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The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss Kansei engineering (KE), which uses a unique ergonomic technology to produce a new product which fits to consumers' feelings and demands. It is a consumer‐oriented product development method based on the consumer mind. It has been applied to realize several new Kansei products so far.

KE is sometimes able to create an invention, but mostly it is powerful to create more comfortable and affective products or services to the customers. KE utilizes psychological methods to grasp the customer's feelings, and the data obtained by this method are analyzed using multivariate statistical analyses which are transferred to the design domain (design specifications).

It was found that a customer has a hierarchy of values of his/her life. All people, from children to the elderly, want to enhance their quality of life. Having qualified products and services, including service men's smiles and greetings is an important factor.

KE is spreading out in the world at present. The paper (witten by the pioneer and founder of KE) tells “a story” about the methods and procedures to create a new Kansei product and refers to the implications of Kansei/affective engineering.

Gift flowers should be chosen to depict a message with the sender's kansei and are bound by nature of flowers and social manners, to maintain social relationship between the sender and the recipient. Few buyers, but most florists, have expert knowledge of the flowering time, scent, price, and nature of each flower, and are experts in arranging flowers that meet a given purpose. The purpose of this paper is to incorporate handling constraints into the inference process of a kansei engineering system.

The paper collected the expert knowledge concerning nature of flowers, composing flower arrangements and social manners on gifts from specialists of flower arrangements including a florist and special books. At the same time, kansei evaluation experiments on the kinds of flowers and colors were conducted. The expertise and the results of kansei experiments were organized into a flower database and inference rules for choice of a main flower, arrangement shapes and combination flowers. The rules were implemented as server‐side programs. Users input information about the recipient, purpose of the arrangement and purchase information using a web browser. The system outputs a solution; a list of main flowers, combination flowers, greens and the shape of arrangement.

Traditional kansei engineering studies revealed the relationships between design elements and kansei with developing new analyzing methods. Different constraints come into the actual product design and manufacturing should be integrated with findings obtained from the kansei evaluation to successfully utilize kansei engineering for product development.

The inference rules will be able to tell the reasons for choosing the main‐ and combination flowers and arrangement shapes to satisfy the customers.

The proposed system suggests the original arrangement of flowers unlike most online florists selling ready‐made arrangements. The paper shows a solution to incorporate different constraints underlying in a real production process into the inference process based on the result of kansei analysis.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has been practiced by leading companies around the world since 1966. Its two‐fold purpose is to assure that true customer needs are properly deployed throughout the design, build and delivery of a new product, whether it be assembled, processed, serviced, or even software, and to improve the product development process itself. This paper describes the evolution of the method, its current best practice, and proposals for future direction, not only to log its history and key players correctly, but also to convey the richness and depth of the applications throughout multiple industries.

This paper aims to present a review of extant literature representing attempts to define perceived quality and to propose a new definition. Perceived quality (PQ) is a well-researched, yet vaguely defined subject. Despite a plethora of PQ definitions suggested by various scholars, there is no consensus among researchers on what it really is. The main purpose of this study is to offer a conceptualization of PQ that different researchers and practitioners would agree upon.

This study adopted Garvin's five approaches to defining quality as a frame of reference. The paper utilizes a continuum of approaches to underscore the fact that PQ is neither totally subjective nor wholly objective. After a comprehensive analysis of available conceptualizations, the paper then proposes a new definition that captures the intricate nature of PQ and aligns its various perspectives.

The paper proposes a new definition of PQ as an impression of quality. Such a conceptualization of PQ aligns the various researcher perspectives of it. It also highlights the fact that PQ relies on quality cues under conditions of limited product knowledge by the consumer, a situation known as information asymmetry.

The study contributes to the understanding of the elusive concept of PQ by suggesting a new definition of PQ.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in taste in women’s sportswear t-shirts, between Japanese and French people.

A questionnaire survey on the impression of the appearance of t-shirts was conducted using three-dimensional simulations that the authors created. A sensory test was carried out for 24 designs (having varying types of sleeves, bodice length and fitting) on 51 examinees (26 Japanese and 25 French) who voluntarily participated.

Results show that both Japanese and French people most appreciated very short t-shirts and considered sleeveless and tank top shirts to be the most appropriated for exercise. Participants liked a cool, modern, showy, short, special, elaborate and feminine design. Additionally, Japanese people considered that casual clothes that are suitable for exercise are not suitable for wearing outside the gym, whereas this was not notable for French people.

The results of the present study will allow the sportswear industry to better target clients.