# Exploring Multiple Pathways of Product Design Elements Using the fsQCA Method
## 6 Discussion of the Results  
This paper proposes a product styling design method based on fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Firstly, we obtain the vocabulary of users' evaluation of perceptual imagery of products, identify typical product samples through morphological analysis and cluster analysis, and extract styling elements to construct a styling feature library. The perceptual imagery of these styling features is scored by the expert scoring method. We then analyze the group relationship between different styling elements and their influence on product styling imagery using fsQCA, enabling the accurate matching of users' intentions through the path of multiple element combinations. The independent \(t\)-test confirms that the new design is significantly better than existing products in the market in the dimension of perceptual imagery of \"sophistication\". The results reveal the effectiveness of specific combinations of styling elements, showing the synergistic effects of elements such as body curvature, spont type, and tilt angle in forming user perceptual imagery. Previous studies have typically focused on the influence of a single design element on users' perceptual responses and have rarely explored the interactive effects of different elements. In contrast, this paper reveals the combination paths of multiple design elements through the fsQCA method, providing a more comprehensive view of how modeling elements work together to form the user's perceptual imagery and making several important contributions to existing theoretical models, as follows:  
1. Enhancing the application of multiple path analysis in design theory. Existing product design theories mostly focus on analyzing the effects of single elements such as color, material, or shape on user perception, and less on considering the interactions of these elements from a group perspective. By systematically analyzing the combination effect of shape elements, this study emphasizes the interdependence and nonlinear relationship between different design elements, providing empirical support for deepening and expanding the theoretical foundation of the design field, especially in the application of group state analysis. 2. Enriching and refining the theoretical framework of perceptual engineering. Perceptual engineering usually focuses on translating users' subjective feelings into specific design metrics. By revealing how shape elements combine to affect users' perceptual imagery, this study provides a new analytical approach to the field of perceptual engineering. This allows designers to more accurately understand and predict the effects of different design combinations on users' perceptual responses. The application of this method not only helps optimize product design but also provides richer quantitative tools and theoretical support for perceptual engineering. 3. A data-driven approach to drive design decisions. By applying fsQCA, this study demonstrates a data-driven approach to design decision-making that reveals which combinations of shape elements effectively meet users' perceptual expectations. The successful application of this approach provides a new perspective on design theory, using fsQCA to optimize product design during the design process and drive the transition of design practice to data-driven decision-making. Although this paper provides a new perspective on perceptual engineering research, there are some limitations. For example, the research object focuses on a specific type of product, the teapot, which may limit the general applicability of the results. Second, the condition variable only focuses on the styling element of shape without including other design factors such as color and material, which may limit its wide applicability in different scenarios.