Search Results (52)

Consumer experiences with cultural fashion for special events often involve heightened expectations, with satisfied customers typically demonstrating increased brand engagement and loyalty. Traditional cultural attire, such as the Chinese Qipao, is widely recognized as quintessential for expressing cultural identity and fashion sensibility, particularly for weddings and other significant life events. Understanding these consumer experiences is crucial for cultural fashion brands seeking to expand their customer base by strategically enhancing consumer satisfaction through providing innovative features. This study, which examines customer experiences with hybrid customized high-end Qipaos for weddings using the integrated customer value framework, seeks to identify value dimensions that lead to satisfied customers. LDA and thematic analyses reveal three predominant themes. Specifically, the theme of “style”, reflecting esthetic values, emerged as the most influential factor and drives customer satisfaction, favorable word of mouth, and referrals. The theme of “fit”, representing performance values, was identified as a basic product feature and functions as a dissatisfier that customers take for granted when customizing high-end traditional cultural attire. This study used a dictionary-based analysis to examine consumers’ price, service, and traditional element preferences. This study proposes a five-dimensional value framework for assessing the high-end expressive fashion customization processes and experiences from a customer value perspective. The findings theoretically expand consumer value theory within customized consumption and offer practical recommendations for e-commerce brands and customization enterprises, aiming to enhance customer satisfaction. Full article

Background: Much of the research conducted on tactical-style boots has evaluated the biomechanical effect of boots in brand-new condition; however, the extent to which changes due to wear influence lower-extremity biomechanics remains uninvestigated. The purpose of this study was to compare lower-extremity biomechanics with worn-in boots and running shoes during both walking and running. Methods: Lower-extremity biomechanical parameters were evaluated during walking and running in 12 individuals with previous tactical experience. Participants were asked to complete one 5 min bout of walking and running at a self-selected pace in both self-selected athletic shoes and their own worn-in standard-issue tactical boots while lower-extremity spatiotemporal, joint kinematic, kinetic, and ground reaction force data were collected. Differences between conditions were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Spatiotemporal measures of gait, as well as ankle and hip kinematics, were different between shoes and boots during walking. During running, no spatiotemporal differences existed. However, significant differences were found for the ankle, knee, and hip kinematics between shoe and boot conditions during both walking and running. Conclusions: The worn-in boots in our sample performed similarly to running shoes during both walking and running tasks. Though there were several biomechanical differences between boots and shoes during both tasks, small mean differences suggest that these differences may not be large enough to create substantive or relevant changes in performance. This information could aid in developing future tactical boot design strategies to help aid in lower-extremity injury as well as allowing for optimal performance when wearing boots. Full article

Despite the prevalence of digital food marketing to teenagers and its potential impact on food preferences and consumption, little is known about the specific food advertisements teenagers see in Canada and how they perceive them. Further, few studies consult teenagers directly about their perceptions of teen-specific food marketing content. To shed light on such issues, this study examines perceptions of food marketing and self-reported media use of Canadian teenagers via an online survey. Four hundred and sixty-four teenagers (ages 13–17) participated. Overall, teenagers identified Instagram and TikTok as the most popular social media platforms. The top food or beverage brands that teens felt specifically targeted them were McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Tim Hortons, while Instagram was deemed the most important media platform when it comes to teen-targeted food marketing. Teens deemed “celebrity” and “visual style” as the most important (food and beverage) advertising techniques when it comes to persuading teenagers to buy. Overall, the study provides insights into teen media use and brand preference, including the brands teens feel target them most directly and what they consider to be salient in terms of the food advertising they see. It also provides valuable details for researchers seeking to further identify and measure elements of teen-targeted food marketing. Full article

By constructing a linear structural equation model, we explored the impact of the customer service, food quality, and physical environment on customer behavioral intentions with experiential value and customer satisfaction as mediators. We focused on customers of the renowned Taiwanese franchised restaurant, Umai Yakiniku, in the Taichung area, Taiwan, and its services. Through customer perception and experience, we unraveled the subsequent behavioral dynamics. A total of 337 valid questionnaires were collected through purposive sampling. The participants encompassed customers who had previously dined at the Umai Yakiniku restaurant, excluding those attending corporate events. The overall behavioral model of customers showed a satisfactory level of fit. The customer service, food quality, and physical environment significantly impacted the experiential value. Customer service directly impacted customer satisfaction, while food quality and the physical environment indirectly affected customer satisfaction. Experiential value positively impacted customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction positively affected behavioral intentions. Such findings provide information for related companies and their strategic management. Full article

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) tracking tasks find extensive utility across various applications. However, current Transformer-based trackers are generally tailored for diverse scenarios and lack specific designs for UAV applications. Moreover, due to the complexity of training in tracking tasks, existing models strive to improve tracking performance within limited scales, making it challenging to directly apply lightweight designs. To address these challenges, we introduce an efficient attention mechanism known as Macaron Attention, which we integrate into the existing UAV tracking framework to enhance the model’s discriminative ability within these constraints. Specifically, our attention mechanism comprises three components, fixed window attention (FWA), local squeezing global attention (LSGA), and conventional global attention (CGA), collectively forming a Macaron-style attention implementation. Firstly, the FWA module addresses the multi-scale issue in UAVs by cropping tokens within a fixed window scale in the spatial domain. Secondly, in LSGA, to adapt to the scale variation, we employ an adaptive clustering-based token aggregation strategy and design a “window-to-window” fusion attention model to integrate global attention with local attention. Finally, the CGA module is applied to prevent matrix rank collapse and improve tracking performance. By using the FWA, LSGA, and CGA modules, we propose a brand-new tracking model named MATrack. The UAV123 benchmark is the major evaluation dataset of MATrack with 0.710 and 0.911 on success and precision, individually. Full article

Modernism has emerged as the preeminent iconic representation of Barcelona. However, the process through which this peculiar style has attained its iconic status is an arduous and multifaceted endeavor. This paper examines the challenges inherent in the categorization and periodization of Modernisme, followed by a succinct review of its initial filmic representations, culminating in a comprehensive analysis of two films in which Modernisme assumes a pivotal role: All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar 1999) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen 2008). We conclude that Modernisme’s transformation into a cultural brand is largely attributable to the erosion of its ideological component in favor of a touristic and globalizing gaze. Full article

The prevalence of e-commerce has led to a significant increase in online shopping among consumers, resulting in a surge in returns due to discrepancies between received products and consumer expectations. To resolve this issue, many retailers resort to disposing of returned items, contributing to wastage and environmental pollution, thereby obstructing the path to environmental sustainability. Understanding consumer expectations during the design phase holds promise for addressing this challenge. While most designers still primarily consider the visual aspect, they often overlook the emotional experiences and overall evaluations emphasized by consumers through tactile sensations during product usage. Therefore, this study employs the Miryoku Engineering approach to explore the visual and tactile attractiveness aspects and elements of cosmetic box designs for young women aged 20–30 in Taiwan. Through Evaluation Grid Method interviews, 4 attractiveness styles, 7 original attractiveness evaluations, and 35 specific conditions were identified. The results show that tactile sensations can compensate for the limitations of visual evaluations when assessing products. Participants with extensive makeup experience tended to evaluate cosmetic boxes based on both visual and tactile sensations, whereas those with moderate makeup experience focused on visual sensations and functionality. The selection of materials that prioritize sustainability and reusability in the design of cosmetic packaging can enhance brand image. In addition, this study elaborates on the visual and tactile aspects of cosmetic box designs that attract young women aged 20–30 in Taiwan. The aim is to provide future designers with insights from this study to meet young consumers’ expectations regarding the tactile and usage experience of cosmetics, thereby addressing the issue of high return rates, achieving the vision of sustainable development, and fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.5. Full article

Understanding past and current trends is crucial in the fashion industry to forecast future market demands. This study quantifies and reports the characteristics of the trendy walking styles of fashion models during real-world runway performances using three cutting-edge technologies: (a) publicly available video resources, (b) human pose detection technology, and (c) multivariate human-movement analysis techniques. The skeletal coordinates of the whole body during one gait cycle, extracted from publicly available video resources of 69 fashion models, underwent principal component analysis to reduce the dimensionality of the data. Then, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify the data. The results revealed that (1) the gaits of the fashion models analyzed in this study could be classified into five clusters, (2) there were significant differences in the median years in which the shows were held between the clusters, and (3) reconstructed stick-figure animations representing the walking styles of each cluster indicate that an exaggerated leg-crossing gait has become less common over recent years. Accordingly, we concluded that the level of leg crossing while walking is one of the major changes in trendy walking styles, from the past to the present, directed by the world’s leading brands. Full article

Traditional branding approaches take too long to react to today’s dynamic environment. Agile branding offers a promising approach and might be the contemporary answer to the demands of our digitalized world. While scientists state that an agile approach to branding is essential nowadays, there is a lack of knowledge on how agile branding can be conceptualized and applied in practice. This article aims to provide a better understanding of agile branding by identifying its dimensions and antecedents. This study pursued a multi-method approach: a systematic literature review was conducted, followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews with eleven experts and a group discussion with five participants. Applying the dynamic capabilities perspective, the authors identify five dimensions, including 20 antecedents of agile branding: (a) leadership style and culture, (b) employee skills and competencies, (c) technology and methods, (d) stakeholder and feedback integration, and (e) ambidexterity. The critical challenge of agile branding is to balance brand continuity and adaptation. The study is the first to conceptualize agile branding, offering scientists and practitioners values and principles on how brands can be managed and further evolved in a constantly changing world to stay relevant in the market and ahead of the competition. Full article

In China, milk is promoted both as an optimal food and gift for older adults. To understand the product factors affecting older Chinese adult milk choices, choice simulations and surveys were conducted in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenyang, China. Participants (n = 1000, aged 45–55 years old and 65–75 years old) were asked to choose one milk product out of eight alternatives for self-consumption and gifting, respectively, and to indicate product factors under their considerations. Results showed that, for self-consumption, the top four most popular milk products (two with domestic brands and two with international brands) were chosen by 84.9% of the participants. Females and younger participants were more open to international brands than their counterparts. Popular milk products differed across cities, potentially due to brand familiarity. Brand (85.9%), on-the-pack, nutrition-related well-being messaging (72.9%), price (63.1%), shelf-life (63.0%), and production date (57.6%) were the most frequently reported product factors considered when choosing milk. More males considered price than females (66.9% vs. 60.0%, p = 0.02). Female and older participants showed greater concern for certain detailed product factors, such as production date and shelf-life, than their counterparts. Variation across cities was limited, with participants in Chengdu and Shenyang showing less concern for certain product factors such as on-the-pack, certificate-related well-being messaging. When milk products were chosen as a gift, although overall milk choice ranking remained similar, package style received increased attention (32.0% vs. 40.8%, p < 0.01), whilst all other product factors, especially price (63.1% vs. 49.5%, p < 0.01), were considered by significantly fewer participants. These findings provide valuable marketing insights, helping to understand consumer preferences and considerations in the process of milk purchase decision-making. Full article

The applications of image classification are useful, especially in the prediction of object categories at a high accuracy rate. The technique helps industrial designers classify the existing products by product appearance and assess the extent to which newly designed products belong to their brand or product family. By doing this, designers classify products by typicality. Yet, the application of image classification of products and brand styles based on typicality is still limited. Thus, we presented a case study in which the extent to which a chair was recognized as a typical Apple product was predicted. In the technique, Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA) was used. The results show that the industrial designer can use product typicality for the image classification of products to manage the style of a brand and its products. Full article

The visual presentation of cause-related marketing (CRM) messages is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners. This study delves into the impact of the visual style of CRM messages on consumer responses and the moderating role of self-construal. The results demonstrate that visual style has a significant effect on consumer responses, as cause-focused messages engender a higher brand attitude and purchase intention than product-focused messages (Studies 1 and 2). Meanwhile, the effects of visual style on both consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention are mediated by the perceived self-serving motives. Importantly, self-construal moderates the relationship between visual style and consumer responses (Study 2). Cause-focused messages lead to enhanced brand attitudes and purchase intentions than product-focused messages by reducing the perceived self-serving motives for consumers with an interdependent self-construal, although not for consumers with an independent self-construal. Grounded in these findings, the theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed. Full article

The issue of food fraud has become a significant global concern as it affects both the quality and safety of food products, ultimately resulting in the loss of customer trust and brand loyalty. To address this problem, we have developed an innovative approach that can tackle various types of food fraud, including adulteration, substitution, and dilution. Our methodology utilizes an integrated system that combines laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy. Although both techniques emerged as valuable tools for food analysis, they have until now been used separately, and their combined potential in food fraud has not been thoroughly tested. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the potential benefits of integrating Raman and LIBS modalities in a portable system for improved product classification and subsequent authentication. In pursuit of this objective, we designed and tested a compact, hybrid Raman/LIBS system, which exhibited distinct advantages over the individual modalities. Our findings illustrate that the combination of these two modalities can achieve higher accuracy in product classification, leading to more effective and reliable product authentication. Overall, our research highlights the potential of hybrid systems for practical applications in a variety of industries. The integration and design were mainly focused on the detection and characterization of both elemental and molecular elements in various food products. Two different sets of solid food samples (sixteen Alpine-style cheeses and seven brands of Arabica coffee beans) were chosen for the authentication analysis. Class detection and classification were accomplished through the use of multivariate feature selection and machine-learning procedures. The accuracy of classification was observed to improve by approximately 10% when utilizing the hybrid Raman/LIBS spectra, as opposed to the analysis of spectra from the individual methods. This clearly demonstrates that the hybrid system can significantly improve food authentication accuracy while maintaining the portability of the combined system. Thus, the successful implementation of a hybrid Raman-LIBS technique is expected to contribute to the development of novel portable devices for food authentication in food as well as other various industries. Full article

Whiskey’s complex and diverse flavor stems from a range of reactions that create congeners that are primarily dependent upon the cereal source/mash bill and each stage of the process: malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation, and cask maturation. Therefore, in theory, the congener profile of a whiskey is a summation of its ingredients and the specific parameters of each stage of the manufacturing process. Congener profiles have been used as biomarkers for quality and authentication; however, to date, insufficient information has been published in relation to the extensive profiling of congeners associated with specific whiskey styles/types or the intra-and inter-variability within brands, especially in an Irish context due to the recent rapid expansion of the industry. As the ability to extract and identify congeners has progressed appreciably in recent years due to advances in extraction, chromatographic, and chemometric techniques, it is imperative that research is undertaken to gain a better understanding of the impact of specific congeners not only in relation to quality but also as biomarkers for authentication. Full article

More artists have come to use computer processing to create works with amazing visual effects. Rik Oostenbroek’s works, his creative style, and methods are studied in this research. Born on 25 May 1989, Rik Oostenbroek is a Netherlands-based illustrator and designer. He focuses on digital art creation. His works are recreated by photography, including dynamic images and graphic design with gorgeous colors and dynamic and fluent lines. Currently living in Hilversum, Rik Oostenbroek is a self-taught Dutch freelance artist, designer, and art director working for many brands such as Apple, Nike, Epson, and Viacom. Known for his dynamic forms and unique abstract shapes, Rik is skilled in various design styles, including graphic design, typography, 3D graphics, art direction, surreal/abstract illustration, and a mixture of photo manipulation and retouching. His pioneering style is mainly based on the various patterns created by computers quickly and accurately, which attracts many imitators to follow. As this type of visual style brings greater commercial benefits and suits the visual collocation of various products, Rik’s style is of research value. By summarizing Rik’s works and comparing them with others, this article demonstrates the creation process and method of his work using computers and illustrates the limitations and challenges arising from those processes. Blender 3.0, a third-party free software, is used in this demonstration. Full article