Alessi產品之產品個性

今日市場上眾多產品競爭激烈，單以技術功能或價格已經難以和競爭者有所區隔。因此，爲了贏取消費者的青睞，近年來企業在開發新產品時，已漸漸把焦點放在產品的美學及情感因素上。研究顯示，消費者往往把產品想像成是具有個性，並透過產品來呈現自己的渴望，因而消費者都偏好能反映其個性的產品。由此可見，掌握了產品個性的概念即掌握了與消費者溝通情感的一項工具，可用它來區隔不同的目標市場。國內外有關產品個性的文獻仍然不多，本文以初探方式，嘗試了解不同使用者對同一產品其個性的認知情形爲何，以作爲未來執行正式調查的基礎。本研究以4件Alessi產品作爲刺激物，加上自編的產品個性問卷，再輔以焦點團體訪談爲研究工具，請15名參與者（7名男性、8名女性）根據直覺，指出每件產品的個性及其所反映的生活型態。根據研究發現，本文以質性方式描述了4件刺激物的個性輪廓及分布情形，並分析了參與者認知的自我個性及指定刺激物個性的分布情形。本文闡述此一初探過程與結果，將有助進一步產品個性研究的執行，其結果並可協助設計師了解產品個性的內涵，將產品個性及情感納入其設計意圖之中，對產品設計及行銷有所助益。

關鍵字

產品個性；產品情感；使用者研究； Alessi

並列摘要

Manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of the necessity to satisfy user needs beyond functionality and price, such as aesthetic and emotional factors. Research has shown that people tend to view products as living objects with personalities and prefer products reflecting their own personalities. Therefore, the concept of product personality could be regarded as a tool for the product to communicate emotion with the customers; hence, it could be applied by manufacturers to more adequately differentiate the market into appropriate segments. However, in want of a more intensive research on the topic of product personality, this preliminary study aims to explore a methodology for investigating how different people perceive characteristics to the same products. The result of this study could be served as a base for future research. The instruments applied in this study included four Alessi products as stimuli, a five-page questionnaire, and followed by a focus group interview. Fifteen participants (seven males and eight females) were invited to intuitively perceive the personality and corresponding lifestyle for each stimulus. Based on the findings, this paper presents both qualitative descriptions and quantitative analysis of personality profiles for each stimulus and the participants. The paper, which shows the process and results of this preliminary study, would not only help to bring improvements in further related studies, but also provide information for designers to understand the content of product personality and encourage them to use it as a facilitator to target specific customers.