Kansei Engineering at JPJG
Why do emotions matter?
There are probably a thousand ways to design a cap.
We can start with its material, price, color, weight or dimensions.
We can observe what others do. Study trends. Look at what sells.
At JPJG, we chose to add another question.
What do we feel when we look at an object?
Because before being a catalog reference, a garment or accessory is something we choose, touch and wear.
And sometimes, without really knowing why, something appeals to us.
Or we don't like it.
A color seems elegant to us.
A material feels warm to us.
A detail evokes sport, tradition, modernity or freedom.
A few seconds were enough.
This is precisely the territory that Kansei Engineering seeks to explore.
Designing from feeling
Kansei Engineering is a design approach that originated in Japan.
We really like its principle: trying to understand the perceptions and emotions associated with a product in order to incorporate them into its design.
This means not asking only:
“Do you like this cap?”
But rather:
“When you look at it, what are the first words that come to mind?”
The difference may seem minor.
It isn't.
Because I like it or I don't like it delivers a verdict.
Words like classy, understated, traditional, elegant, golf, luxury, accessible, masculine, unisex or bold tell us something much more interesting.
They begin to shape an object's perceived identity.
Two caps. Two stories?
We began this experiment with two versions of our future JPJG Player Edition.
The first is Bottle Green, a deep green paired with ivory details.
The second is Redwood, a warmer shade somewhere between terracotta and weathered red.
We could simply have asked:
“Which one do you prefer?”
We chose not to do that.
We show the two designs to different people—golfers or not, younger or older, golf professionals or people completely outside this world—and simply ask them for a few spontaneous words.
Without giving them a list.
Without telling them what the others had answered.
Without trying to obtain the answer we would like to hear.
And the first responses are fascinating.
The Bottle Green notably brought out words such as classy, stylish, luxurious, practical, understated, golf, quality, rich texture, unisex, or eco-friendly.
The Redwood prompted other perceptions: classy, elegant, classic, traditional, but also a form of boldness associated with its color.
And a young female player simply wrote to us about it:
“Very pretty cap!”
Three words.
But three words that matter too.
We are not looking for a winner.
That may be the most important point of this experience.
We are not necessarily trying to find out which of the two caps is “the best.”
Perhaps, on the contrary, we will discover that they tell two different stories.
If one evokes the world of golf more strongly, with its understated style and a certain classic elegance, while the other expresses more personality, sensitivity, or a different way of wearing this world, then perhaps both have a reason to exist.
That's exactly what we want to learn.
Listen before producing
This approach also reflects a broader conviction at JPJG.
A young Maison doesn't need to pretend it already knows everything.
She can observe.
Question.
Listen.
Then try to turn what she learns into something tangible.
So we decided to have real prototypes made of the two Player Editions.
Because a mockup lets you imagine.
But a real cap will soon make it possible to observe the color in natural light, touch the cotton, appreciate the embroidery, try on the tee holder, and, above all, see what the object evokes when it leaves a screen to meet a person.
The study will therefore continue.
Because a product is never just a product
At JPJG, we often talk about objects that tell a story.
It could easily become a formula.
Kansei, on the contrary, forces us to take this idea seriously.
If we want to create objects that tell a story, we must first ask ourselves what they actually say to those who look at them.
Not only what we had intended for them to say.
There is sometimes a distance between the creator's intention and the emotion of the person discovering it.
This distance is not a failure.
It is a lesson.
And perhaps even one of the most beautiful aspects of creation: accepting that from the moment an object meets someone, its story no longer completely belongs to us.
Creating with you
The experience surrounding the Player Edition is only just beginning.
We will continue gathering perceptions, observing the words that recur and those that surprise us.
Then we will compare these impressions with the actual prototypes.
This is not about designing a product through a survey or trying to please everyone.
JPJG must preserve an identity, choices, and direction.
But between imposing what we believe we know and giving up any vision to follow opinion, there is a path that resembles us more:
To have a conviction, create, and then have enough humility to listen to what others feel.
This is how we want to move forward.
One product after another.
One encounter after another.
And, somewhere between a color, a material, a few embroidery stitches, and an emotion that is difficult to explain, continue building JPJG's story.
The nobility of commitment.
Continue the Journal: Why embroidery is essential at JPJG