• Müssig, Jörg
• Huber, Tim
• Shahri, Bahareh
• Emerson, Nick

Abstract

<p>Biobased composites, which are sustainable alternatives to fossil-based raw materials could gain acceptance in high-value products if their perceptual handicaps could be overcome. To do this, a deeper understanding of material-attribute relationships and the role of various senses in the formation of biocomposite perception needs to be established. This paper focuses on the role of tactility in contrast with visual stimuli and examines the perceptual qualities that are influenced by tactility. This receives extra attention in e-commerce, which only provides a visual representation of materials/products for the consumers to perceive. The semantic differential method was used to assess users’ perception of various material-attribute correlations. The analysis revealed a significant impact of tactility in the formation of certain attributes such as naturality, roughness and strength, while attributes like beauty and complexity remain less affected and visual-dominant. A clustering analysis revealed higher accuracy in identifying material characteristics in visual-tactile mode. This study also revealed that tactility is a key influence in the perception of naturality, and hence marketing plans for products with eco-credentials could benefit from strategies highlighting and promoting their tactile characteristics. This could also help product designers select the ideal biobased composite suited to communicate desired perceptual qualities.</p>

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• laser emission spectroscopy
• strength
• composite
• clustering