Typically the Best? Perceived Typicality and Aesthetic Appraisal of Product Appearances

In this dissertation, it is investigated how the current knowledge that people possess about a certain product category influences perception and aesthetic appraisal of product appearances within this product category. Through the reoccurring exposure to product appearances in everyday life people form Internalized Product Appearances (IPA) of different product categories. The IPA forms the benchmark to which a new product appearance is compared. This comparison process influences perception and aesthetic appraisal of product appearances. The IPA is product category dependent, which implies that the relationships of physical properties (e.g., shape, color) with perceived typicality, product attributes (e.g., modernity) and aesthetic appraisal are not generalizable over product categories. For example, a product appearance from a product category with an angular prototype shape (e.g., a toaster), is perceived as modern when made curved, while a product appearance from a product category with a curved prototype shape is perceived as modern when made angular. Deviating a product appearance from the IPA of a product category can have a positive effect on aesthetic appraisal of product appearances, but only up to a certain optimum level after which a product appearance deviates too much from the IPA to be aesthetically pleasing. The IPA is not the only comparison standard provided to consumers in daily life. A context (e.g., an advertisement) also influences the perceived typicality of a product category and may thus influence aesthetic appraisal of product appearances. Based on this dissertation, we encourage designers to specifically look at the current design-style within the product category that they are working with. Then, designers and marketers can make a more market-oriented decision on how to design a product appearance that communicates the intended product attributes and that is aesthetically pleasing