Technology influences consumer behavior. The way of using products developed through modern scientific technology influences user consumption, especially now the power of traditional media on brand recognition is decreasing against the rapid increase ...
Technology influences consumer behavior. The way of using products developed through modern scientific technology influences user consumption, especially now the power of traditional media on brand recognition is decreasing against the rapid increase of the power of on-line media.
In this environment, a company advertising through traditional media can no longer be a leading guideline for people. The different experiences of each individual user need individual solutions.
Using these ideas as a benchmark, in this dissertation, I want to suggest ways to create the value of a brand as a new concept against traditional brand management and how user interface can play a role among users when they are provided positive experiences.
My research is restricted to high user involvement products to ensure robust processes and trust worthy document collection.
Here are the core subjects in this dissertation:
First, can user interface form a strong brand identity by itself?
Secondly, are there any differences between the decisive elements of existing brand identity and newly suggestive brand identity?
For this dissertation, I analyzed and researched the theoretical background of user experience, interface design, media, components of brand identity, and consumer buying habits etc. Then I sampled user experiences by using on-line user's comments and classified the types of user experiences by applying an expert card sorting analysis.
Types of user experiences and their characteristics are classified in three ways, sensitive experience, coherent experience and reasoning experience, all of which were sampled and analyzed.
Here are the main results of my research:
First, when we see the cycle of a user's experience; the user's prior experience interacts with new products and interface service in a group of similar users. This concept illustrates that a user's complex culture need to be considered more than only perception through interface and the user experiences. The user experiences re-engage with the contents through new interface, to which he adds his prior cognition and concept. Again, products and services that a company provides function as a whole to be recognized and experienced through, and as a result, the one 'brand message' will be delivered to give an effect on a distinction of brand identity. Through this experience, a unique brand image will be formed in the consumers mind.
Secondly, as the environment surrounding users has undergone big changes and the user experience takes a more significant role in forming brand identity, the experience itself can be added as part of brand identity, as defined by Aaker (1995). The experience is made of three parts; the sensitive experience, the coherent experience and the reasoning experience. These three detailed experiences can be added to the overall user experience.
My research shows that user experience is a crucial part of forming brand identity.
Product development and product service processes, incorporating the user experience, must be part of strategic planning, rather than as additional post-strategy developments.
User experience can be seen through the user interface composition which in itself becomes a brand with protection under the law.
For high involvement products, such as digital, sensitive experience and reasoning experience have the most significance in terms of buying such goods and service. Coherent experience has a role in sustaining usage of service and ensuring a higher level of loyalty.
So, sensitive experience and reasoning experience have important roles in the initial period of the purchase as they are concerned with the level of brand recognition, whereas coherent experience has an important role in the long-term sustainability of the purchase.
The development of digital technology, which provides interface experience with versatile products, and its interface experience, strengthens user's perception in the interface and weakens concentration in the contents themselves.
However, as time goes by, it strengthens concentration in the contents themselves, and the interface becomes transparent.
A brand image of the product continues to be created, changed and developed through this process.
Therefore in the process of product development, it is very important to produce and manage user experience.