A Kansei Clustering Method for Emotional Design Using Design Structure Matrix

Abstract

In order to satisfy a more discerning eye of consumers, product design and development nowadays has shifted its emphasis from product functional requirements to user experiences gained from the interaction with the products. Consumer’s emotional requirements, or the so-called kansei needs, have become one of the most important concerns in designing a product. Conventionally, kansei engineering has been widely used to co-relate these requirements with product parameters. However, a typical kansei engineering approach relies heavily on the intuition of the person who clusters kansei adjectives. As a result, the selection of kansei adjectives may not consistent with consumer’s opinions. Accordingly, a kansei clustering method using design structure matrix is proposed in this work. The method takes customer’s voices, e.g., kansei needs, into consideration in emotional design. The details of the proposed approach are presented. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated using a case study on wireless battery drills. The results show that the proposed method is promising in handling kansei clustering problems.