Investigation of Relationship between Kansei Design Elements of Taiwanese Wooden Furniture and Consumer Demand by Fuzzy Theory †

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the affective Kansei/affective design elements of Taiwanese wooden furniture and the consumer demand and perception for the design using Kansei engineering methodology and fuzzy theory. An online survey was conducted to carry out triangular fuzzy linguistic analysis from fuzzy theory and understand the consumers’ demands and perceptions of the design elements of wooden seat shapes. The research results showed that consumers agreed with “sturdy” the most, indicating the element needs to comply with the demand and purchase intention of consumers. In terms of the Kansei design elements of a rectangular seat shape, consumers’ agreement on “elegant” was medium, while consumers agreed with “novel” the least. The research results provide the Taiwanese wooden furniture industry and designers with a reference for decision-making, design, and manufacturing.