Emotional Design

1. What do you feel were the author’s key points in this chapter?
2. How does this chapter compare to the earlier writing (The Design of Everyday Things) by the same author?
3. Give examples, from your own experience of 1) something that succeeds as Visceral Design, 2) something that succeeds as Behavioral Design, and 3) a Reflective Design success? What do you think makes each thing successful?

1. The author had one overall idea throughout this chapter. It was the idea that there is more to design then simply function. A device that functions well and is the happy median between usability and function is in the end, as he puts it, dull. This entire chapter deals with this concept and the author refers to it as, “emotional design.” This type of design focuses on the way a product makes you feel over how simple its use is. There are two main types of emotional design. First is, “visceral design.” This type of design involves our natural attraction to certain things. Why we like certain colors, regular beat patterns in music, and sleek curves on our cars. All of these things are involved with visceral design. Think of this type of emotional design as the surface, because that is all that it is. It does not go any deeper than that. There is, however, a type of design that goes below the surface and plays on your deeper emotions. This type of design is called reflective design. Reflective Design covers a broad spectrum of things, but put simply it is how you feel about the product, and how it makes you feel about yourself. For the former type of reflective design, use a necklace. The necklace you are about to purchase is not the most expensive or the most in-style, but it is the same as your best friend’s and you want to buy it so you two can share that bond. For the latter type of reflective design, take a shirt for example. If somebody has on a hundred dollar shirt, most of the time he will feel more confident, because he knows that very few people have or can afford the shirt that he is wearing. Behavioral design is a part of emotional design and it is, in the end, simply the usability of the product. Unlike the first two concepts, which seem to be the new ideas and main points of this chapter, this type of design refers to the author’s previous work that is all about functionality. How well does the product do what it is supposed to do? The author makes the argument that no design matters if it does not function.

2. This chapter is, in one way, behavioral design, similar to his last writing. Yet the chapter, in two other ways, reflective and visceral design, is quite different. The most obvious difference to the two works is that the author concedes that there is more to design than merely its ultimate simplicity of functioning. Although he remains true to this point with his example of behavioral design, he also admits that both, visceral and reflective design, are very important. The author seems to hold true to his old work, while simple adding two additional points. He stands true to the fact that if a product does not work than it is almost useless, but it also must look good and play on the emotions of a customer to be a great product. Although a great usable product will be good, a great usable product that plays on the emotions of the consumer will be great.

3. One thing that succeeds as visceral design is patron tequila. Although it does have reflective aspects such as its price which makes the one drinking it feel superior and confident, it also has a hand blown bottle, and a unique design which is different and initially very attractive to the eye. Its bottle alone stands out and sells itself. An example of behavioral design would have to be my black dell computer. It does not look extremely good, or make me feel any better about myself. It does, however, get the job done. Lastly, reflective design has a lot of great products in clothing. Almost everyone buys expensive clothes not because they cover your body better, but because they give you a feeling of superiority and confidence when wearing them. One thing makes them all successful. How they make you feel. A visceral product attracts you to it naturally, a reflective product attracts you based on how it will make you feel when you are near it, and a behavioral product puts you at ease because it does what it is supposed to do. The key is, as in many things, in the balance.

Paradox of Technology

1. “Technology offers the potential to make life easier and more enjoyable; each new technology provides increased benefits. At the same time, added complexities arise to increase our difficulty and frustration. The development of a technology tends to follow a U-shaped curve of complexity: starting high; dropping to a low, comfortable level; then climbing again. New kinds of devices are complex and difficult to use. As technicians become more competent and an industry matures, devices become simpler, more reliable, and more powerful. But then, after the industry has stabilized, newcomers figure out how to add increased power and capability, but always at the expense of added complexity and sometimes decreased reliability. We can see the curve of complexity in the history of the watch, radio, telephone, and television set.”
The passage above makes a very interesting point. It provides a vicious cycle of sorts. A piece of technology is created and with it comes the complexity of something new. As this newness wears off and the user can actually operate the device quite simply, the device is innovated and the process begins again. This puts forward the idea that technology is in a constant cycle between innovation and simplicity and it is quite the paradox.

2. The book is, quite simply, timeless. The ideas put forward will be useful now and in the future. The concepts of making things visible, simple, and easily mentally mapped will all always be vital aspects to design. Not only these but simple conceptual models are also quite important and are mentioned here. These are all basic principles that will always be necessary to consider when designing a product. The mind will never stop trying to mentally map a device. It will also not stop trying to assume how a product works based on the parts visible. It is a natural process that occurs in the human mind, and as long as it continues to occur, designers will need to consider it when they design their products.

3. The following items would be necessary on a design checklist:
1. Is the item easily intuitive? In other words can you easily look at the item and understand how it works without any prior instruction.
2. Are all the items easily visible and well labeled? In the occasion that you cannot simply look at the device and understand it, are the functions easily understood based on the simplicity of finding them and the effectiveness of their label?
3. Is the device extremely limited by the affordances of its materials and the constraints of its purpose? If so are there any changes one could make to, in one way or another, reduce the limitations of the device.
4. Could a person easily mentally map the process involved with using the product without having any prior instruction? Are there anyways to make the conceptual model more easily understood?
5. Does a good function to button/switch ratio exist? Too many functions per button can cause confusion and significantly lower the usability of a product.
6. Does the product provide feedback, and effective feedback at that? Will a user know if he has actually accomplished the function he is attempting to execute? Will the feedback be easily presented either visually or audibly?
7. HAS THE PRODUCT BEEN CONSUMER TESTED?

The Design of Everyday Things, Chapter One

1. What do you feel were the author’s key points in this chapter?
2. Think of a specific object that you have had difficulty using. How did design contribute to making it difficult to use? Does the usability problem arise from one of the principles that Norman discusses in this chapter?
3. How did the designers of the iPod address the principles that Norman discusses here?

1. The author had one main point throughout the chapter, simplicity and ease of use is essential to creating a good design. In this main point the author makes it clear that there are many processes involved in creating simplicity. The title includes the word psychopathology which prefaces the attempts of the author to explain how mental mapping makes many devices self-explanatory. The author argues that if devices are self-explanatory then they are of the best design. He uses the example of doors numerous times. He references the difference between a push bar and a handle; both of these automatically imply how to open the door. He also states that if the correlation between the parts and their function is easily observable then one can easily assume how an item works and operate it properly. This minimizes time necessary for learning how to operate a device. Other main ideas that the author focuses on include providing good conceptual models, making a unit easily visible, and allowing the unit to provide feedback to the user. All of these are necessary in making a well designed and easy to use product.

2. The radio in my car was and still is a pioneer. Its quality and features make it quite admirable; however, because of the numerous features its usability becomes impaired. Nearly all musical aspects of the machine are simply utilized. In fact the most difficult thing to do is set the clock. The difficulty occurred when there was no option for time in the menu. Every other possible application of the device was there except the ability to adjust the time. I read the manual and found that you actually had to turn the radio off, and then hold one of the buttons to adjust the time. This seemed ridiculous considering the device had to be turned off to do something involving it being on. The usability problem does appear to arise from a few of the ideas that the author speaks of in this chapter. First, it is impossible to mentally map this, as are most digital devices, but that is almost inevitable so I can understand this design flaw. The other problem was that it was quite counterintuitive. The object had to be turned off to change the digital clock that is only seen when it is on. That does not make much sense, and one simply does not quickly jump to this conclusion.

3. Apple, the makers of the iPod do an excellent job dealing with the problems addressed in this chapter. First, the iPod is simple to use. One uses the button to select and the wheel to scroll. There is a play button, next/previous buttons, and a menu button which is essentially a back button. That is it, highlight the song you want with the scroll wheel and hit the button. It’s intuitive, easily mentally mapped, and although its function is not immediately observable, it becomes obvious with just one use. All of these put together make the design of the iPod quite incredible.

1. What elements of the design process does this article illustrate?
2. What factors would you use to evaluate a “perfect thing”?
3. Whether you own an iPod or not, you probably have some opinions of this product. What do you feel are its strengths and weaknesses?



1. This article provides numerous accounts of times when the design process was being used. First, the design brief, when fadell was told he was attempting to make a portable .mp3 file player. Again, when he was trying to decide on the specific aspects of the product he was analyzing, researching, specifying and problem solving. He was engaging in the presentation part of the process when he showed his three options to Mr. Jobs. This, of course, led to the evaluation of the product sample and was given feedback. Both of these are critical aspects of the system.

2. The factors used to evaluate a perfect thing are, in the most vague sense, form and function. Simply how well does it work, and how good does it look while working. The best result appears when a product finds the perfect balance between these two principles. Some more specific examples would be simplicity of use, size, shape, versatility, durability, strength, and color. All of these are important, but depending on the product, some may become more important than others. For example, a dish washer may not need as much mobility as a car. So, mobility will be less important for a dishwasher, but its electrical efficiency will be much more important than a car’s. Overall, the “perfect thing” would have to do the job the best way possible, and look as good as possible doing it.

3. The iPod is a great product. It has many different characteristics that truly make it a great product. Some of its best features include the ability to operate it with one hand. Also the click-wheel that allows you to scroll through songs quickly and simply. It is fairly durable, and its software is quite simple to access and use. However, due to Apple’s fear of piracy, the iPod cannot upload music to a computer, which although a logical solution to piracy, makes for a difficult situation when you must switch computers. Also, the absence of an on off switch is somewhat inconvenient. All-in-all, the iPod is a great piece of technology that, despite minor software problems, makes listening to ones entire music library a mobile and convenient event.

Hey

Hey this is Jeff from Design Intelligence with Professor Stull, just introducing myself and setting up my blog. Hope all is well with everyone.
Best,
Jeff