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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteA product feels cool when its distinctive or attractive qualities create excitement or admiration—or when a relevant social group validates its appeal. Coolness is not one objective feature: design, novelty, usefulness, ease of use, and exclusivity can all contribute, but none guarantees that people will see a product as cool.
Coolness is both personal and social
In a personal sense, a product may feel cool because it excites, impresses, or delights someone. In a social sense, it may be cool because other people recognize and validate its appeal. A 2026 study of sampled consumers in the United States, Germany, and China found both interpretations across the groups it examined. Neither meaning is a universal test that every person applies in the same way.
This distinction also explains why coolness is not identical to liking. Warren and Campbell’s experiments found that people can perceive something as cool without that judgment being the same as their personal preference. Someone might recognize a product’s cultural appeal or originality even if they would not choose to use or own it.
What qualities can make a product seem cool?
People often describe coolness by naming concrete product qualities rather than offering a single abstract definition. Commonly mentioned attributes include:
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- Design and visual appeal: a distinctive style or an attractive appearance.
- Uniqueness and creativity: novelty or an original idea.
- Usefulness: practical value that makes the product worthwhile.
- Ease of use: an experience that feels accessible rather than frustrating.
- Aspirational image or exclusivity: associations that make the product seem desirable or socially distinctive.
These qualities can overlap. A well-designed device can be practical as well as visually striking; an exclusive product can also be easy to use. The attributes offer ways to understand people’s judgments, not a checklist that automatically produces coolness.
Why novelty alone is not enough
Being new or different can attract attention, but novelty does not by itself ensure that people value a product. Im, Bhat, and Lee’s consumer research links perceived novelty to coolness, and coolness to hedonic value—the pleasure or enjoyment associated with a product. Their findings also describe a separate route: meaningfulness can contribute to product attitude through utilitarian value.
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In practical terms, an unusual feature may help a product feel exciting, while a meaningful benefit can make it useful. A product’s novelty matters to coolness when it produces a positive response; a product can also earn a favorable evaluation through practical value without relying on novelty. These relationships do not establish that coolness alone causes sales or that every novel product succeeds.
When breaking conventions can seem cool
Unconventionality can signal autonomy, but simply breaking a convention is not enough. Across six experiments, Warren and Campbell found that norm departure could increase perceived coolness when it seemed appropriate. The relevant conditions included challenging a norm viewed as unnecessary or illegitimate, keeping the departure bounded rather than extreme or constant, and responding to norms a consumer sees as overly repressive.
That makes context important: a restrained, purposeful departure may read as independent, while arbitrary oddness or constant provocation may not. The finding concerns how people perceive a deviation, not a guarantee that unconventional design will be welcomed.
How culture can change the social signals
The 2026 cross-cultural study found that consumers in its Chinese sample relied more on a social interpretation of coolness and on exclusivity than consumers in its U.S. and German samples. This is evidence about those study groups, not a rule about every person in those countries or every product market. It does show why the same feature may carry different weight depending on local norms and status signals.
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The study’s authors also report that respondents often struggled to define coolness in the abstract and instead described product attributes. Two trained coders manually categorized responses, with a reported Cohen’s kappa of .82 for intercoder reliability. That figure measures the coders’ agreement, not how cool any product is.
What this means for technology products
A 2013 study focused specifically on technological products proposed originality, attractiveness, and subcultural appeal as a compact way to assess coolness. These dimensions can help when thinking about devices and interfaces, but the framework is technology-specific; it should not be treated as a universal formula for every kind of product.
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For a tech product, the useful question is not only whether it looks novel. Consider whether its design is appealing, whether its originality gives people a reason to care, and whether it resonates with a relevant community—while also asking whether it solves a real problem and is usable.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical way to assess a product’s coolness
When judging why a product feels cool, separate the possible sources of its appeal rather than searching for one magic feature:
- Identify the response: Does it personally excite or impress you, or does its appeal come mainly from recognition by a group?
- Separate novelty from value: Is it merely different, or does the difference create enjoyment or deliver a meaningful benefit?
- Look at style and function together: Does visual appeal or exclusivity matter, and is the product also useful and easy to use?
- Test the convention it breaks: Does the departure seem purposeful and appropriately bounded, or just unusual for its own sake?
- Consider the audience: Which community or local context gives the product its social meaning?
The answers can explain a coolness judgment, but they cannot guarantee that other people will share it. Coolness remains an evaluation shaped by the product, the person, and the surrounding social context.
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