My Research Questions
My Projects' Origins
This project was inspired by my grocery shopping trips. I would always go to stores and stand in aisles looking at the different brands selling the same thing, like the picture on the left. There are so many varieties of products and different brands and it made me wonder what type of consumer are they all competing for. It turns out that there are many types of consumers and other factors that affects consumerism.
How do consumers react to specific designs?
Will everyone have the same reaction? Do specific images or colors invoke certain emotions and feelings in consumers? What happens when consumers reject your design? How are you able to appeal to a majority of consumers?
So what is considered good design?
Is it something that is colorful and pops? Or is it something that is monotoned and comforting? Are images needed? If so, should it be of the product or something else? Should the design be texted based on facts and mission statements? Do fonts matter? How often should you change your design?
What are the different types of designs that target age groups?
What are the characteristics of the different age groups and generations? How do these characteristics change over time? Are they overlapping from generation to generation?
So how does that relate to phenomenology and what is it?
Phenomenology is the study of experience, and in this project, it's the study of consumers' experience with a products' packaging and marketing. This can include emotions to the item, actions of the consumers like purchasing it, and more.
Here are some marketing techniques used in tandem with phenomenology.
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Reciprocation
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Spotify when they offer a month free
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Commitment and Consistency
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a smaller commitment leads to a larger one
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customers are used to the consistency of brands
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Social Proof
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tip jars with money already in it
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Liking
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celebrities on an ad
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Authority
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authority figures can influence potential customers to buy
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Scarcity
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airlines when they say "2 tickets left"
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Instant Influence
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how companies adapt to changing technology
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Finally, why should you care?
By using specific marketing tactics, brands can evoke emotions with their products. These include pathos, ethos, and logos to make a well-rounded argument through design for the costumers. This happens everyday, everywhere, and in places that you don’t realize. In the end, marketing is basically just a game of the ability to attract customers for brands.