Donald A. Norman: Emotional Design

  Donald A.Norman

 Emotional Design: Why we love (hate) the design

                                   Everyday things ?

           In this book ,I have read that the attractive things work much better than unattractive things. In Chapter 1,its talked about the researches that have been made by Noam Tractinsky, an Israelis scientist who redid the experiment of ATM layouts that had been make before by the two Japanesse researches named Maasaki kurosu and Kaori Kashimura. From the result he had got, he finally state that “ Japanesse culture is known for its aesthetics tradition while Israelis don’t ever care about the beauty. Instead of that ,in early 1900s,Herbert Read who had wrote the books on art and aesthetics stated that “ it requires a somewhat mystical theory of aesthetic to find any necessary connection between beauty and function “ in pages 18. Donald A. Norman also state that emotion played critical role in human daily aesthetic life. Which by emotion that human have naturaly  in ourselves, change the way of human mind solves problem cause emotional was part of human psychology. Thus, most of research focused onto negative emotions such as stress, fear, anger and so on. Even from the emotions,its also helped in situation whether good, bad, safe and dangerous. Hence the negative emotions were important in human life,the positive emotions also as important as the negative one whereare positive emotions are critical to learning,curiosity,creative thought  and others that would help to overcome of negative emotions.This had been state in the book about the psychologist named Alice Isen and her  colleagues that shown been happy is thought to processes and facilitates creative thinking.In order to make someone happy is not difficult cause people will easily be happy once they watch a comedy film or receive a small bag of candy like what Isen had stated.Beside that,Isen also shown that people’s thought processes expand,becoming more creative and more imaginative  when they are happy and relaxed.Thus,that why Donald A. Norman state that “These and related findings suggest the role of aesthetics in product design:attractive things make people feel good,which in turn makes them think more creatively.”A useful product is a product that not only good in work functioning but also in the value of aesthetics.

        In chapter 1,Donald was stated how unique human being is.That what make human so special than the animals.Which we as a human being have a creative thought,a skilled in becoming a musicians and can be state have a powerful brain mechanisms.Hence,based on the the book,human had three different levels of the brain which is the visceral level, behavioural level and reflective level. The example that being shown is the piano player which can played while in conversation and also have to listen to themselves play and from that the reflective level was lost but the behavioural level did fine.Designer of a product must thinking “out of the box.” And also the design that had been make a of positive thinking than the negative one.Another example  is the design of exit door.Exit door being design for the people to go out or in to inter some place in building for example the theater .Cause if there any accident or unwanted situation happen then exit door are there open widely for them to escape and safe themselves and because of that it had its own functioning design which that also involves the principles of design aesthetics.Even in any new creation in human life to make them life easily with the new facilities and technology that had being created.All of that involved positive and the negative emotions in created emotional products.

             In Chapter 2,”The multiple faces of emotion and design, here its state every design things have its own purposed and emotions.Differents with differents objectives and its level emotions.For examples are theme park are designed for people to have fun with the games that had being created and also the haunted houses designed in purposed to scare the people.But instead of that its doesn’t created to hurt the people.Thats why the design requirements for each of level are differ widely.However,its still involved the visceral.In this Chapter also state the experience of Donald A. Norman and his colleagues friend about the tools that they had used when in colleagues.The more they reflect their past then then more the remember the actual negative experiences and this lies to the conflict with the initial visceral reaction.What I can understand here is the design of somethings can also influenced our emotions and after the experiences passed by but whenever we remind its against we will remember every of the memory. In addition,no matter what or how the products or things being make but there will no single one  that can satisfy everyone heart.Eventhough there a products that being marketed to everyone across the world,but its doesn’t promised the successful unless their  appeal to different alternatives or manage to reposition their appeal to different people all around the world through the adroit by using the marketing and advertising.Hence,as the example is Coca-cola and Pepsi-cola which company that  have manage worldwide success.Beside that,stated in the book also,” the only way to satisfy a wide variety of needs and preferences is to have a wide variety of products.Many products categories specialize,each catering to a different audience.” In page 41,paragraph 2.There a lot of different product that have being designed. Most of the products such as furnitures,home applies and others are manufactured and distrusted differently across the world with wide variety.Most of the products are been designed to give comfortable but yet not all of the product are really needs in our life cause same of its are just our desired or want to have. The terms need and want is two different things and is a traditional way of describing the differences between a things which need is that truly necessary for daily activities while wants is some desires to have something. And this included the behavioural in human level .

       In Chapter 3,here its state the three levels of design which are visceral,behavioural and reflective. The responses of human to the everyday things of the world are complex and by wide variety of factors. The visceral design is what nature does.Cause its involved the emotional signals from the environment that automatically interpreted in the visceral levels. The beauty of surroundings make us feel claimed.Even if we can see the animals such as birds that had attractive colour of feathers not only can attracted its mate but alsol its prey and even our eyes.

              Meanwhile,the behavioural design is about use.Whereas its appearance,rationale doesn’t matter but yets its performance does need.Cause that is the aspect of design that practitioners in usability community focus too.This principles of good behavioural design are well known.In most of the behavioural design cames with function first and then foremost which state what the product does do and how can its functioning?If its have no interest then nobody gonna care how does its performes.In every design,the designer not only think how the product will performes but also the value of aesthetic that first can attracted customers to being attracted and learned to know how does the product will works.

              Hence in reflective design,its covers a lot of territory.Where its all about the message,culture and the meanings of a product or its use.Yet its still consists the two level of the design too.The meanings of the products to make is also mean the purposed the products being make and how will its work to satisfy the customers heart.

       So as the conclusion,we can concluded that there no products or designs that can satisfy anyone heart.But yet each of the products give a lots of advantages which its truly can help in human daily routine in order to make our life much easier and manageable.Thus,its all about the emotional and the aesthetics value in design a things .No matter how much the designs we hate and love its does exist in purposed to make our life much better.