A proposal of model of Kawaii feelings for spoon designs

Abstract

Affective values are important factors in manufacturing. Kawaii, which is a positive adjective that denotes such positive connotations as cute, lovable, and charming, becomes even more important as an affective value. It plays an important role in the success of many products, such as Hello Kitty and Pokemon. Based on this success, we believe that kawaii will be a key factor for future product design. In our previous study, we performed a comparison of 39 spoon designs based on kawaiiness for Japanese and Thai. As a result, we clarify the similarities and differences of kawaii preferences between Thai and Japanese. From this result, we suggested the design ideas of kawaii spoons to spoon manufacturers. However, the results might not be applicable to evaluate kawaii spoon designs in general. In this study, we proposed models of kawaii feelings for spoon designs which can be used to evaluate the kawaiiness of spoon designs in general. We also clarified useful attributes for kawaii spoon designs. The results suggested the list of attributes to be considered in the design of kawaii spoons.