A Study on the Structure of Enhancing Positive User Experience in Product Design

With the passage of time and advancements in technology, user demands for products have evolved beyond mere functionality and aesthetic design to encompass deeper emotional and psychological needs. However, traditional product design often prioritizes aesthetic form, frequently neglecting the diversity and complexity of user experiences. Therefore, this study aims to overcome these limitations and identify key factors that can effectively enhance user positive experiences. Although modern user choices appear primarily influenced by culture, they are closely tied to the motivations of our ancestors in the decision-making process. To address this, the study employs a mixed-methodology that combines experimental methods with literature review. First, consumers from China and South Korea were selected as the primary research group, and anecdotal memories related to positive experiences were collected from 483 participants. Text mining techniques, including centrality analysis and CONCOR analysis, were subsequently applied to the collected memories related to user positive experiences, resulting in groups derived from word relationship patterns. The grouping results were then analyzed using the Fundamental Motives Framework from evolutionary psychology (Kenrick et al., 2010), identifying the motivational bases that elicit user positive experiences. Based on these findings, implementation strategies for product design were proposed, and the validity of the research results was confirmed through case analysis. The results indicate that four factors can effectively enhance user positive experiences: establishing and strengthening social relationships, self-development, enhancing predictive potential through multisensory experiences and promoting exploration, restoration and regulation. Finally, this study focused on products that have a profound impact on users’ daily lives, selecting mobile phones as the subject of analysis. The validity of the research findings was verified through surveys and case studies of various mobile phone brands. Through these efforts, each brand established design directions to enhance user positive experiences, thereby better meeting user needs and increasing market competitiveness and user loyalty. This research is expected to provide valuable references for future development and exploration processes aimed at optimizing user positive experiences in product design.