Product design creation support device, product design creation support method, and product design creation support program

Abstract

A product design generation assistance device 30 is provided with: an acquisition unit 31 which acquires an existing product image 301 representing the design of an existing product; an identification unit 32 which, on the basis of the existing product image 301, identifies a feature of a new product design that satisfies a condition regarding differences from the design of the existing product; and an output unit 33 which outputs design information 302 about the new product design on the basis of the feature regarding the new product design. Thus the product design generation assistance device 30 assists in generating a product design that is relatively eye-catching as compared to the existing product.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a product design creation support device, a product design creation support system, a product design creation support method, and a recording medium storing a product design creation support program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Techniques that assist in searching for products whose appearances have desired characteristics by accumulating image data representing the appearance of products, including the design of the products, in a database are used in various systems.

[0003] As a technology related to this technology, Patent Document 1 discloses a search support system equipped with a database in which product image data is accumulated. This system acquires product image data from the database, which has image feature information identical or similar to image feature information indicating features of the image in the input image data, for input image data. This system sets search conditions including at least one of date and time information related to date and time, location information related to location, and situation information related to situation. Then, this system searches for product image data based on the set search conditions, and outputs information on other products different from the product corresponding to the product image data together with the acquired product image data.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a product search device that searches, identifies, and extracts product images that satisfy received search conditions from a product database. This device creates product list image data in which product images are arranged in a feature space according to the feature corresponding to each of the extracted product images. When the feature of the product pattern is one-dimensional, this device arranges the images of each product in a straight line along the coordinate axis of the one-dimensional feature according to the magnitude of each feature corresponding to each product. When the feature is two-dimensional, this device arranges the images of each product in a matrix form according to the magnitude of the feature corresponding to each product along each of the two coordinate axes that make up the feature. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2011 / 078174 [Patent Document 2] JP 2015-162198 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] For example, when a product is displayed on a shelf where various products are displayed, one of the factors that makes the product sell is that the design of the product catches the customer's eye in comparison to competing products. However, product designs are often created manually by designers. Therefore, it may be difficult to create the above-mentioned designs due to constraints such as the designer's knowledge, labor hours, and work time. The above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not particularly mention such technology.

[0007] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a product design creation support device that solves the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A product design generation support device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition means for acquiring an existing product image representing the design of an existing product, an identification means for identifying design features of a new product that satisfy conditions regarding differences from the design of the existing product based on the existing product image, and an output means for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on the design features of the new product.

[0009] In another aspect of achieving the above-mentioned object, a product design generation support method according to one embodiment of the present invention acquires, by an information processing system, an existing product image representing the design of an existing product, identifies design features of a new product that satisfy conditions regarding differences from the design of the existing product based on the existing product image, and outputs design information regarding the design of the new product based on the design features of the new product.

[0010] In addition, in a further aspect of achieving the above-mentioned object, a product design generation support program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute an acquisition process for acquiring an existing product image representing the design of an existing product, an identification process for identifying design features of a new product that satisfy conditions regarding differences from the design of the existing product based on the existing product image, and an output process for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on the design features of the new product.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention can also be realized by a computer-readable, non-volatile recording medium in which such a product design generation support program (computer program) is stored. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a product design creation support device and the like that supports the creation of a product design that is eye-catching in comparison with existing products. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product design creation support device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a feature vector space in which product designs are arranged by the extraction unit 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention (when design candidates for a new product have already been narrowed down). [Diagram 3]1 is a flowchart showing the operation (processing) of a product design generation support device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention (when design candidates for a new product have already been narrowed down). [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a feature vector space in which product designs are arranged by the extraction unit 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention (when design candidates for new products have not yet been created). [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart showing the operation (processing) of a product design creation support device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention (when no design candidates for a new product have been created yet). [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product design creation support system 10A according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product design creation support device 30 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device 900 capable of realizing a product design creation support device according to each embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] <First embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product design generation support device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The product design generation support device 10 according to this embodiment is a system that supports the generation of a product design that attracts customers' attention relatively to competing existing products (competitive products) on, for example, a store shelf. The product design targeted by the product design generation support device 10 is, for example, a container such as a can or bottle in which a product such as a beverage is contained, or a package design such as a box or bag in which a product such as a food is packed. The product design targeted by the product design generation support device 10 may also be, for example, a design of a confectionery such as a cookie or a product itself such as a car. More specifically, the product design is, for example, the shape, pattern, color, etc. of the product, but is not limited to these.

[0016] A management terminal device 20 is communicatively connected to the product design generation support device 10. The management terminal device 20 is, for example, a personal computer or other information processing device that is used when a user of the product design generation support device 10 inputs information to the product design generation support device 10 or checks information output from the product design generation support device 10. The management terminal device 20 has a display screen 200 that displays design information 103 (described later) output from the product design generation support device 10.

[0017] The product design creation support device 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, an extraction unit 12, a specification unit 13, and an output unit 14. The acquisition unit 11, the extraction unit 12, the specification unit 13, and the output unit 14 are examples of an acquisition means, an extraction means, a specification means, and an output means, respectively.

[0018] Regarding the product design creation support device 10 supporting the creation of a design for a new product, for example, there are roughly two cases as follows. (1) When multiple design candidates for a new product have already been narrowed down, you need to select from among those multiple design candidates the one that will most attract customers' attention relative to existing products. (2) Design candidates for a new product have not yet been created, and you are now creating design candidates that will be most eye-catching to customers compared to existing products.

[0019] Next, the operation of the product design creation support device 10 according to this embodiment will be described in order for the above two cases.

[0020] <(1) When there are already multiple design candidates for a new product> The acquisition unit 11 acquires an existing product image 101 and a candidate image 102 from, for example, an external device in response to an instruction input by a user.

[0021] The existing product image 101 is information representing the design of one or more competing existing products. More specifically, for example, the existing product image 101 is an image of the existing product. Note that the existing product may be, for example, a best-selling product of a competitor selected by a user.

[0022] The candidate image 102 is, for example, information representing a plurality of design candidates (design proposals) for a new product that have already been created by a designer, etc. More specifically, for example, the candidate image 102 is an image of the design candidate.

[0023] The extraction unit 12 extracts design features represented by the existing product image 101 and design candidate features represented by the candidate image 102 based on extraction criteria 121 given in advance by a user or the like.

[0024] For example, features of the design image and the design candidate image include the shape of the product shown in the design image or the design candidate image, the size of the letters drawn on the product, the font of the letters, the position of the letters, the color of the letters, the tone of the letters, the type of picture drawn on the product (people, animals, objects, scenery, figures, etc.), the color and tone of the picture drawn on the product, etc., but are not limited to the above as long as it is drawn on the product.

[0025] The extraction criteria 121 represent criteria (rules) that the extraction unit 12 uses existing image recognition technology to extract the above-mentioned features of the design represented by the existing product image 101 and the above-mentioned features of the design candidate represented by the candidate image 102.

[0026] The extraction criteria 121 may be, for example, manually created extraction rules for extracting features.

[0027] The extraction criterion 121 may be a feature extraction model that has been trained to extract features of various product images. The extraction unit 12 can extract features related to each image from the existing product image 101 or the candidate image 102 by using the above-mentioned extraction rule or extraction model.

[0028] For example, the extraction unit 12 extracts features related to the color tone of characters and pictures by using the above-mentioned extraction rule or extraction model. The features related to the color tone are expressed as a finite value such as RGB (Red Green Blue) gradations (e.g., 256 gradations in the case of 8 bits).

[0029] For example, the extraction unit 12 extracts feature quantities related to the shape of a product by using the above-mentioned extraction rules or extraction models. The feature quantities related to the shape of a product are expressed as finite values ​​that are scored so that values ​​are close to each other for similar shapes, such as "10" for a circle, "11" for an oval, "20" for a square, and "21" for a rectangle.

[0030] For example, the extraction unit 12 extracts features related to the position (position coordinates in the image) of characters or pictures in the existing product image 101 or the candidate image 102 by using the above-mentioned extraction rule or extraction model. In this case, the picture may be, for example, an image of an object related to the product. More specifically, for example, if the product is orange juice, the picture may be a photo of an orange. The feature amount related to the position of characters or pictures is expressed as a finite value such as the coordinates of the display position on the product.

[0031] For example, by using the above-mentioned extraction rule or extraction model, the extraction unit 12 extracts features related to the size of characters or pictures and the area that the characters or pictures occupy in the existing product image 101 or the candidate image 102. The feature amounts related to the size and area of ​​characters or pictures are expressed as finite values ​​representing those values.

[0032] For example, the extraction unit 12 extracts the font features of the characters by using the above-mentioned extraction rules or extraction models. In this case, the more similar the font features are, the closer the values ​​of the font features are. The font features of the characters are expressed as finite values ​​that represent the type of font.

[0033] For example, the extraction unit 12 extracts features related to the type of picture depicted in the existing product image 101 or the candidate image 102. In this case, the more similar the types of pictures are, the closer the feature amounts related to those types are.

[0034] The extraction unit 12 places each of the existing product designs and new product design candidates, whose features have been quantified as described above, in a feature vector space that represents the features. Since the design features are expressed as finite values ​​as described above, the feature vector space may be any space of finite size (having a finite region) defined by the values ​​that the feature of each element can take.

[0035] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a feature vector space in which existing product designs and new product design candidates are arranged by the extraction unit 12 when multiple new product design candidates have been narrowed down. The feature vector space in FIG. 2 is an n-dimensional space in which the dimensions are the features of n elements such as the position, size, and color tone of characters or pictures.

[0036] In FIG. 2, nodes A to E represented by circles represent designs of existing products, and nodes X and Y represent design candidates for new products. These nodes illustrated in FIG. 2 are also called feature points. In this feature vector space, the coordinates of node A, for example, are (A1, A2, . . . , A n), and the coordinates of node X are (X1, X2, . . . , X n 2, the number of nodes for existing product designs is five, A through E, and the number of nodes for new product design candidates is two, X and Y, but the number of nodes for existing product designs and new product design candidates is not limited to the above numbers and can be any number.

[0037] The extraction unit 12 may also display the result of arranging the designs of existing products and the design candidates for new products in the feature vector space on the display screen 200 of the management terminal device 20 via the output unit 14 described below, together with the coordinate axes of the feature vector space, for example in a form as illustrated in Fig. 2. That is, the extraction unit 12 displays the positional relationship of the nodes on the display screen 200 via the output unit 14 so that the user can visually recognize the distance between the nodes in the feature vector space.

[0038] The identification unit 13 identifies the design features of the new product that satisfy the conditions regarding the difference from the design of the existing product based on the existing product image 101. The difference here means the difference between (the features of) a plurality of existing product design images and (the features of) the new product design image. The identification unit 13 according to the present embodiment identifies a new product design image whose difference from the existing design image is greater than a predetermined standard. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of new product design images, the identification unit 13 according to the present embodiment may identify, from among the plurality of new product design images, the new product design image that is most different from the existing design image.

[0039] For example, the specification unit 13 obtains the ratio of the above-mentioned feature amount between the existing product image 101 and the candidate image 102, and specifies the candidate image 102 in which the ratio is greater than a predetermined threshold or the largest. More specifically, the specification unit 13 obtains, for example, the size of the characters or pictures or the ratio of the area that the characters or pictures occupy in the image, and specifies the candidate image 102 in which the ratio is greater than a predetermined threshold or the largest.

[0040] The specification unit 13 may use a condition related to similarity instead of a condition related to dissimilarity. The specification unit 13 specifies a new product design image whose similarity to an existing design image is smaller than a predetermined standard, or a new product design image whose similarity to an existing design image is the smallest.

[0041] The identification unit 13 calculates the distance between each of the nodes A to E of the existing product designs and each of the nodes X and Y of the new product design candidates in the feature vector space illustrated in Fig. 2. In the feature vector space illustrated in Fig. 2, for example, a line (edge) connecting node X and node A represents the distance between node X and node A, and the value is D XA Similarly, for example, the distance between node Y and node A is D YA It is.

[0042] For example, with regard to the color tone of a design, if the colors of two nodes are complementary to each other, then those two nodes will be located at the furthest position in the feature vector space.

[0043] The determination unit 13 expresses the sum of the distances between the node X and the nodes A to E (D XA +D XB +D XC +D XD +D XE ), and the sum of the distances between node Y and nodes A to E (D YA +D YB +D YC +D YD +D YE ) where "+" is an operator indicating addition. The identification unit 13 then compares the sum of the distances between node X and nodes A to E with the sum of the distances between node Y and nodes A to E, and identifies the node between node X and node Y that has the longer sum of the distances between node X and nodes A to E.

[0044] When calculating the sum of the distances between the node X or Y and the nodes A to E, the specification unit 13 may weight the distances according to the importance of each existing product in the competitive relationship with the new product.XA +bxD XB +cxD XC +dxD XD +exD XE ) and for node Y, (axD YA +bxD YB +cxD YC +dxD YD +exD YE ) is calculated. Here, "x" is an operator indicating multiplication. Furthermore, the coefficients a to e are coefficients that weight the distance. For example, when the existing product indicated by node A is highly important in a competitive relationship with the new product (i.e., the competition with the existing product indicated by node A is intense), the user or the like assigns a large value to the identification unit 13 as the coefficient a. Alternatively, when the existing product indicated by node B is less important in a competitive relationship with the new product (i.e., the competition with the existing product indicated by node B is not intense), the user or the like assigns a small value to the identification unit 13 as the coefficient b.

[0045] Furthermore, when there are a large number of nodes in the design candidates for a new product, the identification unit 13 may identify a plurality of nodes among those nodes whose sum of distances from each node of the design of the existing product satisfies a condition. More specifically, for example, the identification unit 13 may identify, among the nodes in the design candidates for a new product, nodes in a predetermined order starting from the node with the longest sum of distances from each node of the design of the existing product.

[0046] The output unit 14 outputs design information 103 representing node X or node Y identified by the identification unit 13 to the management terminal device 20. The output unit 14 may output, as the design information 103, an identifier capable of identifying node X or node Y, or may output a candidate image 102 for node X or node Y. The management terminal device 20 displays the design information 103 output from the output unit 14 on the display screen 200.

[0047] As described above, the output unit 14 may be controlled by the extraction unit 12 and output information to the management terminal device 20 for displaying the result of arranging the designs of existing products and the design candidates of new products in the feature vector space together with the coordinate axes of the feature vector space on the display screen 200 in a manner such as that illustrated in FIG. 2. At this time, in response to a user's operation of selecting a node indicating the design features of an existing product or a design feature of a new product in the feature vector space, the management terminal device 20 may display an image representing a design related to the selected node on the display screen 200. That is, for example, when a user performs an input operation to select node A displayed on the display screen 200, the management terminal device 20 displays an existing product image 101 of the existing product indicated by node A on the display screen 200.

[0048] Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 3, the operation (processing) of the product design creation support device 10 according to this embodiment when there are design candidates for a new product will be described in detail.

[0049] The acquisition unit 11 acquires an existing product image 101 representing a design of an existing product and a candidate image 102 representing a design candidate of a new product (step S101). The extraction unit 12 extracts a feature amount of the design represented by the existing product image 101 and a feature amount of the design candidate represented by the candidate image 102 based on an extraction criterion 121 (step S102).

[0050] The extraction unit 12 arranges the designs of the existing products and the design candidates of the new products from which the feature amounts have been extracted in a feature vector space (step S103).

[0051] The identification unit 13 calculates the distance in the feature vector space between each of the design candidates for the new product and each of the designs of the existing products (step S104). The identification unit 13 identifies the design candidate having the longest sum of distances between each of the designs of the existing products and the new product design candidates among the multiple design candidates for the new product (step S105). The output unit 14 outputs design information 103 related to the design candidates for the new product identified by the identification unit 13 to the management terminal device 20 (step S106). The management terminal device 20 displays the design information 103 on the display screen 200 (step S107), and the entire process ends.

[0052] <(2) When there are no design candidates for a new product> In response to an instruction input by a user, the acquisition unit 11 acquires an existing product image 101 from, for example, an external device. In this case, unlike the above-mentioned case (1), the candidate image 102 does not exist.

[0053] The extraction unit 12 extracts the feature amount of the design represented by the existing product image 101 based on the extraction criterion 121, similarly to the above-mentioned case (1).

[0054] The extraction unit 12 arranges the designs of the existing products from which the feature quantities have been extracted in a feature vector space.

[0055] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a feature vector space in which each of the designs of existing products is arranged by the extraction unit 12 when no design candidates for a new product have been created yet. The feature vector space illustrated in Fig. 4 is also an n-dimensional space in which the dimensions are the features of n elements such as the position, size, and color tone of characters and pictures, just like the feature vector space illustrated in Fig. 2.

[0056] The extraction unit 12 places a node X, which represents a solution for a design of a new product that is more eye-catching to customers than existing products, at any position in the feature vector space.

[0057] The identification unit 13 calculates the distance between the node X and each of the nodes A to E of the design of the existing product while changing the position of the node X in the feature vector space illustrated in Fig. 4. The procedure for calculating the distance by the identification unit 13 is as described above in the case of (1).

[0058] The identification unit 13 searches for and identifies the position of node X in a feature vector space having a finite size (area) such that the sum of the distances between node X and nodes A to E is the longest. Alternatively, the identification unit 13 may identify an area in which node X is located such that the sum of the distances between node X and nodes A to E is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0059] The identification unit 13 may also exclude a predetermined area in the feature vector space from the search target when identifying the position of node X whose distance from nodes A to E satisfies a criterion. The area excluded from the search target is, for example, an area representing a design feature that gives an unfavorable impression to customers. More specifically, when the product is a food product, the area excluded is an area representing a color tone or the like that gives an impression that the product is not delicious. The design feature that gives an unfavorable impression to customers is assumed to be obtained as a result of past investigations and research on the impression that the design of the product gives to customers. The identification unit 13 may also be configured to search for an area in the feature vector space away from the area representing the feature of the product image by being given an example of a product image that gives an unfavorable impression to customers as an existing product image 101.

[0060] The output unit 14 displays design information 103 indicating the characteristics of the package design indicated by the position of node X identified by the identification unit 13 on the display screen 200 of the management terminal device 20. The design information 103 is information including at least one of the logo, color tone, character size, character position, and character font related to the design of the new product, for example.

[0061] The output unit 14 may further generate an image representing the design based on a value (feature amount) representing the feature of the design indicated by the position of the identified node X and a pre-given image generation criterion 140. The image generation criterion 140 may include conditions for generating an image. The image generation criterion 140 may include, as conditions for generating an image, conditions related to at least one of the color to be used, and the display position and size of the character or picture, for example.

[0062] Moreover, the image generation method is not limited to the rule-based method as described above. For example, the image generation standard 140 may be an image generation model (trained model) that has learned the relationship between the feature amount representing the design feature of an existing product arranged in the feature vector space and the actual image of the design of the existing product. The image generation model may be generated, for example, by learning based on a generated image generated from the feature amount represented by the coordinates in the feature vector space of an image of an existing product and an actual image of the existing product so that the difference (distance in the feature vector space) between the generated image and the actual image of the existing product becomes small. Note that the generation method of the image generation model is not limited to the above method.

[0063] Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 5, the operation (processing) of the product design creation support device 10 according to this embodiment in the case where there are no design candidates for a new product will be described in detail.

[0064] The acquisition unit 11 acquires an existing product image 101 representing a design of an existing product (step S201). The extraction unit 12 extracts a feature amount of the design represented by the existing product image 101 based on the extraction criterion 121 (step S202).

[0065] The extraction unit 12 arranges the designs of the existing products from which the feature quantities have been extracted in a feature vector space (step S203).

[0066] The identification unit 13 searches for a position in the feature vector space that has the longest sum of distances to each of the existing product designs (step S204). The identification unit 13 outputs the design features indicated by the position identified by searching the feature vector space as design information 103 to the management terminal device 20 (step S205).

[0067] The output unit 14 generates an image representing the design indicated by the position identified by the identification unit 13 based on the image generation standard 140 (step S206). The output unit 14 outputs the generated image representing the design to the management terminal device 20 as design information 103 (step S207). The management terminal device 20 displays the design information 103 on the display screen 200 (step S208), and the entire process ends.

[0068] The product design creation support device 10 according to the present embodiment can support the creation of a product design that is relatively eye-catching compared to existing products. This is because the product design creation support device 10 identifies the design features of a new product that meet the conditions regarding the difference from the design of existing products, and outputs design information regarding the design of the new product based on the identified features.

[0069] The effects achieved by the product design creation support device 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0070] For example, when a product is displayed on a shelf with many different products, one of the reasons why the product sells is that the design of the product catches the customer's eye in comparison to competing products. However, product designs are often created manually by designers. Therefore, it can be difficult to create the above-mentioned designs due to constraints such as the designer's knowledge, labor hours, and work time.

[0071] In response to such problems, the product design creation support device 10 according to this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 11, an identification unit 13, and an output unit 14, and operates as described above with reference to, for example, Figs. 1 to 5. That is, the acquisition unit 11 acquires an existing product image 101 that represents the design of an existing product. The identification unit 13 identifies design features of a new product that satisfy conditions related to differences from the design of the existing product, based on the existing product image 101. Then, the output unit 14 outputs design information 103 related to the design of the new product, based on the identified design features of the new product.

[0072] In other words, the product design creation support device 10 of this embodiment identifies the design features of a new product that are significantly different (have little similarity) from the designs of existing products, and can therefore support the creation of a product design that is more eye-catching than existing products.

[0073] Furthermore, the product design generation support device 10 according to this embodiment uses an image generation model generated by learning the relationship between the feature quantities related to the designs of existing products and the images of the designs of existing products as the image generation standard 140. This allows the product design generation support device 10 to gradually improve the accuracy of generating images of product designs that are eye-catching relative to existing products.

[0074] Moreover, the product design generation support device 10 according to the present embodiment extracts the extracted feature quantities related to the design of the existing product, and arranges the feature quantities of the design of the existing product in a feature vector space representing the features of the design. The product design generation support device 10 then outputs an image representing the feature vector space in which the features related to the design of the existing product and the features related to the design of the new product are arranged. The image is displayed on the display screen 200 of the management terminal device 20 operated by the user, for example. The product design generation support device 10 further displays an image representing a design related to the selected feature point on the display screen 200 in response to a user's operation to select a feature point (node) indicating a feature related to the design of the existing product or a feature related to the design of the new product in the feature vector space. By providing such a function related to the user interface, the product design generation support device 10 can improve the convenience of the user in the task of creating a design of a product that is relatively eye-catching to existing products.

[0075] Furthermore, the product design generation support device 10 according to the present embodiment excludes a predetermined area in the feature vector space (an area showing design features that give customers an unfavorable impression) from the search targets when identifying a position whose distance from the design of an existing product satisfies a criterion. This allows the product design generation support device 10 to efficiently search for a position in the feature vector space whose distance from the design of an existing product satisfies a criterion.

[0076] In addition, the product design creation support device 10 according to the present embodiment weights the distance between the design of the new product and the existing product according to the importance of the existing product in the competitive relationship with the new product. This allows the product design creation support device 10 to support the creation of a more strategic product design that takes into account the market environment of the new product, etc.

[0077] Furthermore, when the new product belongs to a certain brand line, it is necessary to generate a design of the new product that is both more different from the competing products and in line with the direction of the brand line. In such a case, the identification unit 13 identifies the design features of the new product that satisfy the following: the difference between the design of the new product and a first existing product that is in a competitive relationship with the new product is equal to or greater than a standard, and the difference between the design of the new product and a second existing product that belongs to the same brand line as the new product is equal to or less than a standard.

[0078] More specifically, for example, the acquisition unit 11 acquires existing product images 101 representing the designs of a competing product (first existing product) and a product in the same brand line (second existing product). The extraction unit 12 represents the designs of the competing products as nodes A to E in a feature vector space exemplified in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4. The extraction unit 12 also represents the designs of the products in the same brand line as node Z (not shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4) in the feature vector space. Then, the identification unit 13 identifies the position of node X representing the new product in the feature vector space such that the distance from nodes A to E is equal to or greater than a first threshold and the distance from node Z is equal to or less than a second threshold.

[0079] Alternatively, for example, the identification unit 13 may be given a brand guideline indicating design features of the brand line. The brand guideline is given, for example, as a predetermined region in a feature vector space. Then, the identification unit 13 identifies the position of node X so as to satisfy a constraint condition based on the brand line. For example, the identification unit 13 identifies the position of node X in a predetermined region in the feature vector space represented by the brand guideline, such that the distance between node X and nodes A to E is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0080] Furthermore, the functions realized by the product design creation support device 10 according to the present embodiment described above may be realized by a system made up of a plurality of information processing devices.

[0081] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product design generation support system 10A according to a modified example of this embodiment. The function of the product design generation support system 10A is equivalent to that of the above-mentioned product design generation support device 10. The product design generation support system 10A includes an acquisition device 11A, an extraction device 12A, a determination device 13A, and an output device 14A, each of which is an information processing device. The acquisition device 11A, the extraction device 12A, the determination device 13A, and the output device 14A are respectively equipped with functions equivalent to the above-mentioned acquisition unit 11, extraction unit 12, determination unit 13, and output unit 14. The acquisition device 11A, the extraction device 12A, the determination device 13A, and the output device 14A are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0082] Furthermore, the configuration of the product design generation support system 10A is not limited to a configuration including information processing devices corresponding to the individual components of the product design generation support device 10. For example, the product design generation support system 10A may include a plurality of components of the product design generation support device 10 as one information processing device.

[0083] <Second embodiment> 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product design creation support device 30 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The product design creation support device 30 includes an acquisition unit 31, a specification unit 32, and an output unit 33. However, the acquisition unit 31, the specification unit 32, and the output unit 33 are examples of an acquisition means, a specification means, and an output means, respectively.

[0084] The acquisition unit 31 acquires an existing product image 301 representing a design of an existing product. The existing product image 301 is, for example, an image similar to the existing product image 101 according to the first embodiment. The acquisition unit 31 operates in the same manner as the acquisition unit 11 according to the first embodiment.

[0085] The identification unit 32 identifies design features of the new product that satisfy conditions regarding the difference from the design of the existing product based on the existing product image 301. The identification unit 32 performs, for example, processing on the existing product image 301 using a feature vector space similar to that of the extraction unit 12 and the identification unit 13 according to the first embodiment.

[0086] The output unit 33 outputs design information 302 related to the design of the new product based on the features related to the design of the new product identified by the identification unit 32. The design information 302 is, for example, information similar to the design information 103 according to the first embodiment. The output unit 33 operates in the same manner as, for example, the output unit 14 according to the first embodiment.

[0087] The product design creation support device 30 according to this embodiment can support the creation of a product design that is more eye-catching than existing products, because the product design creation support device 30 identifies the design features of a new product that meet the conditions regarding the difference from the design of existing products, and outputs design information regarding the design of the new product based on the identified features.

[0088] <Hardware configuration example> In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, each unit of the product design creation support device 10 shown in Fig. 1 or the product design creation support device 30 shown in Fig. 7 can be realized by a dedicated HW (Hardware) (electronic circuit). In Fig. 1 and Fig. 7, at least the following configurations can be regarded as functional (processing) units (software modules) of a software program. Acquisition units 11 and 31, ·Extraction part 12, Particulars 13 and 32, Output sections 14 and 33.

[0089] However, the division of the various parts shown in these drawings is for the convenience of explanation, and various configurations may be assumed for implementation. An example of the hardware environment in this case will be described with reference to FIG.

[0090] Fig. 8 is a diagram for illustratively explaining the configuration of an information processing device 900 (computer system) capable of realizing the product design generation support device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention or the product design generation support device 30 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, Fig. 8 shows the configuration of at least one computer (information processing device) capable of realizing the product design generation support devices 10 and 30 shown in Figs. 1 and 7, and represents a hardware environment capable of realizing each function in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0091] The information processing device 900 shown in FIG. 8 includes the following components, but may not include some of the following components. ·CPU(Central_Processing_Unit)901, ROM (Read_Only_Memory) 902, ·RAM(Random_Access_Memory)903, Hard disk (storage device) 904, A communication interface 905 for communicating with external devices; Bus 906 (communication line), A reader / writer 908 capable of reading and writing data stored in a recording medium 907 such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), · Input / output interfaces 909 such as monitors, speakers, keyboards, etc.

[0092] That is, the information processing device 900 including the above components is a general computer in which these components are connected via a bus 906. The information processing device 900 may include a plurality of CPUs 901, or may include a CPU 901 configured with multiple cores. The information processing device 900 may include a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) (not shown) in addition to the CPU 901.

[0093] The present invention, explained using the above-mentioned embodiment as an example, supplies a computer program capable of realizing the following functions to the information processing device 900 shown in Fig. 8. The functions are the above-mentioned configurations in the block configuration diagrams (Figs. 1 and 7) or the functions of the flowcharts (Figs. 3 and 5) referred to in the explanation of the embodiment. The present invention is then achieved by reading the computer program into the CPU 901 of the hardware, interpreting it, and executing it. The computer program supplied to the device may be stored in a readable and writable volatile memory (RAM 903) or a non-volatile storage device such as a ROM 902 or a hard disk 904.

[0094] In the above case, the method of supplying the computer program to the hardware can be a currently common procedure, such as installing the program in the device via a recording medium 907 such as a CD-ROM, or downloading the program from an external source via a communication line such as the Internet. In such a case, the present invention can be considered to be configured by the code constituting the computer program, or the recording medium 907 on which the code is stored.

[0095] The present invention has been described above by taking the above-mentioned embodiment as an exemplary example. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. That is, the present invention can be applied in various aspects that can be understood by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

[0096] Note that some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as follows: However, the present invention described by way of example in the above-described embodiments is not limited to the following.

[0097] (Appendix 1) An acquisition means for acquiring an existing product image representing a design of an existing product; A means for identifying design features of a new product that meets a condition regarding a difference between the design of the new product and the design of the existing product based on the existing product image; an output means for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on features regarding the design of the new product; A product design creation support device comprising:

[0098] (Appendix 2) The design information includes at least one of a logo, a color, a color tone, a shape, a size of characters, a position of characters, a font of characters, an image of an object related to the new product, and a position of the image, regarding the design of the new product. 2. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 1.

[0099] (Appendix 3) The output means outputs an image representing a design of the new product based on an image generation standard. 3. A product design creation support device according to claim 1 or 2.

[0100] (Appendix 4) The image generation standard is an image generation model generated by learning a relationship between a feature amount related to the design of the existing product and an image of the design of the existing product. 4. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 3.

[0101] (Appendix 5) The image generation criteria include at least one condition regarding the color to be used in the design of the new product, and the display position or size of the characters or pictures. 5. A product design creation support device according to claim 3 or 4.

[0102] (Appendix 6) Further comprising an extraction means for extracting design features of the existing product based on the existing product image, the specifying means specifies design features of the new product based on design features of the existing product; A product design creation support device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 5.

[0103] (Appendix 7) The acquiring means acquires a plurality of candidate images relating to design candidates for a plurality of the new products, The extraction means extracts features related to the design candidates of the new products based on the candidate images, the identifying means identifies a specific design from the plurality of new product design candidates based on features related to the design of the existing product and features related to the plurality of new product design candidates; The output means outputs design information relating to the specific design. 7. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 6.

[0104] (Appendix 8) the extraction means quantifies the extracted features related to the design of the existing product, thereby arranging the design of the existing product in a feature vector space representing the features of the design; The specifying means specifies a position in the feature vector space where a distance from the design of the existing product satisfies a condition; the output means outputs design information regarding a design of the new product indicated by the position identified by the identification means. 8. A product design creation support device according to claim 6 or 7.

[0105] (Appendix 9) The output means outputs an image representing the feature vector space including features related to the design of the existing product and features related to the design of the new product. 9. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 8.

[0106] (Appendix 10) the output means outputs, in response to an operation of selecting a feature point indicating a feature related to a design of the existing product or a feature related to a design of the new product in the feature vector space, an image representing a design related to the selected feature point. 10. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 9.

[0107] (Appendix 11) the specifying means excludes a predetermined area in the feature vector space from a search target when specifying a position whose distance from the design of the existing product satisfies a criterion. A product design creation support device according to any one of Supplementary Note 8 to Supplementary Note 10.

[0108] (Appendix 12) the specifying means weights the distance between the new product and the design of the existing product in accordance with the importance of the existing product in a competitive relationship with the new product; A product design creation support device according to any one of Supplementary Note 8 to Supplementary Note 11.

[0109] (Appendix 13) The difference between the design features of the new product and those of a first existing product that is in a competitive relationship with the new product satisfies a first condition (above a standard), and the difference between the design features of the new product and those of a second existing product that belongs to the same brand line as the new product satisfies a second condition (below a standard). A product design creation support device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 12.

[0110] (Appendix 14) The acquisition means acquires the existing product images representing designs of the first and second existing products, The identification means identifies design features of the new product based on the existing product images of the first and second existing products. 14. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 13.

[0111] (Appendix 15) the specifying means specifies design features of the new product so as to satisfy constraints based on the features of the second existing product; 14. A product design creation support device as described in appendix 13.

[0112] (Appendix 16) An acquisition means for acquiring an existing product image representing a design of an existing product; A means for identifying design features of a new product that meets a condition regarding a difference between the design of the new product and the design of the existing product based on the existing product image; an output means for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on features regarding the design of the new product; A product design creation support system comprising:

[0113] (Appendix 17) Through the information processing system, Obtain existing product images that represent the design of the existing product; Identifying design features of a new product that satisfy a condition regarding the difference from the design of the existing product based on the existing product image; outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on the characteristics regarding the design of the new product; A method for supporting the creation of product designs.

[0114] (Appendix 18) An acquisition process for acquiring an existing product image representing a design of an existing product; A process of identifying design features of a new product that meets a condition regarding a difference between the design of the new product and the design of the existing product based on the existing product image; an output process for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on the features regarding the design of the new product; A recording medium storing a product design generation support program for causing a computer to execute the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 10. Product design creation support device 10A Product design creation support system 101 Existing product images 102 candidate images 103 Design Information 11 Acquisition Department 11A Acquisition device 12 Extraction part 12A extraction device 121 Extraction criteria 13 Specific section 13A Specific equipment 14 Output section 14A output device 140 Image Generation Standards 20 Management terminal 200 display screen 30 Product design creation support device 301 Existing product images 302 Design Information 31 Acquisition Department 32 Specific part 33 Output section 900 Information processing device 901 CPU 902 ROM 903 RAM 904 Hard disk (storage device) 905 Communication Interface 906 Bus 907 Recording media 908 Reader / Writer 909 Input / Output Interface

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring an existing product image representing a design of an existing product; A specifying means for specifying an image having a design feature of a new product that is most different from the existing product image from among a plurality of new product design images; an output means for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on features regarding the design of the new product; A product design creation support device comprising:

2. The design information includes at least one of a logo, a color, a color tone, a shape, a size of characters, a position of characters, a font of characters, an image of an object related to the new product, and a position of the image, regarding the design of the new product. The product design creation support device according to claim 1.

3. the output means outputs a design image representing a design of the new product based on an image generation standard.

3. The product design creation support device according to claim 1.

4. The image generation standard is an image generation model generated by learning a relationship between a feature amount related to the design of the existing product and the existing product image. The product design creation support device according to claim 3.

5. The image generation criteria include at least one condition regarding the color to be used in the design of the new product, and the display position or size of the characters or pictures.

5. The product design creation support device according to claim 3.

6. Further comprising an extraction means for extracting design features of the existing product based on the existing product image, the specifying means specifies design features of the new product based on design features of the existing product; The product design creation support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The acquiring means acquires a plurality of candidate images relating to design candidates for a plurality of the new products, The extraction means extracts features related to the plurality of design candidates of the new product based on the plurality of candidate images, the specifying means specifies a specific design from among the plurality of design candidates for the new product based on features related to the design of the existing product and features related to the plurality of design candidates for the new product; The output means outputs the design information relating to the specific design. The product design creation support device according to claim 6.

8. the extraction means quantifies the extracted design features of the existing product, thereby arranging the design of the existing product in a feature vector space representing the design features; The specifying means specifies a position in the feature vector space where a distance from the design of the existing product satisfies a condition; the output means outputs the design information relating to a design of the new product indicated by the position identified by the identification means.

8. The product design creation support device according to claim 6 or 7.

9. Through the information processing system, Obtain existing product images that represent the design of the existing product; Identifying an image having design features of a new product that are most different from the existing product image from among a plurality of new product design images; outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on the characteristics regarding the design of the new product; A method for supporting the creation of product designs.

10. An acquisition process for acquiring an existing product image representing a design of an existing product; A process of identifying an image having a design feature of a new product that is most different from the existing product image from among a plurality of new product design images; an output process for outputting design information regarding the design of the new product based on the features regarding the design of the new product; A product design generation support program for causing a computer to execute the above.

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