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Emotional Design
Book

Emotional Design

Why we love (or hate) everyday things

Basic Books, 2005
First Edition: 2003 Mehr

automatisch generiertes Audio
automatisch generiertes Audio

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Understanding the emotions consumers feel about the objects you sell can help your business make the most of its product designs. Expert Donald Norman explains how being attractive, fun and enjoyable makes a product better. He explains that the emotions which affect purchase decisions are based on three aspects of design: "visceral" (appearance), "behavioral" (performance) and "reflective" (memories and experiences). He provides interesting case studies to show how objects evoke emotions. Norman’s central theme is that "attractive things work better." And, the book works best when he hews to that theme; the last section, where he veers into a discussion of robots, doesn’t seem as pertinent or as strong. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone who wants to understand how design affects emotions, and how emotions affect purchasing decisions.

Take-Aways

  • The items people buy have meaning beyond just owning a material object.
  • Nice-looking products work better.
  • Three aspects of product design - appearance, performance, and the ideas or memories the item evokes - influence consumer’s emotional reactions.

About the Author

Donald A. Norman, a cognitive scientist, has written many books including the popular The Design of Everyday Things. He is a consultant, a professor of computer science at Northwestern University and a frequent public speaker.


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