Don Norman Emotional Design

Don Normans talk on emotional design portrays one key factor that beautiful, fun, pretty products are far more enjoyable and better to use than ugly ones. Norman talks about the importance of aesthetics, function but most importantly reflection. This reflection made by a user about a certain product is what he calls the emotional design. One example Don Norman uses to express that fun and beautiful products are better to use is that of the mini cooper review done by Times Magazine, in the review it states “This is a car that has lots of faults, buy it anyway! Its so much fun drive.” Norman also explains how this positivity within products is recognised by the subconscious mind, where a user will recognise a product to be pleasant to use but they don’t know why. This idea that pleasant things work better runs true in my own day-to-day life, I keep using my new nokia touchscreen phone even though the screen is broken over a much older style mobile because of its beauty. It functions the same if not worse than other old mobiles lying around my home but for some reason sub-consciously I prefer it because of its aesthetic appeal. This is also an example of reflection within the product, having a touch phone says something about my own self-image therefore I can connect with it better. Norman talks about the three levels of processing, Visceral, Behavioural and Reflective, Visceral is all about what we like and dislike, bright colours, smiling faces. The example he uses is water bottle, “you buy it because of the bottle not because of the water” its all about the visceral experience. Behavioural is all about function, usability and being in control of your environment. Reflective is all about emotion and how a object will reflect on our own self image. The products we surround ourselves with are reflective of how we see ourselves. The best example of this used by Don Norman is the Hummer, an extremely head turning car makes a comment on the owners individual self-image and status. He also talks about the story within design, making particular reference to Jake Cress an alternative furniture maker and narratives placed within his designs, these stories are accepted by the user without question.