Evaluating Users’ Emotional Response to Iranian Ancient Products Using Kansei Engineering

Iranian animal-shaped pottery vessels dating back to about 1500 B.C. are good examples of emotional design in ancient Iran. These objects were functional vessels made inspired by different animals in real or abstract shapes. This research aims to evaluate the users’ emotional response to these vessels using the Kansei engineering approach. Understanding these emotional responses is significant as it helps in designing products inspired by these ancient objects that resonate better with users' emotional and psychological needs. With the cross-sectional and descriptive methodology, five animal-shaped vessels belonging to different historical periods and discovered from different places were selected. By choosing 15 kansei emotion words a questionnaire using the 5-point semantic differential method set, and participants were asked to answer a similar questionnaire for each vessel. The images of five objects were provided to all the participants and they had to answer the five questionnaires by looking at them. The number of participants was 51, ranging from 15 to 50 years old. For data analysis, the factor analysis method was used for clustering the Kansei words, and then ANOVA analysis was applied. Based on the analysis, the result shows that the attractiveness of animal-shaped vessels for participants depends on the form, indicating a preference for familiar forms derived from nature that are similar to mental images. Functionality is also an important aspect of this type of design. For designers, understanding these emotional responses can significantly enhance the design process, leading to products that better meet users' emotional and psychological needs.