The hidden impact of emotionless design

In this article, we’ll dive into the dark side of emotionless design and explore how to bring more human touch into your user experience.

A user is sitting in a sad mood. Illustration by DesignStripe

Have you ever felt like you were talking to a robot while trying to navigate a website or use an app? You’re not alone. Emotionless UI/UX design is a real problem, and it’s affecting users and businesses in ways you might not expect.

The Impact of Emotionless Design

A user showing negative impact on business. Image by Lukas

Emotionless design can have a significant impact on users, including:

• Lack of engagement: If a user doesn’t feel a connection with the interface, they’re less likely to stick around and engage with it. Studies have shown that users tend to spend more time on websites that they find visually appealing.
• Difficulty achieving desired outcomes: If a user can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll quickly lose interest and move on. A poor user experience can lead to high bounce rates, as users leave the website without completing the desired action.
• Frustration: If the interface is confusing and hard to use, it can cause frustration and lead to a negative experience. This can lead to users leaving the website without completing the desired action or even giving negative feedback about the website.

But it’s not just the users that are affected. Emotionless design can also negatively impact businesses by:

• Reducing user satisfaction: If users don’t enjoy their experience, they’re less likely to return. A poor user experience can lead to low customer retention rates.
• Lowering conversion rates: If users can’t find what they’re looking for, they’re less likely to make a purchase or complete a desired action. Poor user experience can lead to low conversion rates, resulting in lost revenue for businesses.

What is emotionless design?

A frustrated user looking at the laptop. Image by Andrea Piacquadio

Emotionless UI/UX design means making interfaces and experiences that don't make the user feel anything. Think of it like a robot with no feelings. It’s cold, calculated, and doesn’t care about how you feel. Some examples of emotionless design include:

• Generic stock photos with no real-life representation. For example, a website selling outdoor gear uses stock photos of people sitting in a room with no mountains or nature in sight.
• Monotonous colors, typography, and layouts. For instance, a website with a plain white background, black text, and a consistent layout throughout the pages provide no visual interest or engagement.
• Confusing navigation and organization. For example, a website with no clear hierarchy of information makes it difficult for users to find what they’re looking for.
• Lack of interactivity and animation. For instance, a website with no hover effects or animations, makes the website feel static and uninteresting.

On the other hand, emotionally engaging design takes into account how the user feels and creates a familiar and enjoyable experience. Think of it like a warm hug from a friend. It’s comforting, inviting, and makes you feel good. Emotionally engaging design can be achieved through:

• Using images and videos that show real people and real-life scenarios, makes the website more relatable.
• Incorporating bold and bright colors to add visual interest.
• Creating a clear hierarchy of information, making it easy for users to find what they’re looking for.
• Using hover effects, animations, and interactive elements to make the website more dynamic and engaging.

How to add emotions to your designs?

A trolley filled with money. Image by Karolina Grabowska

So, how do we fix this emotionless design crisis? Here are a few tips and strategies to help bring some heart and soul back into your user experience:

• Incorporate emotive elements: Use imagery and typography that evokes emotions and creates a sense of connection with the user. For example, using a smiling human face in the logo or using colors that are associated with a specific emotion, such as blue for trust.
• Use user feedback to guide design decisions: Listen to what users have to say and use their feedback to improve the experience. For instance, if users are complaining about the navigation being confusing, redesign the navigation to make it more user-friendly.
• Consider user emotions and psychology: Think about how users will feel while interacting with the interface and design accordingly. For example, if the website is selling a luxury product, the design should be elegant and sophisticated to match the product’s image.

Emotionless UI/UX design can be a big problem, but it can be fixed by taking the time to understand how the user feels and then designing in a way that shows that. We can make interfaces and experiences that look good and are easy to use by taking user feedback, feelings, and psychology into account. So, let’s put some heart and soul back into our user experiences and make interfaces that are not only easy to use but also fun to interact with.

Another important thing to remember is how important it is to be easy to get to. A design that doesn’t make people feel anything can also be hard to use. When designing for accessibility, it’s important to think about all kinds of users, including those with disabilities, and make sure the interface works for everyone. This can involve designing different screen readers, keyboard navigation, and color contrast. We can make sure that everyone has a good time on the website by making sure that everyone can use it.

It is also important to test the design with a variety of users. By putting the design to the test with real users, we can learn more about how it works in the real world and find any problems that need to be fixed. This can include testing the design with people who have different levels of technical knowledge or who have disabilities.

Conclusion

The hidden effects of UI/UX design that lack emotion can be bad for both users and businesses. We can make interfaces and experiences that look good and are easy to use by using emotional elements, taking user emotions and psychology into account, and making sure the design is accessible to all users. So, let’s put some heart and soul back into our user experiences and create interfaces that are not just easy to use but also enjoyable to interact with.

Read more about the role of emotions in design in Don Norman's book.

Let me know your thoughts about this topic and how I can improve!