The mysterious role of perceived quality in car design

Lucid Air Exterior 21

The science of perceived quality ensures a product materialises as intended

Have you ever been enamoured by a car online only to be disappointed when seeing it in the metal? Perhaps the paint finish was off, body panels were misaligned or the interior just felt a little off – scratchy, creaky or even smells funky.

While there is plenty more to it, an experienced perceived quality expert will ensure scenarios like this do not happen. They do this by working across multiple departments spanning design, manufacturing, marketing, R&D, product planning and even aftersales. It is difficult to pin down exactly where they sit but one thing is clear: there is a passion for excellence and ensuring that hard work done at the studio and beyond does not go to waste. 

Car design is often referred to as an artform, while perceived quality is generally considered a science. “It’s two different schools of thoughts and methodologies,” says Kostas Stylidis, an independent researcher who has become one of the foremost voices on perceived quality. In fact, he literally wrote the book on it and more recently has been exploring how data can play a bigger role in the field.

The challenge is that…

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