Don Norman's talk on emotional design has really broadened my perception of how the aesthetics of design can alter the human mind and 'persuade' us into buying these products. He has emphasised how designer goods can be ironic as he initially stated with Philippe Stark's infamous ‘Juicy Salif’ lemon squeezer. It has become an icon of industrial design, Norman even mentioned that he bought the gold plated edition, though evidently the squeezer could not be used as the citric acid would corrode the gold plating yet the appeal for the product is always there.
Sometimes the presentation can be deceiving and lead the consumer to achieve an emotional attachment towards products, due to its appealing aesthetics and supposed functions. Emotional design makes us as consumers want to buy more, mostly due to its’ appearance, although with the addition of functionality towards the product we begin to value and appreciate the product more.
Norman emphasises we tend to have more appeal towards an object when it becomes ‘neat and fun’. He also implies how emotional design is everywhere, such as the subliminal emotional design created by the presentation of ‘Google Pages’. The simplicity of the design is subconscious and clever.
Pleasant things seem to work better. By interaction and the appearance of being fun, as Norman referenced that although the New York Times said the mini cooper had lots of faults, buy it anyway. It is because of its appearance that makes it appealing to the buyer, not because of its mechanics.We tend to buy objects not for its content, eg a water bottle for water but rather we buy it because we want the bottle instead, I’ve learnt that this is said to be a visceral experience.
Norman describes how in everyday life, we assert to have a ‘behavourial subconsciousness’ without even knowing it. Behavioural design is about control and his description of the Global Knives emphasised how because of its beautiful sleek appearance and the quality of the blade it has created a ‘sensual feeling’ towards it. Another example was the tilting teapot found at the Four Season's in Chicago, by being able to watch the process of making tea through movement of slowly tilting to an upright position, we began to appreciate its aesthetics and make tea drinking a thouroughly playful and more pleasurable experience.
The talk by Don Norman has made me released the significance of what emotional design brings. When we’re happy, we tend to work much better and become more creative and thoroughly enjoy the ‘playful’ experience we can have with design.
