Human Centered Design.

To think about technology these days, it is notable that the products that we interact with on a day-to-day basis do not just simply perform the base function in which we purchased them to do. In fact, there is a sense of gratification in how thoughtful and personable some products can be to human emotions. Ted Kelly discusses this emerging trend in human-centered design.

Design approach to technology has transformed from functional gadgets to adding human behaviour and experience into everyday and newly created products. Kelly discusses that even now in the development stage of products, designers are more focussed towards demonstrating how a product will be used as opposed to a three dimensional model of an object in order to communicate a object. Designers have been looking at essentially projecting behaviour or a personality into a product.

This is a gradual trend which can been seen on the market today in products such as; new car models, mobile phones and even in retail stores to enhance a customers experience. Kelly introduces the developments of a Prada store based in New York City. He rectifies how this human-centered design sparks people’s curiosity and includes cultural aspects as well as how it appeals to the clients. Creating custom technology for the staff and clients to use produces an easier and more organised way to shop. Every item in the store has a RF tag that can be scanned and used to upload more information about the items on any of the screens in the store as well as display the items taken into the dressing room. A plasma mirror that has a three second delay has been utilized to show the client what they look like from all angles. These new additions to the store allow the products and merchandise to be showcased at its best while also influencing the client positively.

Another example Kelly displayed was a CBS video articulating how Dilbert Comic Strips conducted an in-office review and experimentation in order to create “the ultimate cubicle”. With a team of designers the company developed their mission to redesign the cubicle. The idea in mind was to make the cubicle more human. By adding features such as a hammock, lights that reflect the sun’s position at that time a day, and home-like touches such as; built in fish tanks turns the boring, stress filling cubicle into a relaxing, comfortable work environment.

It is clear to see that we are now taking a human centered approach to design including behaviours and personalities in products. In response to this, designers are now more trusted and accredited by companies to develop products and systems that tailor to specifically target the emotional response that customers have with products.

Conceptual Posters.

Emotional Design.

Donald Norman is an academic in the field of cognitive science, design and usability engineering who theorises the relationship between a design and the consumer. In this video Norman discusses what emotional design is and the impact that it has on us as consumers.

Norman discusses the main issue is that emotions have a crucial role in the human ability to understand the world, and how they learn new things. For example: aesthetically pleasing objects appear to the user to be more effective, by virtue of their sensual appeal. This is due to the affinity the user feels for an object that appeals to him, due to the formation of an emotional connection. He mentions products that have been specifically designed to enhance and achieve experiences and emotions, particularly pleasure and enjoyment.

A range of both significant and interesting pieces are exemplified; the Japanese installation featuring a Ping Pong table with interactive projections and also the Alessi Juicer, which is not all that suited to juicing fruit, but more a conversation point. Designers have effectively transformed what was, a global market of products into a range of emotionally triggered designs that have set a bench mark for what consumers expect out of a product.

Norman succeeds to enlighten the point of how and why we as consumers are so susceptible to emotional design. It is the three tiered foundation of subconscious processing; visceral, behavioural, and reflective level. On a visceral level, we tend to pay more attention to the appearance of a product; whether it has bright or dark colour,  or whether it is decorative enough for us to collect, etc.  The behavioural level of processing denotes consumers feeling in control which includes the usability and understanding of a product. The final level of processing is reflective. Here, we are more concerned about our image, less about the product. There’s ‘a little voice in our head’ watching and saying ‘it’s good, it’s bad’.  It explains why in some cases  we purchase expensive items purely for image purposes over the integrity of the product.

Don Norman provided a rather insightful view on the concept of emotional design. The in-depth discussion has proved to be very informative yet most of all incredibly insightful. It is certainly something to stop and think about.