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Aerial White Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 8-28-13 Topic Proposal: Psychology of Preference and its Affect on Design Introduction/Overview I will be con ucting m! pro"ect on the ps!cholog! o# personal pre#erence an its a##ect on esign$ %his is a &er! important topic because it not onl! a##ects esign in art' but also esigns in architecture' pro ucts in the mar(et' an esign o# organi)ational groups that we encounter

e&er! a!$ *eople o#ten associate the term esign to how something loo(s aestheticall!' but esign goes wa! be!on the outwar appearance$ +esign is the core o# e&er!thing that surroun s us because e&er!thing can be bro(en own into the core elements an principles o# what ma(es that ob"ect or i ea$ What is consi ere ,goo esign- has been a long ebate topic' an to m!

(nowle ge' nobo ! (nows the e.act #ormula #or ma(ing something ,per#ect-$ *eople all aroun the worl are har at wor( tr!ing to ma(e things better$ Is that not what we all stri&e #or' to be better/ %here is e&en ebate on what is consi ere ,better-$ Man! times a compan! will create a pro uct that users lo&e an en"o!' so the esigners o# that compan! push to create something e&en ,better- #or their happ! customers$ 0ometimes' this can en up with a new esign that is labele ,better- but users thin( it is worse than the pre&ious pro uct an there#ore results in unhapp! customers$ +esigners o#ten wor( to create options #or their pro ucts so that people can ha&e the item that suits their pre#erence$ I# there was such a thing as the ,best esign- wh! oesn-t e&er!bo ! pre#er ,the best-/ E&en i# the pro uct is e.actl! the same b! #unction but the

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i##erentiating option is something as simple as a &ariet! o# color choices' wh! o people choose certain colors o&er others/ Wh! o certain consumers pre#er the ol er st!les o# pro ucts to the ,latest an greatest- in the mar(et/ *eople-s personal pre#erence pla!s a huge role in the esign in ustr! because the consumer-s pre#erence will etermine the success o# the pro uct or i ea$ I ha&e been intro uce to this topic because o# m! ma"or being 1raphic +esign$ In m! 1raphic +esign Metho s class we ha&e iscusse 2uman Centere +esign an how success#ul esign (eeps the human at the center o# the esign process$ %hrough our con&ersations in class' people sa! we must pro&i e i##erent options because not all people are going to ha&e the same pre#erences$ 3ut m! 4uestion is wh! o the!/ What is it that ma(es those pre#erences so i##erent/ I ha&e starte some research with a #ew boo(s #rom the At(ins 5ibrar! inclu ing: The Joyless Economy, The Psychology of Human Satisfaction b! %ibor 0cito&s(!' Art and Visual Perception, Psychology of the Creative Eye b! 6u ol# Arnheim' Classics of Psychology, Studies in the Psychology of Art e ite b! 7orman C$ Meier' Handboo of Social Psychology e ite b! 0usan %$ 8is(e' an Handboo of Consumer Psychology e ite b! Curtis *$ 2augt&e t$ What I ha&e #oun through m! beginning o# research is that people-s pre#erences rel! mostl! on what the! are #amiliar with$ 2owe&er' this is tric(! because not e&er!bo ! is #amiliar with the things !ou woul thin( the! woul be #amiliar with$ %a(e technolog! #or e.ample9 we thin( e&er!bo ! (nows how to place a phone call$ 2owe&er' people in a remote &illage in In ia ma! not (now how to ma(e a phone call' #or the! ma! ha&e ne&er e&en seen a phone be#ore$ I #in this to be a &er! #ascinating concept when applie to esign$ Initial Inquiry Question(s What is it that causes people to ha&e i##erent pre#erences/ Wh! o all customers not ha&e the same taste an the same perceptions on what a goo esign is/ What ma(es them relate

to a speci#ic i ea or process better than another one/ %his is #ascinating to me' because m! initial

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reaction to ,goo

esign- is that it woul #ollow some sort o# set principles although we can see

this is not the case$ %here are all sorts o# si)es' shapes' colors' #unctions' an i eas that colli e together to #orm an arra! o# esigns$ Can people be in#luence b! what esign the! pre#er/ I# so' what are these in#luences/ +oes the group e##ect pla! a role in the ecision ma(ing process' or is e&er!bo ! onl! concerne with what their speci#ic nee s are/ !y Interest in this Topic I am intereste in this topic because this is an area that I will #ace e&er! a! in m! #uture career$ As a esigner' I want m! pro ucts to best suit m! customers to help them be all that the! can be$ I want to un erstan the ps!cholog! o# esign so that I ma! better create m! pro ucts an solutions to whate&er esign problems that come m! wa!$ I (now the basic elements an principles o# esign an some schools o# thought on aesthetics an esign$ I also ha&e learne

the esign process an basic i eas o# esign thin(ing$ Although what I hope to learn is what it is that causes these i##erent i eas$ What is it that causes people to resonate with a certain esign or #unction better than another/ I# m! 4uestions remain unanswere ' I wish to learn how I can best cope with these #actors an trans#orm m! esign strateg! so m! pro ucts relate an help m! customers the best the! can$ "e#t $teps I will con uct m! research b! continuing to rea the boo(s I ha&e recei&e #rom the At(ins 5ibrar! an I will #urther re#ine m! search to #in more boo(s an articles on m! topic$ I will consult the Internet to access esign #orums an #oun ries o# &arious esign organi)ations to learn their approach to their esign process$ I will also consult with a #ellow ps!chologist to hear their &iew on esign an aesthetic pre#erences #rom a ps!chological stan point$