Don Norman - Emotional Design

Watching Don Norman’s TED talk, an insight was gained into the way in which humans react and interact with objects and situations in everyday life. Focusing on products, Norman reiterates the importance of Emotional Design and how it can be effectively adapted to engage consumers with products. He splits Emotional Design into 3 sub – categories: visceral, behavioural and reflective, of which visceral and behavioural are subconscious responses to stimuli.

Norman presents a great example of visceral interaction with products, explaining how people often reuse glass bottles and wine bottles to display flowers or fill them up with another liquid - proof that the bottle and its content was not solely purchased for the content inside as with other grocery or consumable items, but because of its perceived beauty.

Interestingly, Norman raises a point about how pleasure through specific product design can sometimes dampen the impact of poor functionality, and uses the E – Type Jaguar (now exhibited at MoMA) as an example. This may be the case with some product design where beauty domineers, but I personally believe that there should be equality between functionality and beauty in design.

Besides this, it was interesting to learn that the “happier” we are feeling, the more abstract our thoughts and thought processes become – a valuable asset during brain storming sessions. Contrary to this, anxiety also influences our thought patterns, enabling strong focus and rational thought, useful when under time constraints or deadlines to complete tasks.   

Ultimately, what I took away from this talk was how strong bonds and emotional responses can be formed between humans and products, and the importance of implementing elements of “fun” and enjoyment in design. Emotional Design, now more than ever can make or break a product. As well as functionality, image and ego (reflective responses) also play large roles in the success of a design and must also be taken into consideration.

I believe designers are looking to create a unique “experience” through consumer interaction with their product, and no matter how subtle or empowering this experience may be, it can only be achieved with an understanding of human behaviour, and emotional response.

“So Jake Cress is this furniture maker,and he makes this unbelievable set of furniture.And this is his chair with claw, and the poor little chair has lost its ball and it’s trying to get it back before anybody notices. And what’s so neat about it is how you accept that story. And that’s what’s nice about emotion.”

 I chose the quote above as the most outstanding as it demonstrated the effect of emotional response in a live audience as they viewed the piece of furniture on the display. Laughter began even before Norman began speaking and it was clear that the audience had understood the playfulness achieved by the designer.