Emotional Design : Why We Love Or Hate Everyday Things

This book was written by Donald A Norman

Part 1

The Meaning of Things

Chapter 1

Attractive Things Work Better

Tractinsky said “clearly” and “he said “aesthetics preferences are culturally dependent”. He continued, “Japanese cultural is known for its aesthetics traditions”. Means that the value of aesthetics is up to us to make its how much valuable. Kurosu and Kashim ura was Japan expert that studied on layout of controls ATM machines.

Herbert Read said, if aesthetics would change emotional state, that would explain mystery. Most of the emotional matter can be solve with rational and, logical thinking. Positive emotion is important as negative ones.

Creative thinking can be discovered when human in happy mood. In proven in Alice Isen research that she found, when people given task on thinking “out of box” they will did much better if they’ll be given gift, that make them feel good. When people relax and happy, their thought processed expand, becoming more creative and imaginative.

Affective system of emotion

-leading to increase understanding and knowledge -includes emotions ; judging systems -controls body and muscle

Three Level of Processing : Visceral, Behavioral, and Reflective

Human beings are most complex, accordingly to complex brain structure. Body is a protective mechanisms. We also have skills, language, humour, art and music. 

Three level of processing : Visceral, behavioral, and reflective.

The visceral level is fast: it makes rapid judgment of what is good or bad,

Safe or dangerous, and sends appropriate signals to the muscle (the

Motor system) and alert the rest of the brain. This is the start of affactive

processing.  There are biologically determined and can bu inhabited or

enhance throught controlsignal from above. The behavioral level is the site

of most human behavior. Its action can be enhanced or inhibited by The

reflective layer and, in turn, it can enhance or inhibited the visceral layer.

The highest layer is that of reflective thought. Note that it does not have

direct access either to sensory input or to the control of behavior.

Instead it watches over, reflect upon, and tries to bias the behavioral level.

(modified from a figure by Daniel Russell for Norman, Ontony, & Russell, 2003.)

Human thinking becomes more sophisticated and improved as evolution continued. Human having much developed set of brain than other animal that tent to have desire. Can think back about experience – reflect upon it – and make decision. Human brain also can think about own operations.

Behavioral level is not conscious. It is depend on reflective level to concurred one’s mind.

Focus and Creativity

The three levels interact to one another, each modulating each other. When activity is start from lowest, visceral level, called “bottom up”. When it come from the highest, reflective level, called “top down” behaviour. As result, every action taken will has cognitive and affective component.

Cognitive assign meaning

Affective assign value

What we felt will transmit to brain, brain will make analysis and resolution. Focus is essential.

In making a design, music can be use. The visual plant makes surroundings peaceful and enjoyable. Background music can be played.

The prepared Brain

Even though visceral level was the simplest part of brain, it is very sensitive to very wide range of conditions.  Condition can be recognized as simply by sensory information. Scientist called “pattern matching” as it works cognitively. Fear is not present in all people, because it need triggered through experience.

Human language comes from behavioural and reflective levels. Human brain comes ready for language and master through experiences. Listen and speak is natural. People who learn language may be fluent in their speech, understanding, and writing.

Sound of language is symbolism governs the development of language. So we can see that human brain is very complex, although human have same shape, body and brain, but threes is huge different between one another. Designer can use brain effectively because no limit on it.

Emotion change behaviour. Mood will not last. Traits are very long-lasting in memory.  So designer needs to explore more.

Chapter 2

The Multiple Faces of Emotion and Design

In chapter two, we are given a scene where two old man talking about their past. One of them felt very happy receiving present from his old friend. He very exciting got the leather box but suddenly become emotional on what happen to him in the past. But they still love it.

      The behavioural level is about use, about experience with a product. 

      Performance is about how well product does desire function

Working With the Three Level

Here is level that can be mapped to product characteristic like this:

          Visceral Design           >       Appearance

          Behavioral Design      >       The pleasure and effectiveness of use

          Reflective Design       >       Self-image, personal satisfaction, memories.

 The question of these simplifications is how does each of this three level compare in importance with the others?

-of course there is no product can hope to satisfy everyone. But, designer must know how to relate the three levels in the making of product. So the only way to make everyone satisfy is make a variety of the product.

The appropriate setting also important dimension of a product. So, it can be apply easily to human behaviour. Because it all depend on human emotion in what they need and wants in life.

As today behavioural design in games, inject more powerful graphics and fast reflexes. The size, colour effect and detail graphics are emphasized.

At the same time, reflective design of today games seems to be more consistent, with sleek powerful appearance of the console and fast reflexes required of thee player.

Object That Evoke Memory

Object that evokes memory means something (object) that we pass through experiences. When the thing was in front of eyes, then we will look back into memory and remember what happened to us and that object in the past.

For example, the Eiffel tower, Paris, that just kind of structured metal that makes it looks like skyscraper. Somehow, people do take it as form of art and also certain people take it as something priceless. But it tent to be popular even though it is old. Perhaps the object that are the most intimate and direct are those that we construct ourselves, it could be hand-made crafts, furniture, photograph and art.

Photograph is very important to human emotional lives. It often passed from generation to generation to remind them who they are. And nowadays photograph has become business. 

Feeling of Self

Memories reflect our life experiences. It reminds us to family, friends, of experiences of accomplishments. Our self-image plays the important role in our lives then we like to admit it. The concept of self appears to be a fundamentals human attribute. The concept is deeply rooted in reflective level of the brain and highly dependent upon cultural norm. So it hard to deal in design.

In psychology, there is big industry that study on the self. Because the concept is too complex to be understood. In advertising, designer use people to persuade other people or consumer. Advertising also can empower self-esteem.

Other than that, the powerful ways to induce a positive sense of self is through personal sense of accomplishment.

The Personality of Product

Product also need kind of personality. Product making needs to fulfil some needs that can look or behave differently in different setting appropriate to use and have the target audience. All aspect of design must support the intended personality structure.

The personalities of product, companies, and brands need as much tending to as the product itself. Because product must be attractive enough in design to catch own consumer.

Part 2

Design in Practice

Chapter 3

Three Level of Design

From Hugues Belanger email, he said that he very attracted toward Apollinares that is a German mineral water. Because it look good even the water not tastes great. Colour combination of it makes it suitable for kitchen decoration.

He has gone to Café des Architects in Sofitel Hotel, Chicago. Every details and decoration in that café  makes him feel greeted. They used water bottle as decoration and set out as work of art. The bottle was lit at wall. Makes bottle as art by adding colour on it. Then he was thinking, how did the packaging of water bottle become an art of phenomenon?

      I do think that the packaging needs to be eye catching to make consumer notice that brand in order to rise up benefit.

Packaging (bottle design) appeal as powerful visceral level of emotion, those cause immediate visceral reaction. The “wow” factor was explained by designer. In designing, emotional factor are involved as well.

       As designer need to make consumer said “WOW”, “YES”, “I LIKE IT”, “I WANT IT”.

Special design make it special bottle

Special bottle use in special occasion

Special occasion make a special memory.

So sort of beauty take place in every design and art. Each of the three level of design is important as the others, and each requires different approach by designer. 
 -  Visceral 
 -   Behaviour  
- Reflective

Visceral Design

It was nature does. Which is how we as human, adapt with environment as there is plant, animal, landscapes, weather, and other natural phenomena. We have turn to received powerful emotional signal to get along automatically at visceral level.

There is co-evolution happened when nature and human need each other to fulfil one another needs and desire. For example, flower have pleasant odour, and most fruit tasted sweets, the better to attract animals, the better to spread their seeds, weather by spitting or defecation. Human are different in size, shape of body, height, colour and appearance based on biologically disposed to make them attractive.

“Pretty” will have direct judgement from visceral level. Designer of reflective level thinking that Designer need to be imaginative, creative, and deep, making something “petty”, or “cute” or “fun” is not well accepted. Except if it simple.

People or adult will have a positive reflex even though the surroundings are in chaotic, busy, noisy, with no harmonic music they will learn to overcome their natural inclination from dislike it.

Visceral Design -how to make it works and the important term

-design with rules -sophisticated -physical feature -need to have initial reaction -skill of visualise on shape and form matter -immediate emotional impact -emphasize appearance

Behavioral Design

Behavioral design is all about Use. Appearance doesn’t matter. Rational doesn’t matter. But performance does. 

In behavioural, function is the most important on making products. Because behavioural test on whether the product pass to fulfils needs.  Just like designing something automobile.

The real challenge of product design is to understand end-user unmet and unarticulated needs.

There is kind of product development:

Enhancement	Means to take some existing product or services to make it better.
Innovative	It provides a completely new way of doing something, or completely something new to do, something not possible before.

Understanding needed when people have no idea to do when something goes wrong.

Reflective Design

Reflective design, cover a lot of territory. It’s all about massage, cultural, and meaning of the product used.  Perhaps in fashion, every things need to be match because image will reflect self confident. Product also can be more than the sum of the function they form. Their real value can fulfil people emotional needs, one of the most important is to established one self-image and one place in the world.

Attractiveness is visceral-level phenomenon, because the response is how the object defined. Beauty comes from reflective level. Pretty product plays in visceral level.

The Devious Side of Design

In this stage of design, designer will make people feel in control and empowered. For fashion, emotion are the keys. So, designer need to look into what else that people want in order to make a satisfy product.

Then people will enjoy to go shopping. In certain ways, this may be positive thing to make people enrich them self with variety experiences on choosing goods.

In marketing of shopping mall, the arrangement of product are very important so user can easily find what they need and can see other product that promoted in that shopping mall.

Design by Committee Versus by an Individual

There is a fundamentals conflict between the preference of the popular audiences and the desire of intellectual and artistic community.  So in approach to make individual thought accepted by community, design of product produce must be relative toward the needs of society.

So, debating needed to achives around agreement on something. Because, one in certain, debate is fundamental. If want a great product, one must can change the world to have clearer vision in design.