘pretty’. But there are also trends in the Netherlands in that price category which are popular and more