Consumer response to visual aspects of packaging and product design

Design is increasingly used by firms as a strategy to create a substantial competitive advantage. Good design uniquely differentiates a product (e.g., iPod vs. all other MP3 players). Companies mastering the art of design (Apple, Nike, and Target, just to name a few) have emerged as leaders in their respective markets. Despite its importance, design is understudied in the consumer behavior literature. On the other hand, although industrial design scholars have developed multi-disciplined-based design theories, many of these theories have not been experimentally tested. An empirically based "design science" has yet to emerge. My research develops an "integrated design research" paradigm, in which theories from both design and consumer research literatures are brought together to study marketing problems that bear significant managerial implications.Using this paradigm, in my dissertation I examine how consumers respond to the visual aspects of (1) packaging design and (2) self-designed products.Packaging design profoundly affects the shopper's purchase decision at the point-of-sale. In this context, I experimentally test the "bottom-heavy" and "right-heavy" principles of visual weight existing in the art and visual perception literature. Location of the product image on a package facade is shown to influence consumers' perceptions of the visual heaviness of the product. I also find that this effect is moderated by both the shopper's ocular dominance (eyedness) and the store's shelf context. Product image location further affects consumers' evaluations of the package, and this effect is mediated by perceived product heaviness and moderated by product category and consumer goal.Self-design is a form of mass customization in which consumers partly design a product by specifying certain product attributes in a product configurator provided by manufactures. Using NIKEiD, a commercially successful online configurator, I first document the "self-design effect" (high heterogeneity, accurate memory, and strong preference) and identify three psychological factors (outcome accuracy, believed authorship, and process affect) that contribute to this effect. Then, by manipulating a "degraded" (paper-&-pencil) configurator and a "diluted" (team-) design task, I induce changes in the self-design effect and employ the three-factor model to explain these changes.These two essays provide pragmatic guidance for the strategic management of packaging and product design.