Research Of Construction Equipment Visual Image Design Based On Users’ Cognition

With the development of construction machinery industry, brand image has become a powerful tool in the market competition of construction machinery products. As it is seen from the construction machinery market, apart from leading technologies, the products of internationally renowned construction machinery brands are all endowed with distinctive and unique brand image. While some domestic construction machinery enterprises have long been committed to improving the production and quality of products, ignoring the important role of industrial design in brand development, thus leading to a widening gap between brand strength. Therefore, carrying out industrial design on construction machinery products, establishing product visual image with brand personality, and thus enhancing brand image have become an significant step for domestic construction machinery industry to overcome their development bottleneck.Different with general consumer products, construction equipment is dedicated to a specialized market, so their product visual image design and brand image-building should also be carried out with special target. This paper introduces brand image theory and cognitive psychology theory into construction equipment design. Starting from users’cognition and setting the effective convey of brand image as a goal, we proposed the user’cognition-based methods and procedures for the visual image design of construction equipment:(1) By analyzing the relationship between the visual image of construction equipment, users’cognition and brand image, we noted that brand image is the foundation of the visual image of construction equipment, which in turn is a key factor to convey brand image; users’cognition is crucial to the effective communication of brand image, and product visual image is an important source for construction machinery users to form brand image cognition.(2) Combining with cognitive psychology, we analyzed users’cognition process of the visual image of construction equipment, and proposed the three-level cognition framework of attention, recognition and association. And based on the brand dimensions scales in brand image theory, we built a construction machinery brand dimensions scale, so as to measure users’cognition of the visual image of construction equipment in this study.(3) On the basis of three-level cognition framework and construction machinery brand dimensions scale, and by integrating them into the position, element-confirming, and evaluation of construction equipment design, we carried out research on the visual image design of construction equipment. Among which we underlined the design elements that affect users’cognition in the three levels, and proposed corresponding design methods:in attention level, follow basic aesthetic rules, and use color design to attract user’s attention specially; in recognition level, promote users’ recognition of product and brand through design of logo, color matching, form and details, and keep a balance between the inheritance and innovation of design elements; in association level, integrate brand culture, regional culture and design culture into the visual image design of construction equipment.(4) Finally, we verified the operability of the methods and procedures proposed above through an excavator visual image improvement design of a brand.As economy develops, the visual image design and brand image building of construction equipment will gain as much attention as general consumer products. This paper studied the visual image design of construction equipment from the view of users’cognition, proposed relatively systematic design methods and procedures, and verified its operability through design practice, which contributes to the visual image design theory of construction equipment, and is of instructive significance to the visual image design practice of construction equipment as well as the development of domestic construction machinery brands.