All posts by Jaewoo Joo

Jaewoo teaches and writes about design thinking, behavioral economics, and field experiment for customer experience. He is professor of marketing and participating professor of experience design at Kookmin University. Jaewoo has been Visiting Scholar at Stanford University since September 2024.
Publications

Apply behavioral economics to sell design more

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Background People often choose between two competing options: option A (aesthetically superior but functionally inferior) and option F (functionally superior but aesthetically inferior). We hypothesize that people like option A more when it is presented with option F (joint evaluation) than when presented alone (separate evaluation) because people find aesthetic attributes are hard to evaluate. We further hypothesize that this effect holds neither for option F nor among experts.

Methods We briefly reviewed two cases in the Korean automobile industry and then conducted two experiments in China. In the first experiment, we compared preferences about two USB drivers between two evaluation modes. In the second experiments, we compared preferences about two basketball shoes in the joint evaluation between novices and experts.

Results We found from the first experiment that participants increased their preferences for option A in the joint evaluation compared to the separate evaluation. Their preferences for option F did not differ between the two evaluation modes. In the second experiment, only novices preferred option A over option F in the joint evaluation. Experts did not prefer option A over option F.

Conclusions Our findings contribute to the scholarly discussions about form and function. They also provide practical implications to designers and marketers who need to sell aesthetically pleasing products. This work goes beyond design marketing interface to add evaluation mode as an intervention to nudge people to choose aesthetically pleasing products, which has been barely discussed in behavioral economics.

Keywords:

Aesthetic, Behavioral Economics, Function, Intervention, Knowledge, Marketing, Nudge

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Publications

Why is it so hard to apply Design Thinking to Korean Companies?

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Joo, J., Lee, A. J., & Park, J. H. (2018). A New Framework of Design Management and Three Additional Requirements To Apply Design Management to Korean Companies: Experience Design, Collaboration, and Trial and Error. Design Convergence Study, 17(6), 145–165.

The present research has two objectives. First, we introduce a new framework of design management proposed by Heather Fraser, the Director of Rotman Designworks. It comprises three gears: (1) user understanding, (2) concept visualization, and (3) strategic business design. Second, we investigate the key requirements that are necessary to apply the new framework to Korean companies. We collected fifty reports about the five special lectures from a new product development course at a university in Korea. These lectures were given by three designers and two product managers. We used interpretative analysis and followed three process of qualitative analysis of transcription, coding, and theme discovery. We derived specific requirements for applying design management to Korean companies: (1) experience design, (2) collaboration, and (3) trial and error. We introduced a novel design management framework and clarified the requirements how to successfully apply it to Korean companies. These findings imply that, firstly, executives and practitioners need to improve mutual communication and, secondly, corporations and agencies respect each other in their partner relationships.

Keywords
Collaboration, Design Management, Design Thinking, Experience Design, Trial and Error

“In sum, our review of the past research on design management shows various approaches introducing design into chronological business management and supporting successful business cases. However, it focuses design management in the strategic stage; it does not provide specific assistance with practitioners who are interested in applying design management in their tasks. Therefore, we introduce a model for practitioners to undertake management planning efficiently” (pg. 150)

“…we should accept the meaning of designing the customer experience, which includes the company’s identity, rather than emphasizing the product’s design-centered simple styling. … respect is required in partner relationship of corporations and agencies. In order to activate design management, the corporation’s interior decision-making and organization structure should change” (pg. 162)

Designworks written by Heather Fraser
Cases

Jasper Morrison, Super Normal designer

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Piknic, a unique building in Seoul, hosted an exhibition of a British designer Jasper Morrison. The title of the exhibition was THINGNESS.

For the hundredth anniversary of the Bauhaus, piknic presents an exhibition offering a general introduction to the world of British designer and modernist interior Jasper Morrison, who has created a sensation with his “Super Normal” philosophy. Born in London in 1959 and studied Design at Kingston Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art in London, with a one-year scholarship to the HDK design school in Berlin in 1984. Morrison is considered one of the most important designers of our era, holding supreme status in his field since establishing his studio in 1986 at the age of 27 and working with such distinguished companies such as Vitra, Littala, Muji, and Samsung. Focusing in everything from small daily essentials like knives and forks to the public transportation systems of cities, he places no limits on the areas where he works. As they share in the design journey of someone who has created a wide variety of objects related to human life, we hope all our visitors will find their answer to the question of what constitutes a “Good Thing” – and what makes a “Good Life.”

I found from the brochure that Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa designed an exhibition in 2006, which called attention to design management. Indeed, Naoto Fukasawa appeared in this website thanks to his electronic products such as Muji CD player and his paper products under the name of SIWA.

I participated in a guided tour led by a female “docent.” Although I did neither plan for it nor pay for it, she shared with us interesting story about each work. Listening to why and how each work has been completed enriched the whole tour experience.

He has made a wide variety of products including chair, lighting, kitchen utensil, and home care products. My favorite was the cork side table. Although the docent highlighted the functional feature of the cork which naturally repels termites, I was simply fascinated by how it looks. It reminded me of a wine cork.

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Reference

Joy, A., & Sherry, J. F. J. (2003). Speaking of Art as Embodied Imagination: A Multisensory Approach to Understanding Aesthetic Experience. Journal of Consumer Research, 30(2), 259–282.

This article focuses on somatic experience–not just the process of thinking bodily but how the body informs the logic of thinking about art. We examine the links between embodiment, movement, and multisensory experience insofar as they help to elucidate the contours of art appreciation in a museum. We argue that embodiment can be identified at two levels: the phenomenological and the cognitive unconscious. At the first level, individuals are conscious of their feelings and actions while, at the second level, sensorimotor and other bodily oriented inference mechanisms inform their processes of abstract thought and reasoning. We analyze the consumption stories of 30 museum goers in order to understand how people move through museum spaces and feel, touch, hear, smell, and taste art. Further, through an analysis of metaphors and the use of conceptual blending, we tap into the participants’ unconscious minds, gleaning important embodiment processes that shape their reasoning.

Cases

Chinese people need more than a drinking fountain

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We know that westerners and easterners think differently. Markus and Kitayama (1991) argue that different cultural thoughts come from different self concepts. Roughly speaking, a US citizen has an independent concept whereas a Japanese citizen has a dependent one.

Although this paper claims that Asians think similarly regardless of whether they are Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, they in fact do not necessarily behave in the same way. For instance, Asians seem to communicate in different modes depending on where they live.

I recently noticed significant differences in preferred water temperatures. At Hong Kong International Airport, Chinese airline passengers bypassed the drinking fountain entirely, instead opting to line up at a hot water dispenser with their own containers. In contrast, I cannot imagine Koreans doing the same, especially when cold water is readily available nearby. Cultural preferences in Asia is significant!

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Reference

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological review, 98(2), 224.

People in different cultures have strikingly different construals of the self, of others, and of the interdependence of the 2. These construals can influence, and in many cases determine, the very nature of individual experience, including cognition, emotion, and motivation. Many Asian cultures have distinct conceptions of individuality that insist on the fundamental relatedness of individuals to each other. The emphasis is on attending to others, fitting in, and harmonious interdependence with them. American culture neither assumes nor values such an overt connectedness among individuals. In contrast, individuals seek to maintain their independence from others by attending to the self and by discovering and expressing their unique inner attributes. As proposed herein, these construals are even more powerful than previously imagined. Theories of the self from both psychology and anthropology are integrated to define in detail the difference between a construal of the self as independent and a construal of the self as interdependent. Each of these divergent construals should have a set of specific consequences for cognition, emotion, and motivation; these consequences are proposed and relevant empirical literature is reviewed. Focusing on differences in self-construals enables apparently inconsistent empirical findings to be reconciled, and raises questions about what have been thought to be culture-free aspects of cognition, emotion, and motivation.

Cases

Street signs for kids

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Most street signs ask someone NOT to do something. For instance, they ask pedestrians not to run fast or they ask drivers not to drive fast.

However, at a school in Hong Kong, I finally met different street signs designed for students. They encourage students to DO something. Several yellow students were painted on a street surrounding a tree. They are encouraged or at least allowed to carry different items such as basketball, football, soda, and noodle (?).

Research suggests that we behave differently when we are in a promotion-focused mode than in a prevention-focused mode. If we see promotion-focused street signs more on the road, we behave differently (e.g., please fly drone here or please use mobile phone here).

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Reference

Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-Level Theory of Psychological Distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440–463.

People are capable of thinking about the future, the past, remote locations, another person’s perspective, and counterfactual alternatives. Without denying the uniqueness of each process, it is proposed that they constitute different forms of traversing psychological distance. Psychological distance is egocentric: Its reference point is the self in the here and now, and the different ways in which an object might be removed from that point—in time, in space, in social distance, and in hypotheticality—constitute different distance dimensions. Transcending the self in the here and now entails mental construal, and the farther removed an object is from direct experience, the higher (more abstract) the level of construal of that object. Supporting this analysis, research shows (a) that the various distances are cognitively related to each other, (b) that they similarly influence and are influenced by level of mental construal, and (c) that they similarly affect prediction, preference, and action.

Courses

Commercial renewal project: Twix 2018

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We decide to renew the Twix advertisement aired in 2012. This old advertisement, in fact, successfully emphasized the unique characteristics of the chocolate bar; the ingredients (biscuits and caramel) were visually demonstrated by the manufacturing process.

However, this advertisement lacked “targeting,” which raises a problem because many children and youngsters consume chocolate bars actively. Further, there was no punch line.

Therefore, we renew the old advertisement to resonate it with college students. We propose Twix is a rest and a comfort. In the renewed advertisement, we use fast-paced audio and video to show that contemporary college students are busy. When Twix is shown, we use slow-paced audio to propose that Twix helps busy students get relaxed. We also use the phrase “Have a Break, Have A Twix” in the end of the advertisement to clarify our proposition.

Written by Sungkyu Jin, Kyuwon Lee, Kyungkae Chang, and Haeyeon Park | Marketing Communication 2018 Fall | College of Business Administration, Kookmin University

Courses

Commercial renewal project: Canada Goose Light Weight Down Jacket 2018

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People are afraid of cold winter. The Canadian Outdoors brand, Canada Goose, was born in 1957 for the Canadian Arctic Guards, researchers and explorers of the scientific institutes of the polar regions, and those working in the extreme weather conditions. This brand became popular under the slogan of freeing people from the cold. The current ad about the Canada Goose Light Weight Down Jacket emphasizes its core feature with the phrase of “Where warm can take you” as well as its light weight. In sum, the ad emphasizes that the jacket is warm and light.

The current ad with the magnificent nature of Canada’s Avalon Peninsula conveys how warm the Canada Goose jackets are. However, will this add lead Korean customers to buy the jacket? Korea is quite cold in winter but not as cold as polar regions. Canada Goose Ad needs to prove why its jacket is valuable to Korean customers.

We have changed the background of the current advertisement from nature to city. The current advertisement is of interest to mountaineers but may not attract urban dwellers. While doing so, we tried not to dilute the unique brand image. We also newly generated a phrase, Beyond Boundaries, to break the existing frame and get close to Korean customers.

Written by Junhyuk Kwon, Baliworin Dastan, Jungtaek Lim, Jieun Lim, and Suna | Marketing Communication 2018 Fall | College of Business Administration, Kookmin University

Courses

Commercial renewal project: Uniqlo Ezy Ankle Pants

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcbQ-uTVONA

 

 

Uniqlo represents SPA brands and its reasonable price attracts customers. Recently, it launched new pants called EZY ankle pants. Uniqlo promoted it on air but seemed to fail to attract attention compare to its other best selling products such as AIRISM and HEATTECT.

We decided to renew the commercial of the EZY ankle pants because the commercial highlighted color and fabric and demonstrated comfort through people dancing on the street. In our renewed commercial, we highlighted comfort, color, and fabric, all of which are competitive advantages. We filmed a person wearing EZY ankle pants and walking, running, doing exercise, and even attracting others.

Written by Yoonsu Kim, Hakyum Lee, Yoonsu Jang, and Chanhee Hong | Marketing Communication 2018 Fall | College of Business Administration, Kookmin University

 

 

 

 

Cases

Foreigners form impressions instantly about countries

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At a downtown subway station in Berlin, Germany, I was surprised by that vending machines are often covered by steel cages. According to my German friend, this is because the machines could be damaged by drunken people at night. Instantly, I formed an impression that Germany is not safe. I assume that juvenile vandalism, an action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property, is popular in this country. 

Then, a few days later, I encountered a public book shelf. At a market in Frankfurt, people freely opened the window and picked up books. At this moment, I instantly corrected my impression; I came to realize that Germany is safe.

We often use trivial cues to quickly form impressions about cities and countries. A steel cage led me to think Germany is dangerous for tourists. However, as Brunswik suggested in his Les Model research, the first impression fails to reflect the truth. A book shelf changed my viewpoint about Germany.

I expect same things happen to foreignersd who come to Asian countries. When Europeans come, they use trivial cues to form an impression and use other cues to correct it. Learning takes time to correctly understand new cities, countries, and culture.

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Reference  

Brunswik, E. (1955). Representative design and probabilistic theory in a functional psychology. Psychological Review, 62(3), 193-217.

This is the core or basic paper in a symposium on the probability approach in psychology. The paper expands on earlier contentions of this author that the environment to which an organism must adjust is semi erratic and that therefore all functional psychology is inherently probabilistic, demanding a representative research design of its own, and leading to a special type of high-complexity, descriptive theory. “The expansions beyond the earlier publications… concern mainly the use of a behavioral example… ; the brief consideration of such semi representative policies as ‘canvassing’; certain comparisons with factorial design and the analysis of variance, as well as with non-functionalistic uses of probability in psychology; and a discussion of actual and potential applications to the clinical-social area and to related domains.”

 

 

 

Cases

Opt in vs. Opt out: Different defaults in different cities

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While I was staying in Toronto, I used to place an order in the same way. That is, I ordered turkey-breast on a six-inch, honey oat bread, with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and black olives). 

I visited a recently opening Subway at my university and ordered the same meat and the same bread. Then, I said to a server the same vegetables. Surprisingly, she added cucumbers and peppers. I asked her why. She answered “I am opting out the vegetables customers say.”

I noticed that most Korean customers did not make any request about vegetables. They considered the whole five vegetables on the window as the default options. Only few customers said “everything but…”

For the people who do not usually make a series of choices for a single meal, opt out default vegetables may relieve their burden. I expect choosing from meats and breads to vegetables and dressings are demanding for most Asians. For them, choosing which vegetables to add are additionally demanding. When they skip choosing vegetables, they may enjoy meals more even though they do not like to eat more vegetables.

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Reference

Scheibehenne, B., Greifeneder, R., & Todd, P. M. (2010). Can There Ever Be Too Many Options? A Meta-Analytic Review of Choice Overload. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), 409–425.

The choice overload hypothesis states that an increase in the number of options to choose from may lead to adverse consequences such as a decrease in the motivation to choose or the satisfaction with the finally chosen option. A number of studies found strong instances of choice overload in the lab and in the field, but others found no such effects or found that more choices may instead facilitate choice and increase satisfaction. In a meta-analysis of 63 conditions from 50 published and unpublished experiments (N = 5,036), we found a mean effect size of virtually zero but considerable variance between studies. While further analyses indicated several potentially important preconditions for choice overload, no sufficient conditions could be identified. However, some idiosyncratic moderators proposed in single studies may still explain when and why choice overload reliably occurs; we review these studies and identify possible directions for future research.