Video Response: Emotional Design

Don Norman’s discussion on emotional design was really intriguing, as he expressed a new way to look at objects, especially their aesthetics and functions. He highlights how people now, especially himself are becoming increasingly more intrigued by and objects aesthetics and pleasing nature compared to their function, stating that “My new life is trying to understand what beauty is about”. As an example to his comments he talks about his Philippe Starck juicer, produced by Alessi. He goes on to say that “It’s so much fun I have it in my house, but I have it in the entryway, I use it to make juice”. In this instance, I believe Norman is trying to convey the philosophy that objects or designs don’t necessarily have to be functional to become consumer items, so long as they are aesthetically pleasing. He continues to talk about his juicer stating that the manufacturer’s instructions were “Don’t use this juicer to make juice, the acid will ruin the gold plating” In essence Norman is trying to convey that items are so technologically advances, that at times functionality can become obsolete, or at least seem unimportant compared to aesthetics, or the feel and pleasure a product brings.

Norman also talks about the Global cutting knife made in Japan, highlighting its pleasing aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality. He emphasises that the complete harmony between these three aspects make the product work, and induces a sense of enjoyment, building a positive emotional relationship between the consumer and the product, going as far to state that “it’s beautiful and it’s functional”. However what began to intrigue me was how he perceived these positive aspects to become interrelated, hence creating a reflective state of mind that would induce the consumer to look back on the past and tell stories, such as how the bought the knife, or their first impressions of its functionality.

Another aspect of Norman’s talk that engaged me was his notion of fun, and how it can subconsciously affect our perceptions of a product. He gives the example of a ping pong table with a projector over it, showing fish swimming. As the ball lands the fish swim away. He clearly expresses that this is not the most functional way to use the objects, but he does reassure us that it’s fun and playful, which is what attracts us as humans, it engages us enough to want more and experience the situation further. Throughout the video he points out objects that have functionality faults, but highlights their aesthetics and how ‘fun’ they are, which is what drives consumers to purchase them, even though they may not be the most functional product on the market i.e. the Mini Cooper.

In today’s world it seems that most objects’ functionality has been perfected or is close to perfection. It highlights the need for new avenues to pitch ideas to consumers. The notion of fun and emotional design is an aspect that is becoming increasingly popular today. As long as it makes you happy, people will buy it.