This study used three progressive experiments to isolate two dimensions of bottled water packaging: cap color and bottle shape. The objective of the first experiment was to test how the color of the bottle cap can change consumer preference. We evaluated four cylindrical bottles with different color caps (red, black, blue, and white). Results show that using a blue cap generates substantial positive changes in preference. The goal of the second experiment was to isolate the effect of bottle shape. Of the three bottle forms (cylindrical, squared, and anthropomorphic), the anthropomorphic was preferred. Results show that using a blue cap or an anthropomorphic shape improves preference and quality perceptions. A third experiment compared four price gaps (same price, 5%, 10%, and 20%) for the best versus worst shape and/color combination. In general, increasing the price of the bottle with the best color and shape decreases the choice preference. However, a 20% price increase improves the quality perception and inverts this trend. These results give product designers and marketing managers insights on how use color and shape to gain consumer preference.

中文翻译：

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产品包装的视觉设计元素：对消费者情感、质量感知和价格的影响

本研究使用三个渐进式实验来分离瓶装水包装的两个维度：瓶盖颜色和瓶子形状。第一个实验的目的是测试瓶盖的颜色如何改变消费者的偏好。我们评估了四个带有不同颜色瓶盖（红色、黑色、蓝色和白色）的圆柱形瓶子。结果表明，使用蓝色帽子会在偏好上产生实质性的积极变化。第二个实验的目标是隔离瓶子形状的影响。在三种瓶子形式（圆柱形、方形和拟人化）中，拟人化是首选。结果表明，使用蓝色帽子或拟人形状可以提高偏好和质量感知。第三个实验比较了最佳与最差形状和/颜色组合的四个价格差距（相同价格、5%、10% 和 20%）。一般来说，提高颜色和形状最好的瓶子的价格会降低选择偏好。然而，20% 的价格上涨提高了质量感知并扭转了这一趋势。这些结果为产品设计师和营销经理提供了有关如何使用颜色和形状来获得消费者偏好的见解。