Establishment of a Quality Scale (QFD) for Creative Product Design Service

The objective of this research was the establishment of a quality scale [QFD] for creative and product design service that was not available before. The cultural and creative product design industry of Sanxia indigo dyeing was taken as the case study to develop such a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) system. In addition, digital inject textile printing technology was utilized to replicate and analyze the pure indigo blue color and totems used in the traditional indigo dyeing process. As the local cultural and creative industry are progressing rapidly in Taiwan and global markets, this research intends to develop the Old Street of the Sanxia indigo dyeing creative product design industry into a case study, with the objective of exploring the establishment of a quality control scale for a design service entity that has never had one. This research also intends to preserve and record traditional Sanxia indigo craftsmanship and totems with digital printing technology so that it can be scientifically preserved and analyzed. The Sanxia indigo shops and consumers were targeted as the objects of study. This research has probed into the actual operations of the Sanxia indigo dyeing creative product design industry. Data were generated through review and study of domestic and international literature and articles. Interview surveys and on-site observations were conducted, as well as hands-on experience in the shops, to gain a real understanding of the industry. Based on the QFD which originated in Japan in the 1960\´s, the "voice of the customer" was collected and analyzed for product design and production in order to actually meet or even exceed customer expectations of the products. While the QFD was mainly used for the manufacturing industry, the goal was to try to set up QFD concepts for the design service industry, the Sanxia indigo dyeing creative product design in this case. The House of Quality deployment model was used to conduct a series of matrix analyses, and thr- - ough the quality deployment mechanism, the "voice of the customer" was transformed into a design scale for the development of creative products. The six foundation frameworks of the House of Quality (Hauser 1988) were explored. The frameworks are: 1. customer demand, 2. engineering analysis, 3. competition analysis, 4. relationship analysis, 5. technology assessment and 6. correlation matrix. The findings will provide industry vendors with important Sanxia indigo dyeing references for product design and quality principles to help meet consumer needs. Three conclusions from this research were obtained: (1) The importance of creative product design quality is reflected in the following four aspects: a. It is a key element of the customer purchasing intention-product feature; b. It is a rule for industry existence and success; c. It can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty and d. It can improve the operating performance of the industry. (2) If creative industry service procedures are included in the quality scale of creative indigo dyeing product design, a complete quality scale of creative product design can be constructed. (3) Creative indigo dyeing product design quality of Sanxia indigo dyeing art should be strengthened in terms of dye liquor materials, indigo dyeing features and post processing techniques so as to ensure the quality of creative product design and enhance customer satisfaction and purchasing intentions.