A Study of the Expression in the Front View Design
of a Passenger Car
Seong hwan PARK*, Mitsuo KAMAIKE**, Toru NAGAO**
*Chiba University, Graduate School of Science and Technology, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba
263-8522JAPAN, [email protected]
**Chiba University, Faculty of Engineering , 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522 JAPAN,
[email protected] [email protected]
Abstract: Now, with maturation of the auto industry in development of a passenger car design, each model
is shown with personality and it has been an important subject to achieve differentiation with other companies.
Especially the front mask of a passenger car influences the impression greatly and serves as an important element of
design development.
It is in the purpose of this research to clarify the form element about the expression of a passenger car front mask
design and setting up the guideline of the development from the viewpoint of expression.
First, 21 types of a car were chosen from the passenger car marketed in 2001 and investigation which uses 20
pairs of evaluation adjectives for each impression and evaluates the impression recollected from the form of the
front by the 5 stage SD method for 40 design system college students was conducted. Each of the 1st factor was
interpreted as calm - intrepid factor from the pleasure - displeasure meaning of the feeling of the people being
included as a result of factor analysis. Since the meaning showing the awakening level of the expression of the
people was included, the 2nd factor was interpreted as the factor of common - individuality.
Next, when cluster analysis of the front mask of a passenger car was performed based on the factor score and the
grouping was carried out about the sample of 21 types of a car, it was able to classify into four groups (the cluster 1 cute, the cluster 2 - sporty, the cluster 3 - orthodox, the cluster 4 - casual). Furthermore, the guideline for raising the
design characteristic was built to each expression group.
Keyword: front mask, form element, expression
1. Introduction
Now, the view that the industry of automobile manufacture turns into the same assembly industry as future and
home electric appliances or office furniture which is not a long distance so much is becoming dominant. Cost
and time are reduced because, as for the complicated parts of structure, a special part maker passes on a line that
which it finished setting up beforehand. Manufacture technology is uniformed. In such the time, a designer bears
an end too at evolution of a product.
however, the present designer has to have the capability which boils to parts and knowledge and information
select, in order to achieve many duties In such a situation, the function and the form harmonize, so that the
design of a car can be considered to the zenith of an industrial design compared with the design of an industrial
product in addition to a car. It should be refined by many development during the past a little more than 100
years. However, the meaningless style has overflowed as if the car of these days had forgotten the purpose of
design original. Although there was also a time interpreted as a style being only a commercialism-ornament,
there are few people who catch so now. If neither a performance nor a price has a difference, it is aesthetic value
and the importance of a style increases in a mature market to hold a consumer's heart. A personal computer iMac
is the good example.
Creation of a new design is differentiation with the car of the other company, and has been an important subject
for showing with personality. An appearance design is most worrisome in the style of such a car. Especially,
a front mask occupies the important factor of appearance. Here, the front mask of a car often adds expression
like people's face or the face of an animal, and is compared in many cases. For example, the face which smiled,
the angry face, the face which was extended in between and carried out, the humorous face, the dear face, etc.
are regarded as people's individuality and an expression. The right and wrong of a face may determine the
impression of a car, and the impression of a design may influence deterministically. Thus, although a front mask
is one of the elements, which act on the feeling of expression, it is also a big factor.
It is in the purpose of this research clarifying the form element concerned with the expression of the front mask
design of a passenger car, and setting up the guideline of the development from the viewpoint of expression.
2.1. The questionnaire about the expression of the front mask of a passenger car
In order to investigate what expression is first accepted from the front mask of a passenger car, the
questionnaire about the expression in the front mask of a passenger car was performed. Factor analysis was
performed from the questionnaire result, and evaluation space was clarified. Moreover, it was related by
classifying the front mask form and expression of a passenger car using cluster analysis.
1. laughing
2. sharp
3. Surprise
4. fine
5. intrepid
6. angry
7. lonely
8. excited
9. steep
10. smiled
11. confidence
12. sleepy
13. charming
14. severe
15. gently
16. dull
17. mortifying
18. annoying
19. glad
20. humorous
Table 1: Evaluation criteria about expression
In order to compare by uniting and analyzing the front mask of a passenger car and the face of people, the
expression term used for analysis must be common in both. Furthermore, in order to use the SD method for the
questionnaire method, 20 evaluation criteria were extracted for the term on the expression, which filled those
issues by the brainstorming method (Table 1). Evaluation criteria conducted the evaluation experiment about the
grade(which does not consider so much ) of the expression received from the sample figure of the front mask of
a passenger car by the 5 stages of SD method, which is not considered so at all which makes a negative word an
opposite word and considers it very so, which considers a little so, which can be called neither.
Fig. 1: Sample A ～ U standardized in order to perform questionnaire
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
The sample figure shows chosen 21 types of cars from the passenger car marketed in 2001 where the front
view or front mask was extracted from the catalog of automobile magazines and prepared them as a sample for
an experiment. Then, since from that number, size, etc. of each composition element differed from each other,
the sample drawing for an experiment was standardized. The tread in the front mask of a passenger car was
standardized in accordance with all samples. Moreover, it was learned from the research of Harada and other
research, and only by a body outline, a front grill, a headlight, and air intake or front bumper, in all samples, the
number of the composition elements of a front mask was also fixed, and was standardized (Fig. 1).
2.2. questionnaire result and consideration
The average value of the data processed of 20×21 with the 40 persons questionnaire was calculated, and it was
analyzed by the factor analyzing method (the rotating method is Bali Max), and the amount of factor loads was
calculated by the evaluation term, and it was calculated for the factor score from the evaluation sample.
The result of factor analysis is as in Table 2. 10 of factors where then were carried out in all, the rate of
accumulation contribution became 81.49% even by the 2nd factor, and after it, since the rate of contribution fell
suddenly, it was presupposed to it that even the 2nd factor is adopted in the case of an interpretation.
The 1st axis (rate of contribution 55.83%)
calm
intrepid
The 2nd axis (rate of contribution 25.66%)
common
individuality
smiled
steep
sleepy
excited
glad
severe
dull
fine
laughing
angry
lonely
confidence
Table 2: Result of factor analysis
Fig. 2: Evaluation term map of factor 1 and factor 2
common
1
sleepy
lonely
dull
gently
0.5
intrepid
humorous
mortifying
0
calm
charming
smiled
laughing
glad
Surprise
steep
severe
annoying
angry
intrepid
-0.5
sharp
fine
confidence
excited
-1
-0.5
-1
0
1
0.5
individuality
2.3. The classification by cluster analysis
When cluster analysis of the front mask of a passenger car was performed based on the factor score and the
grouping of the annexation distance was carried out by the sample of 21 types of cars in the position of 1.5, it
was able to divide into four front mask groups. What added the result of cluster analysis to the sample map is
shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 is a cluster map showing a factor 1 ( calm - intrepid) and a factor 2 (common - individuality) The figure
of a sample was attached and displayed with the point in which a position is shown. Moreover, the portion
enclosed with the line is a group by cluster analysis, and each number is equivalent to the cluster number.
common
2
G
orthodox
1
sporty
intrepid
2
L
C
3
J
B
R
E
P
M
0
I
A
U
-1
casual
T
1 cute
H
S
Q
4
calm
N
K
F
D
O
-2
-1
0
individuality
Fig. 3: Cluster map in sample of factor 1 and factor 2
1
2
Table 3: Feature interpretation in each cluster
cluster 1
(cute)
cluster 2
(sporty)
cluster 3
(orthodox)
cluster 4
(casual)
Image term
Form element
smiled
glad
laughing
Although the inclination to which a headlight
is hung up large, there are many cars where
the condition of Corner R is round.
steep
severe
angry
There are many cars by which the inclination
to which a headlight is hung up large, and
the condition of Corner R is also sharp.
sleepy
dull
lonely
The inclination to which a headlight is hung
up level, and the condition of Corner R
has many blunt cars.
excited
fine
confidence
The height of air intake is high and there
are many cars of a square headlight.
Sample
S, D, K, G
U, T, O, M, A
L, G, C, B, R
J, H, N, E, P, I, F
3.1. Relation between the form element of a front mask design, and an area ratio
It became clear that a front mask is classifiable in the form corresponding to each in the image term of
expression of the above result. It tries to clarify the form features about the form elements of a front mask for
every cluster below. It was analyzed the relation with the area ratio of the concrete element, which constitutes the
form of a front mask.
3.2. The analysis method
Body outline, front grill, headlight, and air intake were taken up as elements, which constitutes the form of a
front mask. The name of the area of each form element was set up as shown in Fig. 4.
Domain standard area (SA)
Area of a body outline(RA)
Area of a grill(GA)
Area of headlights(HA)
Area of an air intake in the bumper(BA)
Fig. 4: Name of area of front mask form element (abbreviated name)
Next, area measurement of the composition element of a front mask design was performed as follows. The area
of the domain of the square which sets a length of one side to one is 1×1, and domain standard area (SA) sets
this to 1 (Fig. 5). As a fiduciary point of measurement of this area, it was measured for every index set up of the
front mask design of each sample, and all the measurement values were calculated. Table 4 is the average value
classified for every cluster of the data for which it was asked.
Fig. 5: Example of measurement value
SA＝1
SA＝1
RA≒0.4968
RA≒0.4681
HA≒0.0572
HA≒0.0586
GA≒0.0192
GA≒0.0199
BA≒0.0259
BA≒0.0244
Table 4: Average of measured data
cluster 1
cluster 2
cluster 3
cluster 4
RA
0.4901
0.4896
0.5062
0.4735
HA
0.0574
0.0538
0.0465
0.0495
GA
0.0192
0.0261
0.0308
0.0194
BA
0.0697
0.0259
0.0288
0.0326
Fig. 6: Result of area ratio of form element in each cluster
60%
50%
RA/SA
40%
HA/RA
30%
GA/RA
20%
BA/RA
10%
cluster 1
cluster 2
cluster 3
cluster 4
3.3. Consideration
1) Since the tendency for the area ratio of headlights or air intake of the front bumper were the largest as seen ,
in Fig6 the cluster1 (cute expression group) surmised that it was mostly used in that front mask designs, such as
small car or family car.
2) Since the tendency to have large area ratio of headlights was seen, the cluster 2 (sporty expression group)
surmised that it was mostly used for a headlight in front mask designs, such as a sports car with the high degree
of attention.
3) Since the tendency to have large area ratio of front grill was seen, the cluster 3 (orthodox expression group)
surmised that it was mostly used in front mask designs, such as RV and SUV.
4) Since the tendency to have small area ratio in headlights and air intake of the front bumper was seen, the
cluster 4 (casual expression group) surmised that it was mostly used for an MPV style etc. in the front mask
design in the broad range.
4. Conclusion
when the front mask of a passenger car was seen from a viewpoint of expression, it has been classified into four
expression groups from the tendency centering on pleasant-unpleasant ( calm - intrepid), the factor (common individuality) of awakening, Then it became clear for matching with the image term showing the form element
and expression of a front mask of the passenger car belonging to each group to be possible.
Furthermore, it also became clear that the relation between the form element of a front mask and an area ratio
affects each group. The proportionality relation which appears as relation between a form element and area is
considered to have affected it with the image of a front mask strongly.
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