"Emotional Design" Questions Part Deux

1. Select a brief passage from Chapter Three Emotional Design by Donald Norman and post it on your blog. Explain why you thought it was interesting.
An interesting exception to these problems comes when designers or engineers are building something for themselves that they will use frequently in their everyday lives. Such products tend to excel. As a result, the best products today, from a behavioral point of view, are often those that come from the athletic, sports, and craft industries, because these products do get designed, purchased and used by people who put behavior above everything else. (82)
It is easy to get wrapped up in criticizing designs but this passage helps explain why some designs work well. I feel like this idea could be applied to many different types of products. One of the most important parts of design is identifying the group that you are trying to sell to. It doesn't always makes sense for a person from that group to design the product, but extensive research should be done. This research should help the designers identify problems the consumer didn't even know they had, and then they should be solved.

2. Norman uses the terms Visceral Design, Behavioral Design, Reflective Design. Do these categories seem useful to you? Would other names or phrases make the category clearer?
Behavioral Design makes sense for the term but it should simply be called Ease Of Use. Reflective Design has the most confusing definition but once it is understood , it does relate to the term. I can't think of a better name for it. The word visceral meant absolutely nothing to me before reading this chapter, and still means very little. This should be called the Wow Factor. The nice thing about Norman's terms is that they all end in the word design, this makes them fit together nicely.

3. How could a designer decide if Visceral Design, Behavioral Design, or Reflective Design is more important for a particular product? Are some types of products more visceral, behavioral, or reflective?
The main type of design should be based on the target consumer. As my passage for question one states, athletic and craft industries put behavioral design above everything else. Many things for teenagers should focus on Visceral and Reflective Design. They should have the wow factor and should communicate the desired message to a teenagers peers. Many items that are marketed as wedding presents should have a strong Reflective Design, they should have a sentimental value.