New products introduced by consumer
goods companies operating in many
market sectors are often not as successful
as expected even though they are
functionally reliable and produced to a consistent
standard. They do not seem to connect
with the feelings of customers who are rejecting
anything that does not truly satisfy them in
the way that they want to live.
The Japanese realised earlier than most that
their product development methods just did
not reveal the deep insights into customers’
feelings that enabled emotional needs to be
satisfied. They have developed methods and
tools to overcome this, supporting the creation
of products targeted to meet those needs, that
they call Kansei Engineering. This report is
about a mission to Japan to study that.
Experience of the use of Kansei Engineering
was sought from the food and drink (Asahi
Breweries Ltd.), packaging (Toppan Printing
Co. Ltd.), building products (Matsushita
Electric Works Ltd.), cosmetics (Shiseido
Company Ltd., Milbon Co., Ltd.), electronic
products (Seiko Epson Corporation) and
automotive (Mazda Motor Corporation)
sectors, and from three Universities
(Hiroshima International, Shinshu and
Tsukuba).