This study discusses the similarity and difference between Kansei Engineering (KE) and Design Thinking (DT) methodology. Inherently, KE focuses on the exploration of customer emotional needs and translates them into product and service properties. Through customer experience with product/service, which product/service attributes are found to be critical. On the other hand, DT starts with the identification of problem dealt with empathy and ends with product testing. These KE and DT methodologies have some similarities and differences. This study integrates these two methodologies and provides a unified framework of KE-DT putting forward the customer emotional needs which are accommodating the customer empathies and complex human-environment interaction and ending with the testing of proposed solutions. It is hoped that the proposed framework of KE-DT provides more efficient, effective, and sustainable approach addressed to the development of products and services.

Keywords

Kansei Engineering, Design Thinking, Product, Service, Emotional Needs