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.