2 Cultural Approach
2.1. Cultural facts
2.1.1. The culture of choice: choices as a cultural fact
The choice of a product or a design is a cultural fact. Even after having received the relevant information on the qualities of use and on the environment of several “candidate” products, sometimes there is no “reasonable” way to decide whether to make the purchase or not. This is where feelings come into play. The consumer-customer will have to make a decision, often without knowing how to give a reason why. Before making a decision, they will experience tension, nervousness or impatience; an unpleasant feeling of rejection, the contracting of certain muscles in their face, as if to anticipate a response. An unpleasant aspect makes them wince. They will be comforted when they reach a decision. It will give them a feeling of satisfaction and an expression of emotion. These reactions come from their emotional experiences. Their emotions will lead to their judgment, and to their final decision.
The Centre de création industrielle (French center of industrial creation) has failed in its support of the culture of products, their use and choice. Established in 1969 within the Union centrale des arts décoratifs (central union of decorative arts), it has made its home in the Centre Georges Pompidou since its opening in 1971. The project began as a bet on an approach that would enrich disciplines long assumed to be too Balkanized: fine and decorative arts, music, literature, architecture, ...