1. EMOTIONAL
PRODUCT
DESIGN

4. Why the difference in
liking ???

5. It is no longer sufficient for a
product to function properly, to
be usable and efficient or to
have an aesthetic appeal

6. A product
called
Telephone

7. Initially….

8. Just a means to
communicate through
long distance

9. A few years later…

11. Then came the need
for mobile
communication

13. Today!!!
A phone means…

19. Why do we
LOVE or HATE
things???

20. EMOTIONS

21. • In customer behaviour there is a degree of
emotional response to objects
• Markets become flooded with products,
consumers are overwhelmed with choice
• In an effort to maximise their market potential
company’s have to satisfy the user’s inner emotions
to provide an increased likelihood of product
purchase
• Whiteley - “This is to decrease the wasteful nature
of today’s ‘throw away’ society”

22. Influence of emotions in product
design
• Purchase
• Why people desire a certain product
• Use
• Why attractive things work better
• Attachment
• How personalization affects the product

23. The X-factor : “I want it and I don’t know why”
• Desire of consequence : appraisal of motive compliance
• Desire of presence : appraisal of appealingness
• Desire of identity : appraisal of legitimacy
All these three desires exert the “buy now” or “X-factor”
influence
Desmet – “The product resonates with what we want to be or
become, want to experience or own, and want to achieve or
obtain”

24. Why attractive things work better???
As Norman states –
“When we are happy your thought process
expand, becoming more creative, more imaginative. i.e.
attractive thing make you feel good”
“Negative emotions kick in when there is a lack
of understanding, when people feel frustrated and out of
control – first uneasiness, then irritation, and, if the lack of
control and understanding persists, even anger.”

25. Personalization
As Desment states –
“Emotional attachment to products can
encourage people not to discard a product”
Example – Apple offering free engravings on i-pods
an i-phones

26. People can respond in a variety of ways to the same design

27. Design
for
EMOTION

28. How do you establish and
measure emotions ???
THEORIES

29. Norman’s
three levels of design

30. Visceral design
Behavioral design
Reflective design

31. Visceral design
• Visceral layer : pre-wired layer
• Concerns itself with appearance
• Customer says “I want it” before asking
“how much it costs?” or “what does it do?”
• Visceral level is incapable of reasoning

32. Behavioral design
• Behavioral layer : layer that controls
everyday behavior
• Concerns with pleasure and effectiveness of
use (functionality) of the product
• Deals with experience ( function,
performance, usability ) with the product

33. Reflective design
• Reflective layer : contemplative layer
• Concerns with the rationalization and
intellectualization of the product , i.e. the
self image and personal satisfaction the
product provides

35. The three levels of design are interwoven

36. Reflective design
Visceral design
Behavioral design

37. Visceral design Reflective design
Behavioral design

38. Visceral design Reflective design
Behavioral design

39. Visceral design Reflective design
Behavioral design

40. A product
called
Telephone
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhoII3VzHZ0 )

41. Many other theories :
• Desmet’s model of product emotions
• Jordan’s pleasure model
• Forlizzi’s model

42. Measuring emotions ( PrEmo )
• Desmet created a tool : PrEmo ( Product
Emotional Measurement Instrument ) ,
specifically for measuring the emotions
elicited for a product appearance
• Tool will be able to
• Work in different cultures
• Not require extensive equipment or technical
expertise
• Measure product appearance emotions
• Measure mixed emotions

43. PrEmo comprises of 14 emotions :
• 7 pleasant
• 7 unpleasant
Participants rate emotions felt in 3 point scale :
• I do not feel the emotion expressed (lower part of the
scale)
• I somehow feel the emotion expressed (middle part of
the scale)
• I do feel the emotion expressed (upper part of the scale)
Facial expressions, movements and sounds
produced help focus and objectify emotions

45. How can designers apply this knowledge?
• To understand the concerns and focus of the user,
designers must increase their user understanding;
this methodology is known as user-centered design
• Steve Jobs – “It’s really hard to design products by
focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what
they want until you show it to them”
• User-centered methodology and a product emotion
toolset helps designer’s move towards an aspiration
to add emotional value to a product

46. References
• The structure, influence and application of
emotion in product design – Luke Woolfson
• The field of design and emotion: Concepts,
arguments, tools, and Current issues - Erdem
Demir
• Special Issue Editorial: Design & Emotion - Pieter
M. A. Desmet and Paul Hekkert
• Emotional design : why we love or hate things? –
Donald A. Norman

47. Thank you !!!
P. VAZAHAT FATIMA
M.Des (Electronic Systems)
IIITD&M, Kancheepuram, TN, INDIA