Kansei Engineering Approach : Mapping the correlation between user's subjective perception and design features for dining tables

Because of the competitive market and high product failure, product development and quality is moving towards a merging of functionality and usability with psychological needs. The interaction with the products creates a need, which can be a decisive aspect for the user when choosing a product. The Kansei approach, also known as Kansei Engineering, aims at converting the psychological needs that influence the subjective perception of the user, into actual design specification, with eight types developed so far. Furthermore, the method implies that, the competitiveness of the product can be enhanced by attaching users’ feelings and aesthetic impressions in term of product attributes, to the product features.This thesis describes how the methodology can be used by implementing Kansei Engineering Type I as a tool to evaluate and map the subjective perceptions of dining tables. The research shows that it was possible to map correlations between the users’ subjective perception and design features. E.g. a dining table that is perceived as solid, has the feature rail/frame and is heavy (>35kg). This can be used as input in user-centred product development. Even if no correlation was possible in some cases, valuable information was gathered that can be used for further analysis. As a continuation of the research, will be to focus on which surface textures is better perceived as natural feeling of wood