Review of Donald Norman’s Book, Emotional Design: Why We Love (Or Hate) Everyday Things
When you purchase everyday things, do you consider yourself a rational or an emotional consumer? In the book Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things, Donald A. Norman discusses how emotions affect consumer purchasing decisions from the perspective of the science of affect and emotion. He argues that emotion is an inseparable part of cognition. Whether rational or emotional, consumers react emotionally to products before even thinking, so considering the emotional aspect of design is crucial.
I have always believed we are entering an “indifferent” era. Business giants always produce standardized goods. Our products have become more disposable. In my parents’ generation, the refrigerator they bought when they got married was still reliable and functional twenty years later. That refrigerator carried twenty years of interactions and memories, making it something we were reluctant to replace. However, today’s appliances might be upgraded in just five or even two years. Many companies care more about how to get consumers to repurchase than about helping them form emotional attachments to the products they own. Therefore, I wanted to gain some new insights from this book on the role of emotional design and how to keep products attractive over time.
Norman points out in Chapter 1 that designs that attract consumers are often also easier to use. For me, this was a groundbreaking idea, but Norman convincingly demonstrated it from the cognitive science perspective. He first referred to experiments conducted in Japan and Israel on automated teller machines (ATMs). All the ATMs maintained consistent functionality and operation, but some ATMs had more aesthetically pleasing buttons and screen layouts, and experiments found that these more attractive ATMs were also easier to use. Norman believes this result is because aesthetic design reduces people’s anxiety, making them more willing to use creative thinking to overcome challenges.
The “Attractive Things Work Better” argument made me reflect on my own experiences as a consumer. I realized that I am indeed more “forgiving” towards attractive products, meaning I am willing to make adjustments multiple times to achieve the best experience. This insight reminds me that aesthetic design should also be part of user guidance. For example, in the mobile application our team is designing to reduce anxiety, the user interface design itself is an element that enhances the software’s usability. Even with identical functionality, interfaces that make users feel close, relaxed, and simple can stand out.
The second insight I gained from this book is that consumers’ perceptions and emotional mechanisms toward design have three levels: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. Simply put, the visceral involves the body’s instinctual responses, such as the subconscious positive feelings from touching a warm product surface. Behavioral relates to the perceptions formed during use, which may vary due to different consumer backgrounds. Reflective allows the product to create unique meanings and identification for the consumer. In our design process, we should consider and balance these three levels to maintain the product’s appeal.
This actually reminded me of Marlboro Cigarettes’ early marketing practices. Its marketing design focused on the product’s “fresh” mint flavor, considering the majority of consumers’ preference for a fresh taste. Since cigarette products are relatively easy to use, Marlboro focused on the reflective level, designing images of leadership-oriented males to evoke the primary consumers’ identification with the product. To this day, Marlboro remains one of the best-selling cigarette brands, perhaps because it excels in stimulating consumers’ emotions through design.
Norman’s book also provides tips on how to maintain long-lasting appeal. He uses Philippe Starck’s “Juicy Salif,” a citrus juicer, to show how a design philosophy following three steps can continuously attract consumers. These steps are enticement, relationship, and fulfillment. A quirky, completely unique design from traditional juicers sparks consumers’ curiosity. It suggests that everyday things can also become unique, and this feeling is enhanced with each use. Everyone who sees the product starts a new conversation, reawakening this emotion. It nearly abandons the behavioral level (since its coating might get damaged by juicing), but it’s a perfect design to display and show our commitment. This design concept also explains the added value of many luxury products. They might not be the best quality or the most beautiful, but they definitely continue to attract consumers at the reflective level along with the brand image.
Overall, reading this book is valuable. Norman provides new insights into emotional design, which helps us better understand it. Emotional design does not mean designers forsake functionality; it is even an important means to enhance product usability. Even mass-produced products should convey resonance and aesthetic pleasure, thereby improving consumers’ positive perceptions of the product and brand. Consumers are not just actual buyers but discerning ones. When our emotional design truly centers on users, they will love our products and form connections.
