Multidimensional Scaling of Visual Design: An Objective Approach of Determining Similarities

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a popular technique for the purpose of positioning a product/brand in the competitive space. While MDS has the advantage of transforming complex data into a two-dimensional space, it also has several shortcomings. In the present research, these shortcomings are addressed in one particular field of application, namely product design. In particular, we develop a novel way of measuring the similarities between different product designs. Moreover, this approach is based on a theoretically grounded approach that allows us to make specific predictions about the perceptual space and is validated through an empirical study in the automotive sector.