Senses in User Experience of Intangible Product Design

Abstract

In the electronic consumer market, both digital and physical products exist. However, in this new era of information technology and virtual space, humans are more involved with digital products. Most physical products are  normally experienced by the human senses through sense organs. Digital products are distributed and utilized through electronic devices, which means the digital products are represented within a computerized system. Hence, the sense of seeing is the most crucial sense for experiencing digital products. The electronic device has been used to present digital media within the computerized system. There are three objectives for this article. First is to present the different types of products – focusing specifically on intangible products. The second is to explore the different senses of the human body and how they will be used in intangible products. The third is to recommend the possibility of producing and using digital elements in delivering the sense. Literature research was also used to gather information from different sources online. Representational theory and sensory semantic theory are the two methodologies for analyzing data and recommending the possibility of producing digital elements to achieve the right sense. The output of intangible products is primarily dependent on the display device and its peripherals. The primary output device is either a monitor, a mobile screen, or a speaker, which can output both visual and audio data. Eyes and ears are employed for data detection. Any other senses would need to rely on the characteristics and qualities of digital elements on the screen.  In conclusion, intangible product design must rely heavily on interface design to convey meaning to the user. Connecting with the intangible via the remaining sense by conveying representational elements can be comparable to the physical product's sense. In the metaverse, there could be a second revolution that creates multiple senses to replace the real world’s environmental senses.