Today consumers’ demands and choices of products or services are constantly changing rapidly in the internet environment of information technology. The markets emphasize quality, service, and customization, which has been changing the consumption patterns in the decision-making process or companies’ production patterns. The enterprises are essential to respond the changes of the consumption side and production side in order to achieve sustainable development. Moreover, it is important to focus on the relationship of interaction with consumers. This study was intended to explore the influence of brand as symbol on consumer behavior to understand the relations between brand as symbol, perceived transaction value, perceived acquisition value, message-response involvement, and customer loyalty. The empirical analysis is performed by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), including measurement and structural models. The measurement models are examined with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to identify the relations between latent variables and observed variables whereas the structural models are used to find out the relations between latent variables. Meanwhile, path analysis is adopted to understand the influence between the variables. A questionnaire survey was carried out on customers of chain beverage stores in the Chiayi area through convenient sampling 400 copies were administered and 387 valid samples were retrieved. The response rate was 97%. The results indicate that brand as symbol has significant positive influence on perceived transaction value, perceived acquisition value, and customer loyalty. This means brand as symbol alone can have an effect on customer loyalty and will not be influenced by the level of message-response involvement. This conclusion can be applied to help brand managers to establish close relations with consumers when performing brand design.

In recent years, with the trends in digital media and a shift in the sources of information, self-media has gradually become a unique new type of media with considerable potential. Numerous related studies have also indicated that participating in self-media positively impacts the elderly, especially in self-media regarding healthcare and welfare. However, research has seldom explored the demands and services for elderly participation in self-media. In this study, the research targets were 55–75 years of age, in good health, with a monthly disposable income of more than TWD 30,000 (N = 180). The research methods had two aims: (1) to analyze the current well-known self-media and websites related to healthcare; and (2) via the Kano Model questionnaire, to survey and explore the demand for self-media among the elderly. The results summarize and describe the preferred layout, content items, interaction methods, and information display of self-media content for the elderly. We anticipate designing a self-media website platform that meets the demands of the elderly and that continues to develop into social media platforms and audio-visual content in the future.

In this study, five industrial senior designers are invited to observe and record a required design practice course of an industrial design department of a university for one semester, 18 weeks, each week for 5-6 hours. During the process, the imagination indicators proposed by Vygotsky is adopted in combination with a 5-point Likert scale. The sophomore class, 63 students in total, is observed. The outcome of study indicates that when the topics are with limitation, the gender factor has significant influence during design stages, and the influence of students' pre-university learning background is significant as well. When the topics are not limited, the influence of the gender factor also appears to be significant. The pre-university learning background has more influence on the performance of imagination and vocational high school graduates do better than regular high school graduates. In the meantime, students with higher level of class participation exhibit better imagination.

The surge in e-commerce and the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically driven the demand for home appliances. However, this surge has also resulted in a proportional increase in electrical accidents. Furthermore, the current product manual does not provide users with intuitive and timely information. Virtual reality (VR) can deliver effective learning information with its exceptional simulation capabilities and immersive content. Thus, we explored the application of VR to enhance home appliances’ display and user experience for user demand to deliver the manuals on the appliances and promote safe uses. A purposive sampling technique was employed, and 12 target users participated in the in-depth interviews. In the study, the VR application of the home appliance product experience and learning showed positive outcomes. The results can be used as a reference for future design. According to the users’ feedback, we summarized and proposed eight future design directions for enhancing the virtual home appliance experience.