Donald Norman on Emotional Design.

In taking a new approach in life, Donald Norman has decided to appreciate a newfound ‘beauty’ through discovering not only the cause and reasons behind fun and exciting design but also what affect these products have on the human mind. He explores and assesses the relationship between design and human emotion and how one influences another.

Norman challenges the audience and plays with the idea of why products that are fun attract more attention such as the Alessi Juicer by Phillipe Stark as he explains that he has it displayed for decoration not utilizing its function of making juice. Even the mini cooper car is not necessarily the best technically built car but the enjoyment whilst driving this car out-weighs the faults.

The subconscious mind of humans automatically determines how we react to different situations. By experiencing an intense confronting moment, it is the fear emotion that paralyses you causing you to focus although in a positive and happy mood we are trained to think out-side of the box and let more creative ideas come about.

Norman believes there are three levels how emotions are evoked and translated through design. The first being visceral, an instant subconscious judgments whether a person believes that a design looks good or not. Such as the example provided of a water bottle where people buy water bottles not for the water yet for the bottle so they are able to keep it and maybe show it on display. This can be controlled by colour such as red for danger or excitement, shape, different fonts or materials used.
The second level being behavioural experience, which is all about feeling in control of a product that you are using. This is achieved by having an understanding of what is occurring and having the feeling that you are truly in power when handling the product. Such as being in control when driving a sports car around a bend.
The last level is reflective, being the ‘inner-voice’ that we have no control over. The products we own and see on a daily basis attract reactions and attention from people. For instance purchasing an exclusive watch or car such as a hummer, which may not function as well as its cheaper counterparts although it will attract a lot of attention promoting the owner’s image and this is due to the fun and noticeable design.

By watching the video a greater understanding is developed on the relationship between human emotions, interaction and understanding. When you combine the way products are design in order to achieve these certain pattern of thoughts, we are able to have a clearer vision of how product design can be influenced by emotions.