1 Are modern products curved or angular? The effect of the prototype shape on the perceived product meaning Janneke Blijlevens, Ruth Mugge and Jan P.L. Schoormans TU Delft, Industrial Design Engineering, Product Innovation Management Managers that want to incorporate a pre-defined product meaning in a design need to know how consumers relate product properties to product meanings. In past research the proposed relationships between physical properties and meanings are implied to be robust. This study showed that the physical property ‘curvature’ has a positive effect on the perceived meaning ‘modernity’, however only when the prototype of the product category has a strong curved, as opposed to angular, design. Hence, the shape of the prototype of the product category should be taken into account when designing a product meaning in a new product. Keywords: product-meaning, prototypicality, product-optimization Track: Innovation and New Product Development Blijlevens, J, Mugge, R & Schoormans, JPL (2009). Are modern products curved or angular? The effect of the prototype shape on the received product meaning. In JP Helfer & JL Nicolas (Eds.), EMAC 38th conference marketing and the core disciplines- conference proceedings (pp. 1-5). Nantes: Audencia.