"Emotional Design" Questions

1. What do you feel were the author's key points in this chapter?
Visceral Design focuses on the "wow factor", the instant feeling of desire when you see something pretty. We like things that are symmetrical, smooth, colorful and taste or smell sweet. The look, feel and sound of an object are more important that the taste or smell. Behavioral Design focuses on how well something works. What does it do? It should preform this task well and it should be easy to use. Designers should test the prototypes of their products on real people. They should discover needs that people don't even know they have. Users should be able to learn how a product works once, and be able to remember it forever. Reflective Design is about the message of a product, what it means in the culture it exists in. It can be about the memories it brings up or the message it sends to others. The reflective level also deals with customer relationships.

2. How does this chapter compare to the earlier writing (The Design of Everyday Things) by the same author?
The Design of Everyday Things is about Behavioral Design. It does not go into what makes a design pretty or how designs can have a greater meaning to a consumer. This chapter is different because it goes more in depth into how research should be done before and during the creation process. It focuses on designers fixing problems that people don't know they have or can't put words to. This also also focuses more on how to make an item appealing to people, how to grab people's attention and then keep it.

3. Give examples, from your own experience, of A) something that succeeds as Visceral Design, B) something that succeeds as Behavioral Design, and C) a Reflective Design success. What do you think makes each thing successful?
A) The quilt I bought for my dorm room succeeds in Visceral Design. When I saw it, I immediately wanted it. I didn't think about how much it cost or how warm it would be, I just knew I has to have it. It is made up of many brightly patterned fabrics and the design is circular, the fabric is soft but not flimsy.
B) My Nikon D5000 camera succeeds in Behavioral Design. The buttons are all clearly labeled, easy to find and easy to push while holding the camera. I never had to read the instructions to figure out what each setting is for, there is a convenient button with a question mark on it that gives a short synopsis of what the current setting does, but even that is not always necessary.
C) I bought a macbook over the summer and it is definitely a Reflective Design success. I have had a positive relationship with Apple for 5 years because of ipods so I was willing to pay the extra money for a mac. I hate to admit it but it also makes me feel cool. It also deals with a lot of Visceral Design element, there is no word for it but pretty.