Experimentation in Car Styling Research: The Merits of Stimuli Design and Experiment Design

This paper describes the ongoing development of stimuli design in automotive form research, embedded in research into the meaning of automotive form. For experiments, in which images of cars are being compared, a number of stimuli representation and design issues are being raised and discussed. The objective is to eliminate visual noise without compromising the observer’s view. Issues that are being addressed include color, image backgrounds, viewing angle and display size. The intermediate outcome of the research on automotive form has led to new stimuli design. A leap in reducing visual noise is to compare a car to an altered version of itself, rather than to another car. Background and possibly color become less important, since the two images are in essence the same. Manipulating existing design though requires professional styling skills in preserving the coherency of the original styling and its leitmotiv, opening a whole new can of worms