{"id":763,"date":"2017-05-10T18:28:28","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T16:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capturly.com\/blog\/?p=763"},"modified":"2024-05-17T10:54:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T08:54:38","slug":"what-i-think-about-emotional-design-from-a-ux-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capturly.com\/blog\/what-i-think-about-emotional-design-from-a-ux-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Think about Emotional Design from a UX Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Apps, websites that we use on a daily basis are not only about functionality anymore: they also should trigger emotions. <\/em>Humans<\/em><\/span> are curious beings; we <\/em><\/span>like interactions and things that are responsive<\/em><\/span>.<\/em><\/span> This also applies to the Internet. People are looking for a way to <\/em>connect emotionally<\/em><\/span>. As UX is evolving, new methods appear. However, that doesn\u2019t mean they are entirely new. In fact, it goes back to the core concept of User Experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/em>rust is one of the key factors when you wish to represent your product<\/em><\/span>, service or yourself as a brand. It plays a significant role that determines how others will react to you in the first place.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Ever wondered how you or your brand can appear more user-friendly? More alive and human even if you communicate your messages, for example, via a webpage?<\/em><\/p>\n

My goal with this article is to give a peek into the world of emotional design<\/a> from a UX perspective.<\/span>\u00a0There are some tips you can use when it comes to designing:<\/p>\n

So what is emotional design\u00a0anyway?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reading this expression, you might think of trending emojis, funny error messages<\/a>, the little T-rex from Google and so on.<\/p>\n

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Although you\u2019re partially right, these things are relatively recent innovations. However, it has been around for quite awhile now. Recently,\u00a0new technologies have been evolving.<\/a><\/p>\n

Donald D. Norman<\/strong><\/a> is the man behind the scenes. We can say that he\u2019s the one who popularized the term in\u00a0his book Emotional Design<\/em><\/a> which apparently was his way of addressing the criticism of The Design of Everyday Things<\/em> that was published in the late 80s. There he talked about \u201cusable but ugly\u201d products<\/span>. In Emotional Design<\/em>\u00a0Norman writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cUsable but ugly. That\u2019s a pretty harsh judgment. Alas, the critique is valid. <\/span>Usable designs are not necessarily enjoyable to use.<\/span> And, as my three-teapot story indicates, an attractive design is not necessarily the most efficient. But must these attributes be in conflict? <\/span>Can beauty and brains, pleasure and usability, go hand in hand?\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aDonald D.\u00a0Norman<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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It turns out that <\/span>attractive products are more attractive since they light up our fantasies<\/span>. They are simply more interesting and <\/span>interest is one step towards trust and tolerance<\/span>.<\/span> Yes, <\/span>we tend to be more tolerant towards something that is designed to be catchy and functional at the same time<\/span>. <\/span>So when talking about emotional design, what you do is actually designing the context itself that triggers certain emotions.<\/span> In other words, you are designing for emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Maslow’s Hierarchy<\/span> of\u00a0Design<\/h3>\n

\u201cA chef in a restaurant wants his food to be more than edible, he wants it to be delicious. As designers, we should want our websites to be more than usable.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200aStephen\u00a0Anderson<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is basically the pyramid of needs translated into product design<\/a><\/span> and it works like a charm!<\/p>\n

F<\/span>unctionality\u200a<\/strong><\/em>\u2014\u200athe foundation of your project which starts with a great idea that has one single goal at this point: to work and serve certain needs.<\/em> The old-school ToshibaT1100 could serve as a good example:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\"functionalityNot so pretty but hey, it works!<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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R<\/span><\/em><\/strong>eliability\u200a<\/strong>\u2014\u200anow you are at the point where <\/em>people want something they can trust; a product which not only functions under one condition but also offers multiple ways to rely on it<\/a><\/em><\/span>.<\/em> After dealing with skepticism and proving his words by selling almost 10.000 of the model T1100 in\u00a0the first year, Mr. Atsutoshi Nishida<\/a> told the audience in a marketing seminar that he has a vision. A vision of laptops having colored screens and the size of A4 papers. Then libretto 50 was born in 1997; the next year it was followed by 100CT, the smallest Windows 95 ever developed.<\/p>\n

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U<\/span><\/em><\/strong>sability\u200a<\/strong>\u2014\u200ais often <\/em>mixed with UX Design itself<\/em><\/a>. In this context, it means that people want more and what you did so far is impressive but not enough. This is a good thing, it means you are on track and have the opportunity to make your project future-proof. Now you can think of form-factories, UI and so on.<\/em> Going back to our example, the keyboard was the Achilles of the libretto. The users started to complain about how hard to type on it correctly. A year later a new solution was born, focusing mainly on usability.\u00a0It was bigger than the libretto, but it also had the ideal keyboard, plus it was the thinnest at the time.<\/p>\n

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P<\/span>roficiency\u200a<\/em><\/strong>\u2014\u200ayou\u2019re half way through the pyramid. This is where it starts to get really interesting. Your product is not only functional but also usable and realiable. Proficiency is the way of converting a well-used product into more convenient<\/span>, by asking yourself the following question:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow else would the users approach my product?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The evolution of mobile phones can be a great example to demonstrate this step. As laptops, mobile phones have their story starting with core functionality offered by the first portable Motorola phones.. Later, these phones not only got upgraded cellular networks but also shrank to pocket-size, becoming reliable in many situations.<\/span> Then a design company and an engineering company came together to focus on usability and Sony Ericcson was born, bringing colors into the game. Then came the smartphones\u200a\u2014\u200aI skip techonolgical part between then and now on purpose since the article would go off-topic \u2014 with big colorful touchscreens that offer a new convenient method<\/a>:\u00a0“gestures”.<\/p>\n

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C<\/span>reativity\u200a<\/em><\/strong>\u2014\u200astands on the top of the pyramid so this is the most enjoyable part of all. Your ultimate goal is to provide your users with a pleasurable experience. This part includes aesthetic beauty and innovative interactions where people fcan get closer to your product emotionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is where users say, damn I need this in my life, it looks so awesome!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Designing for\u00a0emotion<\/h3>\n

K<\/span>ey metrics that makes something emotionally valuable can be effort and success that walk hand in hand. Making things too easy will eventually lead to the loss of value and interest. Instead, <\/span>when it comes to designing,\u00a0make sure that you leave enough room for discovery<\/span>.<\/span> You don\u2019t need to overuse tutorials, let them reveal your product and <\/span>reward your users after completing a task or a series. Giving achievements and rewarding completion is a good practice that has been around for years<\/span><\/p>\n