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"Luminous Art & Design :: Art & Artists"
Emotional Design :: Biography and Books"
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Emotional design is based on the idea of Don Norman that there are three levels of design; visceral, behavioral and reflective. A well-designed product on all three levels should look good, work well and have meaning to the owner/ user as well.
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Emotional design is based on the idea of Don Norman that products should not only be functional and work well, but they should also be beautiful and have an emotional impact. According to Norman there are three levels of design; visceral, behavioral and reflective. Visceral design refers to the appearance of the product, behavioral design is about the total experience of using a product and reflection is about the message it tells others about the owner of the product.
Visceral design is what nature does. It is about how things look, feel and sound. As an example of visceral design Norman uses the 1961 E-type Jaguar; a product that people simply love because of its looks. Price and usefulness are only afterthoughts. Visceral appeal of a product is fast. People see the product and like it or hate it.
Behavioral design is all about performance and appearance does not really matter. Products can be loved for their function, utility, usability and physical feel. Behavioral design is useful. Kitchen appliances or tools are often purchased for their behavioral design.
Reflective design is about the meaning of things and the message it gives about the owner. It is often the result of a long-term relationship with a product, or created by cultural conditioning and brand marketing. Exclusivity, prestige and brand names play a major role in reflective design. People buy products to make a statement, use it to start conversations or to express themselves.
All products work on these three levels, whether it was the intention of the designer or not. A watch tells the time, but can be beautiful or not and it tells something about the owner as well. In this time of advanced science and technology, manufacturers do not need to struggle with behavioral design (even though many products are still lacking), but reflective design is where designers fail or succeed. The large variety of things available makes it more difficult for the consumer to choose and emotional appeal starts to play a large role.
Products that are personal and have emotional value to the consumer are exactly the kind of things that cannot be mass-produced. It is impossible to build a mass-produced item that fits every individual precisely. Manufacturers try to overcome this problem by offering customization services and special orders, or in some cases even allow the consumer to design their own product. In other cases the consumers turn purchased items into personal ones, by modifying the original product.
Product design is very complex, but the consumers and their needs are complex as well. Some people are behavioral, emphasizing the behavioral level in their choices. Some are visceral, going by appearances. And others are reflective, considering what others will think of them. The responses of different consumers to the same product vary greatly. Besides, a product needs to get emotional value through relationship, by becoming part of our lives, by having special meaning to our past and future and by deepening our satisfaction, whether because of its beauty, its behavior, or its reflective component.
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