Design Matters
When purchasing items for one's own living space, cost is often a crucial element but design can always make or break a decision. With more design conscious consumers in Japan, many home appliance manufacturers are treating their microwaves, air conditioners, and refrigerators as room interior décor items and developing more than just plain white electronics. Recent examples are several air purifiers, humidifiers, and heaters introduced in natural colors such as "silky beige" to attract female consumers.
Though this trend of producing design conscious electronics is not completely new, it was the Healsio water oven with its sleek bright red design inspired by traditional Japanese lacquerware that recently revived this trend. However, the difference between the current trends with its predecessors is that consumers are not looking for eccentric designs but more for designs that go well with a room’s interior. Sanyo’s new air conditioners with replaceable stylish cover panels in seven different colors are great examples of a product that has successfully responded to this new trend.
B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Puget Sound in Washington.