The growth of e-commerce has sharply increased packaging waste, and reusable packaging systems (RPS) are positioned as a circular alternative to single-use cardboard. Their environmental and economic viability depends on people's engagement, achieving a high return rate to complete the intended packaging cycles. However, these systems are not preferred by people since they are considered too novel, uncertain, and too much effort demanding in exchange for the perceived benefits.

This thesis, developed with Circular Shipping Company, investigates how reusable packaging systems for online retail can be designed to increase user participation and return rates. The research combined a literature review with two user studies. In the first, ten participants navigated recreated checkout websites to examine how packaging is selected in an online setting. In the second, participants received a real reusable box and returned it to an actual drop-off point, allowing real return behaviour to be observed. The studies identified several barriers in the system, which were then grouped and rephrased into four pillar requirements that guided the rest of the project: Value communication, sustainable education, Guidance, and Convenience.

An individual ideation phase, a co-design session with users, and a brainstorming session with the company were carried out, resulting in a service design with eight design interventions covering the full consumer journey. The proposal embeds packaging selection into the checkout flow, distributes explanations across touchpoints, locates returns to mailboxes in supermarkets, and makes the reuse cycle visible through a travelling character and its journey.

The design was validated through a survey (n=51) and semi-structured interviews (n=10). Guidance and convenience were achieved, while value communication and sustainable education were only partially achieved: environmental impact information continued to trigger scepticism, and participants struggled to perceive a personal benefit in using reusable packaging. Overall, the findings show that selection is mainly guided by anticipated effort, while return depends on routine fit.

Showcase video - E-commerce reusable packaging service design: https://youtu.be/lim6jWRxHkI?si=1DnBbaM_tyndfuWB
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The skincare market is increasingly saturated with brands that use similar claims related to naturalness, sustainability and effectiveness. This claim inflation makes it difficult for emerging purpose-driven brands to differentiate themselves and can increase consumer scepticism. This graduation project investigated how an emerging Dutch skincare brand could translate its social and ecological mission into a credible, distinctive and coherent market position that is relevant to skincare consumers.

The project followed a Triple Diamond approach, structured around brand research, brand foundation development and brand identity design. The research combined a literature review on consumer value, purpose-driven branding, brand authenticity and brand development with an internal analysis of the organisation’s ideology and capabilities. The external context was examined through market, competitor and retail research, qualitative interviews with skincare users (n = 9) and a quantitative survey (n = 93). These findings informed the development and evaluation of three positioning directions. The selected direction was translated into a brand foundation, after which a brand identity was iteratively developed and refined through three rounds of concept testing, using packaging design as the primary vehicle for its evaluation. A final quantitative study evaluated the new packaging design among Dutch skincare users (n = 102).

The research showed that the organisation had a meaningful internal foundation through its impact-driven business model, direct relationship with the shea supply chain and ambition to improve value distribution for small-scale women shea farmers in Ghana. However, purpose alone did not create sufficient consumer relevance. Within the research samples, skincare decisions were primarily shaped by safety, effectiveness, skin suitability, reassurance and simplicity. The central strategic challenge was therefore to connect moral value to personal skincare value and to make the organisation’s authenticity visible through clear and credible proof.

Traceable shea was selected as the strongest positioning direction because showing where the main ingredient comes from helps consumers better understand what they are using and feel more reassured when choosing and using the product. The resulting design outcome consists of a coherent brand foundation, visual and verbal identity, scent-based product architecture, layered packaging system and brand book for consistent implementation. Packaging functions as the primary proof layer, while supporting touchpoints provide space for more detailed communication about sourcing, farmers, value distribution and ecological impact.

The final validation showed that the packaging met the assessed design criteria to a substantial, but incomplete extent. Participants generally recognised the points of parity within the category: body butter and its moisturising and softening benefits. They also associated the design with sustainability, fairness, farmers and natural ingredients. Shea butter was recognised as the main ingredient, but shea and the scent variant were rarely mentioned spontaneously. Moreover, the individual contribution of traceability and direct-sourcing cues could not be established because these were not measured separately. The project therefore provides a grounded strategic and design direction for moving from an internally meaningful purpose towards a clearer consumer-relevant market position. Further physical testing and market exposure are needed to evaluate the complete identity, perceived value, purchasing behaviour and retail performance in practice. ... Read more

This thesis investigates how digital haptic experiences can enhance or partially substitute physical product interaction in compact retail spaces. In IKEA’s smaller store formats, limited display capacity restricts physical trial, creating a gap between customers’ expectations to “see and feel” products and what can actually be experienced in‑store. Focusing on sofas as a high‑touch, high‑involvement category, the research asks how digital tools can support product exploration, imagination, and purchase commitment when physical trial is constrained.

A multi‑method approach was used. A survey across eight living‑room categories conducted in  three markets(US, Spain, India) mapped need‑for‑touch across products and information types, positioning sofas at the extreme end of the spectrum and identifying a broader cluster of high‑touch, textile‑involving categories.

In‑depth interviews and in‑store observations then traced sofa shopping journeys and revealed a recognisable sequence of haptic assessment (sitting, pressing, stretching, pinching) through which customers assess comfort and perceived quality.

These insights informed the design and iterative refinement of a digital haptic prototype—the Touch Explorer—based on interactive cinematics that visually simulate cushion deformation and fabric movement in response to user input. The prototype was evaluated with customers and co‑workers to explore perceived diagnosticity, interpretation of cues, and the perceived role of the tool in the journey.

The findings show that sofas function as a high‑risk “stress test” for digital trialability: key decision attributes are haptically loaded, errors are costly, and emotional involvement is high. Digital haptic cues are most promising when they approximate how products behave when actually touched, using familiar actions (pressing, pinching) to show deformation and movement. Within the DAST framework, the Touch Explorer extends trialability beyond limited physical samples and positions co‑workers as “sensory translators”.

Instead of a replacement for actual sit, customers see it as a supporting, bridging touchpoint—useful for narrowing the range, compensating for missing displays, and reactivating haptic impressions across channels.
This research is exploratory and context‑bound to IKEA and sofas, but outlines a transferable research and design trajectory for digital haptics in other high‑touch categories.

For practice, future work at IKEA could: 1) implement the Touch Explorer in real small stores and quantitatively assess its impact on dwell time, consideration of non‑displayed variants, conversion, and returns, 2) extend the approach to other high‑touch categories and markets, and 3) further integrate the tool into co‑workers’ roles and service flows.

For academia, future research could 1) quantitatively compare different digital representations (e.g., hand vs. no‑hand, deformation parameters) in terms of haptic accuracy, 2) examine how individual differences such as Need for Touch and digital literacy shape adoption, and 3) explore multi‑sensory and perceptual mechanisms to build more precise mappings between visual deformation and perceived tactile qualities.

https://yh0-0.github.io/Touch-Explorer/touch-explorer/showcase.html
Touch Explorer, the interactive prototype for IKEA, developed as part of the graduation project. ... Read more

Online fashion retail gives consumers access to a wide range of garments, but it also removes direct sensory interaction with the fabric. Properties such as thickness, stiffness, smoothness, glossiness, transparency, and colour appearance can be difficult to judge from standard product images alone. This can create a mismatch between the expectation formed online and the experience of the real garment after delivery.

This project investigated how online presentations can better communicate fabric properties, with the aim of helping consumers form more accurate expectations of the real fabric. The project followed an iterative design-research process. First, relevant fabric properties and possible presentation techniques were explored through literature, current retail examples, low-fidelity prototypes. Five directions were then developed into medium-fidelity prototypes: standard photographs, stereoscopic 3D photos, 3D scans, light sweeps, and interaction videos. These were examined in exploratory user tests to understand their perceived strengths, weaknesses, and practical limitations.

The exploratory tests showed that different presentation techniques supported different kinds of fabric judgments. Standard photographs provided a useful baseline impression, but did not communicate every property equally strongly. Interaction videos appeared promising for showing how fabric behaves under manipulation. Depth-based views helped reveal folds, structure and spatial form. Lighting variation could reveal surface, structure, and highlights, but could also make the garment look inconsistent across views.

Based on these insights, the quantitative study focussed on lighting as a more controlled and broadly applicable variable. The study compared garment presentations under diffuse lighting, focus lighting, and both lighting conditions. The results did not show a general improvement in perception accuracy or confidence when multiple lighting conditions were shown. Only colour lightness was significantly affected by lighting condition, with diffuse or combined lighting supporting more accurate judgments than focus lighting alone. Confidence also did not function as a straightforward indicator of accuracy; higher confidence was not associated with more accurate judgments. These results indicate that richer presentation is not automatically better. Additional views are only useful when they provide distinct cues and remain easy to interpret.

The project outcome is a set of design guidelines, illustrated through a product page mockup. The guidelines propose using a clear neutral view as a dependable reference point, adding complementary views only when they reveal distinct fabric cues, keeping comparable views visually consistent, making visual differences explicit, adapting presentation choices to the specific garment and difficult-to-judge properties, using interaction videos and depth-based views as optional support, and evaluating success through accuracy rather than confidence alone. The main contribution of the project is therefore not one superior presentation technique, but a practical framework for selecting and combining visual cues in ways that help consumers form expectations that better match the real fabric. ... Read more

This thesis presents the findings and recommendations of a research project focused on designing an engagement strategy for the ACHI horticultural programme in Ghana. ACHI provides youth with practical and entrepreneurial horticulture training to address challenges such as youth unemployment, low agricultural productivity, and limited professional networks. While the programme is expanding rapidly across Ghana and has established a strong foundation in curriculum delivery, significantly less attention has been given to the pre- and post-participation phase, attracting and informing new participants and supporting and engaging alumni after graduation.

The project researches how ACHI can improve its communication and engagement across the stages of the participant journey. Through a combination of strategic analysis and user research, the thesis explores how ACHI’s brand visibility, alumni network, and participant experience can be enhanced to support sustainable growth. The findings from the strategic context analysis and interviews and questionnaires with participants and alumni were synthesised into a participant journey map that highlights key pain points and unmet needs across the pre-, during-, and post-participation phase. The research identifies three critical focus areas:
- Improving Information Sharing and Accessibility: Programme information is often fragmented or spread through informal networks. Centralising communication can increase clarity, visibility, and trust for potential participants.
- Facilitating Continuous Learning: Alumni expressed a wish for ongoing access to updated and advanced horticultural and entrepreneurial knowledge.
- Strengthening Alumni Engagement and Support: Although WhatsApp groups exist, structured alumni engagement, peer networking, mentorship, and access to resources remain limited.

To address these challenges, two core design interventions were developed:
- A website: Designed to improve accessibility and user experience, the website presents ACHI’s mission, curriculum, application process, and alumni stories in one centralised location.
- A Horticulture Business Event: A three-phase strategic plan to build long-term alumni involvement by a designed event:
- Horizon 1 – Activate: Reconnect alumni through annual events that stimulate networking, showcase their businesses and facilitate workshops.
- Horizon 2 – Expand: Integrate partners into alumni engagement, creating opportunities to share knowledge and collaborate.
- Horizon 3 – Lead: Create a mature ecosystem of stakeholders within the horticulture value chain to promote innovation, networking and collaboration while supporting inclusive growth and sector-wide transformation.

These interventions were shaped through co-creation workshops with ACHI staff and alumni, design iterations, and user testing in both Dutch and Ghanaian contexts. The final engagement strategy supports ACHI in reinforcing its core educational mission while expanding its capacity to foster meaningful, long-term relationships with participants, amplifying both individual impact and sector-wide transformation.
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This study explores the role of packaging design elements in shaping consumer perceptions and purchase intentions within the vice food category in order to facilitate healthier vice food choice. A 2 × 2 between-subject experiment was designed and conducted to test the hypotheses among Dutch consumers based on two product categories: chocolate cookies and yogurt dessert. The findings reveal that visual elements have a more substantial impact on consumer perceptions, particularly in the context of tastiness, highlighting their importance in vice food packaging. More specifically, visual cues that convey tastiness compared to healthiness are proved to be more effective in promoting higehr purchase intention. This study failed in confirm the hypothesis regarding the interplay between visual and textual elements but offers some insights for future research to build upon. Additionally, the study identifies aesthetic attractiveness as a significant driver of purchase intention, suggesting that consumers are more likely to be drawn to visually appealing packaging in vice food contexts. The research also explores the moderating role of General Health Interest (GHI), demonstrating that health-conscious consumers respond differently to packaging cues, even in indulgent product categories. These insights offer valuable implications for marketers and designers aiming to create effective packaging strategies in the vice food sector. ... Read more

Under the topic of sustainable packaging, this research looks into the effects of material appearance (ecological vs. conventional), eco-label, and brand ethicality on consumers' perceived sustainability as well as the subsequent product quality evaluation and purchase intention. A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject experiment was designed and conducted to test the hypotheses among Dutch consumers based on two product categories: chocolate paste and cereal bars. First, in both food categories, eco-labels and ecological-looking materials both trigger higher sustainability perception. In the cereal bar category, an interaction effect was found that the eco-label has a more positive impact on consumers' sustainability perception when it's applied to conventional-looking packaging rather than ecological-looking packaging. Second, in the chocolate paste category, higher brand ethicality brings higher quality evaluation and purchase intention but has no effect on sustainability perception. Third, in the chocolate paste category, contrary to the increased sustainability perception, quality evaluation and purchase intention get lower when ecological-looking material is applied. Fourth, in the chocolate paste category, when consumers sense a higher fit between the product and the brand, their perceived packaging sustainability, quality evaluation, and purchase intention all increase accordingly. ... Read more

Flyco is a large airline company who has built its strategy emphasising on operational excellence. Yet, since competitors can now achieve similar results, they have expanded their strategy to offering excellent customer experience too, resulting in the foundation of the Customer Experience (CX) department. Nevertheless, Flyco notices their NPS is not rising above 50. One of the reasons is the silo-driven lay-out a typical corporate as Flyco has, where teams lack knowledge sharing. A way to bridge these silos is by using cross-functional collaboration, where multiple distinct functions come together to tackle complex problems with a multidisciplinary perspective.

This results in the research question: “How can Flyco improve the consistent implementation of customer needs throughout the customer journey through more effective collaboration between the different teams of the CX department?” During the research, multiple perspectives are taken into consideration. At first, the connection between collaboration and customer needs is defined to learn why the stated claim is currently a problem. Thereafter, the current way of collaboration between the different teams is reflected on by means of seven in-depth interviews with employees. Simultaneously, a literature review gives insights into what way effective cross-functional collaboration should be framed and which elements are essential. However, since multiple elements have a considerable effect on cross-functional collaboration, a decision needs to be made for a focal point to realise effective change at one, or a few of these elements. A quantitative analysis, filled in by the CX department, gives insight into where the department believes they could improve. The focus is put where most progress can be made for the CX department. This results in a focus on effective knowledge sharing between the different teams through more effective and open communication to lead the focus within the department towards the group.

Plenty literature has been written in knowledge management including multiple tools and methods. Nevertheless, earlier attempts in implementing a new knowledge management method have failed due to unacceptance of implementation by the employees. Therefore the behaviour of the employees needs to change. Consequently, literature in behaviour change is reviewed, resulting in four behaviour change techniques most appropriate for this problem. Five concepts are established through combining cocreation insights on the behaviour change techniques with knowledge management tools and methods. These concepts in unison form a system for a profound knowledge management, which ideally are all developed and applied. However, for the purpose of this thesis, the concept ‘Community of Practice (CoP)’ is chosen for further development.

The concept focuses on knowledge sharing through a group, sharing a domain/passion, a practice, and a community, coming together to discuss a question or statement stated by one of the teams of the CX department. People can apply when they are interested to learn more or have gained expertise in this area. The group of employees form a community group where they run through five steps to get an agreement on the topic. The results will be shared with the department for knowledge sharing. ... Read more

Product appearance can contribute to market success, which has been addressed by many research and practical cases. Visual Novelty, as an important aspect of product appearance, is proved to influence consumer purchase decisions. A brand is also used frequently to assist in making purchase decisions. It might be interesting for product designers and brand managers to know how different brands should choose the proper level of visual novelty to gain consumer preference. The present research investigates the joint influence of brand strength and visual novelty on consumer preference by drawing on the concepts of purchase motivations and roles of brands. This research deployed an experimental study through an online questionnaire, in which people were asked to evaluate their attitudes towards a novel design and a typical design for electric water kettles and Bluetooth speakers. Contrasting to the hypotheses, the results show that people more strongly prefer a typical-looking product for a strong brand than a weak brand. Moreover, the preference for a typical design is weaker and less significant for a weak brand. The possible reason could be that the product categories used in this research are mainly driven by utilitarian motivations instead of the predefined utilitarian and expressive motivations. People pursue little expressive need, so a visually novel product may be unnecessary for self-expression of uniqueness. Conversely, a more typical design might better fulfill the practical need for products and hence is preferred. Meanwhile, a strong brand helps to create more confidence about the possible performance quality and hence product choices than a weak brand, so the preference for a typical design is stronger for a strong brand than a weak brand. ... Read more

The extended use of internet has digitalized many daily life practices in human life, including shopping, in the 21st century. While consumers used to experience the products mainly in store, now they must base their purchases whatever they see on the screen. Thus, the visual product design directly influences the digital buyers in their product purchases, but how? The earlier studies show that a product’s appearance can have aesthetic and symbolic value for consumers, can communicate functional characteristics and give a quality impression (practical value), and can communicate the ease of use (ergonomic value) (Creusen & Schoormans, 2005). Although these studies explore the role of product appearance or visual product design in consumer purchases, none of them particularly targets online purchases. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap in the literature through qualitative research. The qualitative research, conducted as a part of master graduation assignment (see Appendix A to read the whole assignment), explored whether the different roles of product appearance exist in consumers’ process of product evaluation in online environments and to what extent these roles influence the consumers. Also, product related or contextual factors which may potentially have an impact on consumer responses to the product form in the digital environment were researched in the scope of this project. The complete online shopping experience was designed for the participants, and they were asked to perform two simple tasks, purchasing a pair of headphones and a laptop stand through the test website. Later, they were interviewed on their choice reasons for the products. The interviews done with the participation of forty-three subjects was transcribed and coded first, then content analysis was done to learn the frequencies of each concept existing in online shopping practice. The research findings showed that different roles of product appearance exist in the consumer product evaluation process in digital environments, although the consumer responses to these roles vary for different product categories. For instance, in the experiment, some participants based their purchase on attention drawing value of the product form for a socially significant product category, headphones, whereas this value was not mentioned at all by any of the participants for the other category. Additionally, the influence of some contextual and product factors on the consumer responses to the product form was detected based on the research results. For example, an impact created by in-context images on consumer perception of symbolic value was noticed in the experiment. As a result, this study filled the knowledge gap in the topic “the role of product form in online purchase” as much as the study limitations allow. ... Read more

Internet retailers use different online presentation methods to provide detailed product-oriented information. In this way, communicating the materials of products is difficult but necessary for online retailing. The consumer cannot directly touch and feel the products, which may lead to disappointment, as the material of the product they ordered may differ from what they thought based on the online information. Internet retailers need to choose suitable solutions for presenting their products online, which is influenced by various and multi-dimensional factors. Therefore, getting a systematic understanding, which is about advantages and disadvantages of different methods for presenting certain products in order to get a correct impression about the material of products on a website, is really necessary for the companies with online retailing demands.

With those considerations, a research starts in the field of online clothing shopping in order to study and deepen the understanding of popularly used presentation methods on web pages for better communicating the materials of products. After the studying of the related researches and 19 popular clothing shopping websites in Europe and China, a experiment with 90 female participants and 12 interviews are conducted to investigate the effects of 5 different combinations of online product presentation methods on consumers' actual and perceived material understanding and further assesses the perceived information and effectiveness of these presentation methods.

The quantitative results from the experiment and the insights are analyzed, summarized and interpreted mutually. Not only have the deep understandings been built for the material perception and better material communication of the selected products, but also the insights and inspirations could be used to for further researches related with online material communication. The advantages and disadvantages of different presentation methods for presenting clothing fabric are compared and interpreted, which comes up with a design guideline for helping the company to present the products online. The showcases of the implementation of the design guideline are also made.

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Raynaud’s syndrome is a common disease which causes arteries to narrow, limiting the blood flow to the skin. An attack can cause your fingers to turn cold, white and blue and is accompanied with feelings of numbness, prickling and pain.

The most common cause of a Raynaud’s attack is a cold environment. Heated gloves could therefore help Raynaud’s patients, not only by lowering the painful feelings during attacks, but by raising the ambient temperature in order to prevent them.

A pair of elegant heated gloves has been designed, prototype and iterated with the input from user from the target group.

By preventing Raynaud’s attacks these gloves can reduce and prevent pain, make the wearer look good and give her back the power to user her hands in any daily situation. ... Read more

Packaging made from renewable sources has become more important in our society every day. Bio-based packaging is a sustainable alternative to petrochemical plastic packaging since it reduces the dependency on fossil fuel resources and lowers CO2 emissions. Tetra Pak has recently introduced the bio-based package in the market. Tetra Pak’s bio-based packaging uses wood to produce the carton and sugarcane to produce the plastic coatings of the package and the cap. However, they want to know consumers’ opinions about bio-based packaging, and how to best communicate this concept on drinks packaging. This graduation research project shows the results of two studies carried out in the Netherlands on beverage cartons with bio-based plastic. The first study is based on a qualitative approach which discusses consumers’ preconceptions and perceptions on beverage cartons with bio-based plastic. A second study is an experimental approach which tests what kind of informational cues (logos, infographics, and storytelling) better represent the concept in terms of clarity, understanding, and attractiveness on the package. It was identified in this project that consumers lack knowledge in sustainable packaging alternatives, especially bio-based packaging. Most of the consumers find the bio-based term confusing and abstract. However, in this study consumers have shown their willingness to contribute to the environmental impact and willingness to purchase bio-based packaging alternatives once they understand the concept. Finally, this project offers theoretical and practical implications for the company Tetra Pak. To have a clear understanding of what the concept is, words that consumers can easily understand should be used to describe the bio-based concept such as plant-based package or package made of renewable resources. In addition, information displayed on the package should emphasize the amount of bio-based material used on the package to enhance consumers’ trust in the brand. Lastly, the correct disposal of the package should be emphasized to consumers to avoid confusions. ... Read more

The graduation project, “East vs. West: Influence of Visual Cues of Packaging on Perceived Product Quality of Mayonnaise”, focuses on food product packaging, how they may be perceived differently across cultures and how they can be tailored to better suit specific cultures if necessary. The project looks into what aspects of food packaging makes consumers perceive the product to be of higher quality (RQ1), higher aesthetic value (RQ2), and increased preferences (RQ3). Last but not least, the study examines what differences there may be in consumer perception across cultures in the East (Asia) and West (Europe) for food packaging (RQ4, H1 & H2). Participants from Indonesia, Vietnam, Italy and the UK were involved in this cross-cultural study. ... Read more