Emotional Designs

The author’s key points in this chapter were the three levels of designs, which shows emotional impacts from the designers that are expressed in their designs. The first level is visceral Design, it has to do with nature. Designers use the environment’s “look” and uses them to create their designs. An example Norman uses are flowers and fruits. Flowers are viewed as pretty, colorful, and have a nice odor, and fruits are sweet and also come in a variety of colors. They attract people’s attention and it is exactly what every designer wants people so see in their designs. Users select on colors, size, and appearance and visceral design is based on that.

The second level of design is behavioral design, which is the opposite of visceral design. Behavioral design does not focus on appearance, but on the use and the performance of a design. There are four components: function, understandability, usability, and physical feel. It is basically a level of design that is used to fulfill needs.

The final level of design is reflective design. It is all about the message that the design is sends to others. Users tend to use different styles of the same product to make an impression of themselves for any occasion; when they are going out to dinner, going to work, or visiting old friends. It describes what kind of people they are by wearing or using a product, which is sending a message about themselves.

This chapter relates to The Design of Everyday Things, because visibility, visceral design and reflective design, all have to do with the appearance of a design, and how well it attracts the users. The concept of a conceptual model is mentioned in Emotional Design. The designers talk to the users through the product, and the product is seen as the system image, because it contains the information that is carried by the physical product itself.

Cars can be a good example of a visceral design, because even though they are meant for driving, the car has to look really good from the outside, because that’s what catches the attention of the buyer. It has to look modern, have a nice shape, the interior has to have a nice feel to it, and the car has to be a pretty color. All these things bring out the “wow” factor. After the car gets that reaction from the buyer, then the buyer asks questions about how it works, and how much it costs.

Shoes are a good example of a behavioral design. Shoes are made for walking, so anybody who
does not really care what brand it is or where it was made, goes for the comfort. How it feels as they walk on them is important, and if it’s durable for at least a few months. Athletes have to worry about the comfort of their shoes. For example, basketball players need sneakers that fit their big feet comfortably, and that is good for running while playing a game. Shoes are based on the way they perform on a person’s feet, which makes it a behavioral design.

Designer bags are a very good example of reflective design. I personally love Coach bags, I have a big collection, and they are so pretty and very unique. It symbolizes where the bag comes from, because it has tags that say “Coach” on it, and they have their signature “c’s” going different directions, but still maintaining a certain pattern. They come in different colors, styles, size, materials, and it is great for any occasion and any outfit. Coach bags can express a certain image of a woman. They express that the woman likes looking classy, likes variety, likes patterns and colors, and the brand itself, which is expensive but worth every penny.