The paper describes the use of artefacts in a comparative visual exercise while finding links between concepts and research methods in Marketing, Psychology and Design, using product differentiation as the theme of the investigation. The central premise is that when designers make subtle physical alterations, as opposed to radical innovations, they run the risk of the product change not being evident or clearly noticed. One study currently being developed is used to illustrate the combination of various types of visual analysis methods in order to better understand the quantitative information materialized in product design.The specific case study to be presented uses visual perception to inform product differentiation choices, aimed at answering the question: How different is different? The new model for object analysis presented seeks to establish at what point observers begin to see a difference in ceramic teapot designs, and compares the perception of difference with the actual geometric differences that exist between the objects. The method used to undertake the research and the nature of the expected resulting data are discussed. This includes experimental tests using 3D computer morphing animation techniques to determine degrees of differentiation, measured by psychophysical laws of Just Noticeable Differences. The study shows creative use of a psychophysics theory to illuminate a business concept, by measuring visual perception of artefacts using the language and tools familiar to design.