Aesthetic responses to prototypicality and uniqueness of product design

This paper investigates how dimensional measures of product design form influence the aesthetic responses of consumers through the concepts of product prototypicality and uniqueness. We develop and test a model with two different methods. The first is a longitudinal panel of passenger vehicle models available in the U.S. automotive market from 1999 to 2007. The data includes 16 firms, 32 brands, and 137 products (i.e., vehicle models) from four product-based, industry-derived market segments. We also conduct an experiment motivated by the results of the model. The model results suggest prototypical design and aesthetic response can vary by the relative prototypicality and sub-dimensions of the product’s design. Results from both the model and experiment suggest that consumers prefer prototypical design form across the entire passenger car market, but prefer unique design form within specific market segments. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.