don norman

"Pleasant things work better.“

        This quote from Norman sums it up in the simplest of terms; Emotional Design: A new direction, a new movement in which Design caters towards Human Emotions & Behaviours. Design which plays at our subconscious, and conscious state of mind.

         So where have we come from in which these new heights of design are now heralded. In the past design was simple. Functionality comes first, Form comes second. In this new age, functionality itself is certainly not enough. As humans we like to engage in our emotions and be connected to things, intangible factors dictate the things we do and the things we buy.

         Norman explains this very notion with a few examples. The first is Philippe Starck's juicer, where this time Function has taken a backseat to Form, in which the juicer serves more of an art piece than an ordinary kitchen utensil. Norman places his special edition, gold plated juicer in the entry of his home, as a statement which expresses his emotional pleasure with the item, as opposed to some faceless tool, which is used and then pushed away into the back of the kitchen cabinet. He then talks about the "Global cutting knife" made in Japan, in which this tool brings together the 3 key elements of emotional design. "First of all look at the shape, its just wonderful to look at, Second of all its really beautifully balanced, and Third of all its so sharp, it just cuts, It's a delight to use." Norman then describes it as "Beautiful and Funtional.. Its got it everything, and i can tell you stories about it, which makes it reflective." And so these are the three cornerstones of his theory on emotion.

          Norman then goes onto explain the biological process in which humans behave and react to certain situations. The first is Depth first processing, which is triggered by fear and anxiety and allows certain people to gain greater focus and block out distractions. And the second is Breadth first processing, brought on by happiness which makes you more susceptible to interruption and creative 'out of the box' thinking.

           Don Norman then talks about the Visceral level of processing, these are the biological imprints at the most primitive level in which humans react to, such as colour, tastes, sounds, feelings and looks. For example a beautiful looking 1963 Jaguar, loved by the owners for its Visceral features rather than its functionality.

           The next level of subconscious thinking is the Behavioural level of processing. Behavioural design is about feeling in control, usability & understanding. For example, the feel of driving a high performance sports car and crontrolling its power provides an experience exhilerating and tantilising to the senses.

          The third level is Reflective, and its the part of the brain which has no control over what the body does, but rather oversees things and is conscious of the things you do and reaffirms your actions whether right or wrong. It is the way you want to see or portray yourself to your environment. For example buying a 13 thousand dollar watch over a perfectly functional but cheap Casio watch.

          In conclusion, to design today, without thought of emotion and the way consumers react to our products is insane, design must provoke thought and emotion aswell as serving a purpose. Breaking down the psychological and biological factors in humans will definately benefit design and the world as a whole.