Development of a concept cars typology that integrates the

user's Kansei.
Daniela Hoyos1, Julián Jaramillo2, Luis F. Sierra3, Jorge H. Maya4
Product Design Engineering Product Design Engineering
2
Universidad EAFIT, Department
Carrera 49 No. 7 Sur-50 Medellín, Universidad EAFIT
Colombia Carrera 49 No. 7 Sur-50 Medellín,
1
[email protected] Colombia
2 3
[email protected] [email protected]
4
[email protected]

ABSTRACT users’ kansei of different complex products show that a

Characterization, understanding and comparison of complex product, as a car is, can have hundreds or even
complex products as concept cars are, are often very thousands of attributes and characteristics [14]. This
difficult. Typologies could be a mechanism for causes that the characterization, understanding and
addressing this situation since they allow classification comparison of a set of competing products
and management of information and facilitate turns/becomes difficult. A mechanism for addressing
comprehension and solution of situations in product this situation is to build a typology of products.
design processes.
In its most general definition, typologies make
For a graduation project in product design engineering reference to the study or systematic classification of
at Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, Colombia consisting elements that have common characteristics or features.
on the design of a concept-car for 2050, an appropriate They are present in different domains like
methodology to collect and assimilate large quantities anthropology, linguistic, sociology, psychology,
of information for the understanding and knowledge of theology, architecture, etc.
these complex products was needed.
According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1982), a
As it did not exist the one that involved not only typology (noun) is a study and interpretation of types.
functional, but also highly interactive and emotional
aspects of the user’s kansei (Typical for interactive A typology is a conceptual system made by partitioning
products as a concept car), it was developed a concept a specified field of entities into a comprehensive set of
cars typology that offers a classification in different mutually exclusive types, according to a set of common
categories of concept cars. This typology considers the criteria dictated by the purpose of the typologist [1].
concept car as a whole and differentiates its most In the social sciences a typology is constructed to
relevant characteristics clustered in four general comprehend, understand and explain a complex reality
categories: Functional Aspects, Formal Aspects, [10]. In architecture for example, typologies have been
Experiential Aspects and Market Aspects. The graphic used for a long time to reduce the time spent on a
representation of the typology allows a structured view design.
of all attributes, forming of a coherent knowledge base
for the later stages of conceptual and creative design. In the domain of design, typologies are widely used to
The typology would favor the agility of the improve or support the design of products in different
informational process in the early stages of the design ways: to handle large amounts of information, to
of concept cars by allowing quickly identification of connect different aspects of a same product, to find
their key issues. structured insights about analyzed products, to facilitate
creativity by allowing a smooth decision process and by
Keywords describing empirical regularities and meaningful
Typologies, concept cars, product characteristics, user’s relationships between products.
kansei
Even if design is an ill-structured domain, where
INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW problems are essentially unique (there are no classes of
In the automotive industry the design of concept cars is problems) and where the same solution can`t be applied
particularly important since they allow to show new to all members of a class [15], typologies facilitate
developments in technology, materials and design. In comprehension and solution of many situations that are
addition, a feedback is obtained from the users (the present in product design processes.
target market) to reduce the risk when the models are
brought into production. On the other hand, studies on

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The following are examples of typologies used in also by designing for the user’s Kansei. Taking all these
design as support in the process: aspects in account and understanding Kansei as
Nagamachi does as “an individual's subjective
• A typological model that provides a structured impression from a certain artifact, environment, or
database of designed product images for the situation using all the senses of sight, hearing, feeling,
description, decomposition and acquisition of smell, taste as well as recognition” (p. 7) [13] - it is
knowledge that can be extracted from existent clear that mentioned classifications are not enough. For
formal concepts to be applied in the example, for those two involving image databases,
development of new formal concepts [11]. formal and maybe some emotional aspects are included,
• A classification of image types and reference but functional ones cannot be identified and no
key words was made in order to understand functional knowledge can be learned for future
how visual material can facilitate design and functional concepts. For the one that relates aesthetic
how designers use it and interpret it. As a aspects with strategic decisions, there are also
result, it was built an electronic image graphic functional aspects missing. Finally, those classifications
database for professional use in product design typically automotive barely include formal and sizing
[4]. aspects. Concept-cars require a classification to be more
inclusive with the characteristics focused on user’s
More concretely, as typologies classify products putting Kansei and covering it (emotional, and aesthetic
them in specific groups according to its characteristics, significance) but also, a classification including every
there can be shown a couple of examples as follows: technical and technological feature which are as well
Firstly, the “Hierarchic styling analysis model” very important aspects for this kind of product.
developed in TU Delft. It identifies aesthetic aspects An important element of a design typology and
that relate with strategic decisions in the automotive taxonomy must therefore be the proportion of artistic
field [7]. vs. design engineering content in the problem and
Secondly, being more specific, automobiles are maybe design process [6].
the most diversely categorized products. They are Though show rooms get full of concept cars every year,
classified qualitatively and/or quantitatively in ways it is difficult to find a systematic methodology, either an
that can vary between countries, car manufacturers and inclusive specific typology that links all those variables
regulation companies (like EuroNCAP). Among other (functional, formal, emotional or Kansei aspects). This
aspects, they are classified by: situation does not help cars manufacturers or concept
1. Bodywork1 type: cars designers to generate knowledge around all aspects
for future developments of this special type of products.
• According to its volumes, in one, two or three
volumes For deficiencies mentioned above and considering the
complexity of the subject, in the context of a graduation
• According to its shape, in sedan, familiar, coupé, project (Product Design Engineering -Universidad
sport car, utilitarian or four-wheel drive (in all EAFIT, Medellín, Colombia) consisting on the design
these classifications there are sub-groups like of a concept car for 2050 including Zeitgeist Theory
fastback, spider and targa). (German term from philosophy meaning the
2. By segments, like A, B, C, D, E, F. Normally they ‘Intellectual atmosphere of the future’ that helps long
are related with the number of occupants of the term projections in the future), it was necessary to
vehicle, their volumes and their power train. Some develop a methodology that would help subject’s and
car manufacturers (OEMs), like Mercedes-Benz user`s knowing and understanding. A methodology that
base some references of their products with the would help in the first development phase of the project
initials of the segment they belong to. There can (investigating and introducing phase), to recollect and
also be found some extensions to this classification; assimilate large quantities of information about concept
for instance, the “Micro Cars” which are placed cars.
before the A segment due to its smaller size.
There were a few theories that carried authors to think
3. The EuroNCAP classification. This is one of the that the development of a typology of concept cars
companies that have proposed its own classification could be the methodology serving as a supporting base
that combines some elements of the last two. for the first phase of the project, considering all
subject’s aspects and finally, helping project’s goals:
Concept cars are complex products since they
comprehend a lot of information and involve not only The act of classifying, adds transparency and
functional, but also highly interactive and emotional organization to large amounts of information and
aspects to be solved through the product’s forms but information collected is more easily managed, and
ultimately can be capitalized upon for improving the
process of product definition [16].
1 The structure of a vehicle.
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How to approach an artifact that is intended as an feasibility, productivity and functional features for
indivisible synthesis? One way may be to virtually short-term production and they would limit creativity.
deconstruct the design, to thereby study certain parts of
Recollection of images and data
the composition in relation to each other and to From each vehicle covered in searching spectrum, it
subsequently re-construct these, to get an impression of was taken the major quantity of information of their
how they interact, within the composition as a whole most representative characteristics in all possible areas
[2]. and it was selected the photo that best showed its
Typologies could present an important role in Kansei physical attributes. All information was taken from
engineering type I (A category classification on the new http://www.carstyling.ru, a car design website that
product toward the design elements) by providing a includes all concept cars from all manufacturers since
structured link between affective-experiential needs of the very first one with a wide description of their
the user and the properties and attributes of the concept characteristics and an extensive number of good
car. resolution photos for most of them. That would clearly
help following classification of characteristics, because
The mentioned typology is the core target of this paper even if the content was different for each vehicle, the
and supported the development of perceptual maps that kind of information available was very similar.
allowed a visual appreciation of concept cars and of the
way users perceive them. The typology would offer, Analysis and classification of information
besides a classification in different categories of Starting from the collected information, there were
concept cars as a whole, a classification that allows a identified three main groups of properties that were
differentiation of its most relevant characteristics in the common to all the analyzed concept cars and that could
mentioned domains that are important for this kind of constitute three different modes of classification:
products. 1. According to concept car’s date of exhibition in the
METHODOLOGY auto-shows
To achieve the development of a concept cars typology, 2. According to the type of concept they represent.
it was necessary to obtain the maximum amount of
relevant information of these products. As the product 3. According to the nature of the characteristics
for which the typology was designed was focused on inherent to the design of the product.
the year 2050, it was considered that the most useful
The first two modes, allow a classification that
information was the most recent one. This supposition
congregates vehicles as a whole product in different
was based on the presumption that formal attributes of
categories or types as most of the typologies do. The
future products are mostly related to the most recently
third one allows a classification not of the vehicles as a
developed products.
whole, but of their characteristics separately in various
The collection is the first step necessary for any categories. Due to its extension and complexity, it
knowledge of objects. However, this provides only a required a special treatment. See figures 4-7.
random order, contingent or arbitrary while it is not Grouping and categorization of characteristics
subjected to a reflective organization, whatever it inherent to design
is. The collection then calls the classification, to order Classification as an operation whereby the objects or
what has been inventoried [5]. events of a given set are grouped into two or more
subsets according to the perceived similarities of their
Searching extension
states on one or (more frequently) several properties
As a first step, it was defined the extension of the
[11].
information searching. The amount of vehicles to
analyze was supposed to be wide enough to identify For this step, it was used a method named K-J,
differences as well as similarities between them, and consisting on writing down information on post-its and
relevant enough to avoid waste of time and effort. It then grouping and naming them successively until
was decided then to take concept cars presented by cars groups could not be reduced any more. To make
manufacturers between 2009 and august 2011 (when grouping and categorization easily, information, in this
was the last recollection). There were in total 170 case, characteristics are supposed to be as general as
samples, 54 from 2009, 59 from 2010 and 57 from possible (Not specific for each concept car but general
2011. As the project consisted on the design of a for the sample).
concept car defined as a non-production model that
As a first step in this grouping process, according to the
favors creativity and allows technological, materials and
information taken, there were listed and named the most
commercial experimentation, those samples whose
relevant and prominent characteristics of each concept
production date was earlier than five years were
car included in the investigation. Names were given
dismissed (37 samples). The reason: they would not
trying to define well each concept car’s characteristic,
allow further experimentation because the necessity of
but also trying them to be applicable to other concept
car’s characteristic making reference to the same
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attribute. For example, if one of the concept cars has exercise was repeated until there were no possibilities to
suicide doors and other one has gullwing doors, both merge groups because of their heterogeneity.
characteristics respond to the attribute name of “Doors
The final result of the grouping process determines four
Style”.
main categories that contained all groups of
characteristics previously made: Functional Aspects
related to vehicle’s technical systems, propulsion,
performance and materials; Formal Aspects that make
up the characteristics associated with appearance, the
visual theme, brand expression, color and trim (as a
combination of colors, textures and finishes), the detail
design and the brand leitmotiv that defines the car’s
aesthetic in a given brand; Experiential Aspects that
embody the qualities associated with the user interface,
usability and entertainment; and Market Aspects, which
makes reference to the target market of the vehicle. This
characteristic already belongs to the existent car’s
typology known as “bodywork type”. This category was
included because the authors found a close relationship
with elements of the other Functional, Experiential and
Figure1. 2009 Hyundai HCD-11 Nuvis-Gullwing doors [3]. Formal aspects defined in this new typology of concept
cars. The formal, experiential and market aspects
include emotional and aesthetic significance,
contributing to the user’s Kansei.

Figure 2. 2009 Ford iosis MAX – Suicide doors [3].

Once all characteristics were named, the K-J method

was used to group attributes. As it was expected, named
attributes where almost the same in all concept cars
evaluated, due to coherency of the source. All the
attributes included in the typology were those
highlighted by the source even if those characteristics
were exclusive for a few or even for one concept car.
Being conscious that the predominant criterion in
classification is to maximize homogeneity within
classes and heterogeneity between them [11] and that
all elements within a type have to be as similar as
possible and the differences between types have to be as
strong as possible [10]; each named characteristic was
joined to other ones sharing similarities. Like this, first
groups of characteristics were created and named trying
to cover all members of the group. For example, all
named characteristics related to entertainment and
information devices included in the concept car were
merged on an unique group named “Infotainment”. This Figure 3. Process of grouping named characteristics

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RESULTS: THE PROPOSED TYPOLOGY • Lighting: it refers to the design and technology used
As mentioned in the Analysis and classification of for the illumination of the vehicle. (cellular,
information, the concept cars typology is formed by faceted, diamond-like headlights).
three different classification modes:
• Intelligent systems: it groups all the intelligent
• By year of concept car launching in auto-shows: characteristics focused on vehicle’s function:
2009, 2010 and 2011. related to passenger’s active security, driving
• By kind of concept the concept car represents: regulation/optimization systems, identification of
emergent concept (based on realistic suppositions mechanic conditions of the vehicle, etc. (eco-
about future developments of markets and driving systems, active stability management, etc)
technologies; their production models reach three Formal Aspects
to five years in the future) and vision concept (they • Package: characteristics about the distribution of
go one step further than emergent concepts). There main elements and passenger’s inside the vehicle.
is no expectation for implementation so technical (Designed for two people: The passenger’s seat is
and commercial requirements are less strict for located behind the driver, batteries in rear floor )
them). Those vehicles, whose design was too close
• Color & Trim: it groups all interior design
to production (less than five years) called product
characteristics (chairs, instrument panel, console,
development concepts, were excluded from the
materials, etc.)
typology because its contribution to the design for
far future was limited. This classification was based • Theme: it focuses in the vehicle’s concept or its
in the type of concepts defined by Keinonen [9]. design philosophy. Traditionally, it is expressed
directly by the manufacturer as a concise phrase.
• By the nature of characteristics inherent to the
(BMW’s Efficient Dynamics)
concept car’s design: Functional Aspects, Formal
Aspects, Experiential Aspects and Market Aspects. • Element design proposal: covers all innovation
As it was mentioned in the description of the characteristics of doors style, roof, surface
methodology, each one of these categories is treatment, symmetric or asymmetric elements, etc.
divided in sub-categories as follows. (suicide doors, elongated windshield, open layout,
etc)
The last three: Formal, Experiential and Market
Aspects contain user’s Kansei information as they • Earlier model inspiration: determines if concept car’s
include aesthetic, emotional and interactive design was based on a previous model. (The
elements. Corvette Stingray concept)
• Design direction: it tells if this new design determines
a new way for future models of the brand, if it is
Nature of characteristics
Functional Aspects simply an evolution of a previous model or if it is
just elicit the brand’s language. (evolves the
• Power train: covers all transmission and propulsion brand’s design language by using elements of
information of the concept car. (Electric motor, previous concepts as well as styling cues from the
four-wheel transmission, diesel/turbo charged current models)
engine)
Experiential Aspects
• Aerodynamics: describes any internal or external • Infotainment: it groups all devices in the vehicle to
device that improves racing dynamics. (Covered inform or entertain the passenger. All elements that
wheels, rear spoiler, drag coefficient) could generate feelings like happiness, safety and
• Materials: All that refers to materials and lightweight. perceptions of high technology for example. (LCD
screens, integration of mobile devices, internet
• Power source: information related to energy
access, etc.)
storage/collection systems. (Lithium-ion batteries,
solar cells) • Usability: it covers characteristics that facilitate the
use of the product; it can be focused on its principal
• Performance: it groups all quantitative characteristics
function (mobility) or its secondary functions.
related to speed, range, performance of engines,
Elements that could make the passenger feel
and fuel’s performance. (130 Km range, 59 Hp,
important, comfortable, etc. (Customizable touch
maximum speed of 130 Km/h)
screens, easy access to luggage, Mini’s Rocketman
• Chassis: it makes reference to the platform or type of special tracking ball, etc)
chassis where the vehicle is constructed.
Market Aspects
• Suspension: suspension system. • Market: it specifies the target market of the concept
car and the design elements specially made for this
group.

5
Visualization of the Typology
As a synthesis of the typology and for a better
visualization and understanding of its categories and
sub-categories, there were made summary cards of
11cm X 15cm. Each card had the information of only
one concept car whose production date was further than
five years. As there were 133 samples, there were made
133 cards as follows:

Figure 7. Vision concept-Side B

In the frontal side of the card (Side A), there is one
photo of the vehicle in isometric view of 8,5cm X 15cm
showing its formal aspects. Under the photo, there is
written the brand and name of the concept for easily
recognition. In this side of the card there are also
represented the first two modes of categorization
identified in the step “Analysis and classification of
information”: In the upper right corner there is a two
digits number indicating the launching year of the
Figure 4 [3]. Emergent concept-Side A concept car and (making reference to the second mode
of categorization defined: Type of concept) in the lower
right corner, a green line representing the emergent
concepts and differentiating them from the vision
concepts that don’t have that line.
At the back side of the card (Side B), it is represented
the third mode of categorization identified in the step
“Analysis and classification of information”. The one
made by Nature of characteristics: each card was
designed to gather a maximum of 12 groups of named
attributes (already defined in the previous step
“Grouping and categorization of characteristics inherent
to design”). This configuration intended to make all the
information clearly visualized and readable. It was
represented in three rows and four columns of
Figure 5. Emergent concept-Side B rectangles of 3,2cm x 2,5cm. Each rectangle adopted a
color of its own according to the aspect of the typology
it belonged to and, had written in white typography, the
name of the category it represented. For functional
aspects it was assigned the pink color; for formal
aspects, green color; for experiential aspects, yellow
color; and for market aspects, orange color. Moreover,
under most rectangles, there was written the specific
concept-car data belonging to each category. The order
for placing the rectangles was:
1. Functional aspects.
2. Formal aspects.
3. Experiential aspects.
Figure 6 [3]. Vision concept-Side A 4. Market aspects.
Starting from the first row and column (upper left
corner) with the Functional Aspects and continuing in
the same row through the right changing columns until
the fourth one. It continues in the same way with the
6
second row through the right until the fourth column compositional variety proceedings.6Th ADC
and then, the third row through the right until the fourth Tsukuba
column as well; reaching the lower right corner which 3. Carstyling. http://www.carstyling.ru Accesed August
represents the last row and the last column of the card. 2011.
CONCLUSIONS 4. Chun-ting, W., & Johnston, M. (2003) Investigating
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and market aspects described in the typology, as they design.
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pp.97-106
The fact that this typology emphasizes in the
6. Eder, W.E (2003). A typology of designs and
categorization of product’s characteristics and not only
designing. ICED 03.
products as a whole, makes it (the typology) a good
starting point for the understanding of a complex 7. Grondelle, E. D. V., & Dijk, M. B. V. (2004).
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9. Keinonen, T. (2006). Introduction to Concept Design.
informational process in the early stages of the design
In T. Keinonen & R. Takala (Eds.), Concept Design:
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A Review of the Conceptual Design of Products in
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Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of
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