Engineering Aesthetic

From Eye to Emotion: The Science of How Products Trigger Human Feelings

Research by Jitender Singh & Prof. Prabir Sarkar 

Every product around us tells a story through its appearance, and the way it looks often shapes how we feel, think, and make decisions about it.

Our research in the domain of Engineering Aesthetics and Consumer Cognition contributes to understanding the connection between product appearance, human perception, and user preferences. It helps in identifying how visual features such as shape, proportions, curves, colours, and surface details influence the way people recognize, evaluate, and emotionally respond to products. This research contributes to developing human-centred design approaches where products are created by considering both engineering performance and user expectations. By studying consumer perceptions, it supports industries in understanding the factors that influence product acceptance, trust, comfort, safety perception, and overall user experience.

Our research in this domain contributes to reducing the gap between designers’ technical interpretations and consumers’ expectations. It provides scientific insights into how users perceive different design features and assists designers in making informed decisions during product development. The application of methods such as eye-tracking, consumer perception analysis, Fuzzy-AHP, and DEMATEL enables a systematic understanding of human attention and decision-making behavior. These approaches help identify the most influential design characteristics and their relationship with perceived qualities such as reliability, aesthetics, functionality, and value. In sectors such as automotive and consumer products, this research contributes to the development of products that are not only technically efficient but also visually attractive, emotionally engaging, and better suited to societal needs.

Overall, our research in Engineering Aesthetics and Consumer Cognition contributes to building a future where engineering design is guided not only by technological advancement but also by a deeper understanding of human behaviour, experience, and expectations.