Don Norman: Emotional Design

Don Norman point out that design can be fun neat and aesthetically pleasing, but whether they are functional. Wheather design really serves its initial purpose, whether we are really focus on its appearance. Take the ‘juicer’ for example, it sure looks very fashion and creative, but it serves the functions of display, we would not feel comfortable to use it. Don Norman use the experiment about the candy to show us that making people happy is one of the very important principle in design and also in creative thinking. If we are happy, we can think outside the box.

He has discussed 3 levels of thinking process of connecting emotion to design. The first one is the visceral, this is the visual response. It is the emotion we get by looking at something. We have to admit that everyone judge a book by its cover. When we see something, the first attraction we get is its appearance. We will figure out on the functionality of the object after we purchase it. The second process is the behavioral of the object. It is our response to the object when its being used. Therefore what we have to consider is far more than its visual look. We have to focus on the functionality. For example, when we select material for a chair, we have to consider whether the material will look good on the chair, and also other aspect such as whether this material will sit comfortably by people, and whether the strength of the fabric can support human weight. The third one is the reflective response; this response goes beyond the behavioral response. It is how we feel about the product in the wider world.