How to transfer the innovation knowledge from craft art into product design - A case study of character toys

How to design highly-reputable and hot-selling products is an essential issue in product design. Product designers design a product by considering physical elements or characteristics of the product, while craft artists create their works relying largely on their own particular expertise or experience. In order to clarify the innovation/creation process between craft art and product design, we conduct an experimental study on character toys using the Kansei Engineering approach and the Quantification Theory Type I analysis. The result of the experimental analysis shows that the innovation knowledge models built in this study can help product designers understand consumers' emotional feelings to transfer the innovation knowledge from craft design into product design. This approach provides an effective mechanism for facilitating the new product design process. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.