Designing Emotions: Your User Experience, YOUR Emotions
When it comes to User Experience and how it makes you feel, can you tell if they are really YOUR emotions? Understanding how it works can help you find out if you’re being played.
People are not just rational and practical beings; they are complex, driven by feelings, intuition, emotions, and memories. And guess what? Specialist designers, focused on the art and science of UX (User Experience), have grasped this concept thoroughly. They are incorporating this holistic approach to design when crafting user-friendly product and service designs. It’s something YOU should also be conscious of.
The main reason behind this is that your emotions significantly influence the memorization process: memories of emotional events tend to be more accurate than memories of neutral events. While this phenomenon has been scientifically explained, let’s take a look from a more user-friendly perspective!
The psychology manipulating you
You certainly remember events like your wedding day, your first heartbreak, and your graduation day more accurately than the first time you went shopping or to the bakery. Your emotional connection with these days is what emotional design revolves around: creating designs meant to evoke emotions, ultimately results in positive user experiences and, as you were expecting, for you to associate their brand with positive emotions and, therefore, remember it.
To do this, designers tend to raise your emotions on three cognitive levels, according to cognitive psychologist Don Norman: the first one is visceral - it is your first instinctive reaction, how the design immediately appeals to your emotions. The second one is behavioral - you judge how easily can achieve your goal on the platform. The last is reflective and pertains to the “result”, the enduring emotion, the “what does this experience say about me?”. For example, a minimalist platform may comfort you in your perception of being simple, efficient, and concise. However, as they may appear as separate categories, these three elements are linked and influence one another, and their combination forms your overall experience.
What is emotional design?
Emotional design is kind of like transforming a digital product into your buddy. It’s all about creating something that doesn’t just look good but feels good to use, too — something you can have an emotional attachment to. For instance, Don Norman talks in his book about a range of products that weren’t just easy on the eyes; they were friendly and easy to get to know, making people want to spend time with them. So, when designers get how users feel and sprinkle some understanding into their creations, people enjoy using the products more and stick around to explore and create a bond with them. It’s like building a fun, emotional bridge between the user and the gadget!
Imagine if our apps and gadgets could really “get” us — that’s what empathy in design is all about. Instead of just creating something that works, designers try to truly understand our feelings, needs, and everyday struggles to create something that doesn’t just do the job but also feels like a friend. Picture this: you’re using a healthcare app. An empathetic design would mean that the app isn’t just tossing info at you but is holding your hand through your health journey. It would have easy navigation, colors that give you a calming sensation, and it just understands what you need. So, empathy in design isn’t just about making stuff; it’s about crafting experiences that wrap you in understanding and create a digital journey that feels more intuitive, simple, and stress-free.
Visuals that aid and simplify
Aesthetics wields significant influence in shaping user experiences, driving both emotional responses and engagement. The visual allure of a product doesn’t merely serve as eye candy but plays a pivotal role in instilling positive emotions and perceptions from the outset. Notably, a study by Tondello and Nacke in 2017 emphasizes the subtle yet impactful relationship between an aesthetically pleasing design and user satisfaction. Meanwhile, Tractinsky underlines a strong correlation between visual appeal and perceived usability, asserting that what is beautiful is invariably associated with usability. Therefore, the aesthetic component transcends mere visuals, intertwining with functionality to craft a user experience that is both engaging and reliable.
Stories that connect
Sharing a story is one of the fundamentals of communication. Since the beginning of time, telling tales, accurate or made up, is a way to connect and remember something. It may be through a song, drawings, a book, or, as in modern days, videos on social media — we still connect through stories. In this world where comments and likes are relationship metrics, brands discovered that compelling storytelling makes their customer feel part of the brand’s journey and creates an emotional bond, where the increase of share of mind is palpable — and, ultimately, profitable.
Making the user a part of your storytelling by bringing elements into their experience can create a more immersive and memorable experience. Brand loyalty is born from sharing these experiences and goes beyond mere purchases; it involves a deep emotional connection and builds trust in the brand. Few things are as valuable as a loyal customer who becomes a brand’s advocate. This loyalty is fostered through positive experiences, quality, and the ability to exceed expectations. Storytelling and brand loyalty go hand in hand in creating an unforgettable user experience with connections beyond digital and genuinely impacting someone’s life.
User feedback and constant improvement
In the expansive and intricate digital realm, User Feedback acts not just as a mirror reflecting users’ thoughts and feelings but also as a lighthouse, guiding the pathways to sculpt and refine the emotional design.
Take Instagram, for example: when they made “Reels,” they listened to what people liked and didn’t like about it, tweaking things to make it right. Or Uber, where your star ratings and comments help keep drivers on their toes and let Uber know where they can make your rides smoother and safer.
Clicks and scrolls tell their own story, too! With digital tools, designers can peek into what parts of a website or app people hang out in most and what parts they skip. This kind of behind-the-scenes info helps them tune up and pretty up the digital spaces we visit, like how Airbnb pays attention to user chats and comments, fixing bugs, and making sure their apps feel lovely to use and look at.
So, every comment and every piece of feedback you give helps make these digital spaces work and feel right, becoming spots where users want to stick around. Through this, the digital landscape morphs, driven by the winds of user feedback, into a realm where products and platforms do not just exist but live and evolve with the user, fostering an engagement that is not just navigational but emotional, intertwining the digital experience with the human journey.
Your own personal experience
Personalization in user experience refers to creating a tailored, user-centered experience that addresses an individual’s unique preferences and needs. It recognizes that every user is different and aims to make them feel valued and understood.
When users encounter content, features, and interactions that match their interests, they are more likely to engage with the product or service, be more satisfied, and form positive emotional connections. This human touch improves the overall experience and encourages trust and loyalty, ultimately increasing user retention and business success.
However, personalization should consistently be implemented on a solid ethical basis, respecting user privacy and autonomy and avoiding manipulative tactics.
Where we (should) draw the line
Ethics are essential to producing User Experiences (UX), which require striking a careful balance between design and emotion. These experiences must respect the unique characteristics of each user. When used ethically, emotional design offers the ability to build up people by fostering real connections and empathy. Additionally, it serves as a reminder that behind every encounter we have with a screen is a person with feelings, requirements, and fundamental rights.
Above all, we must resist the allure of deceptive methods that prey on people’s emotions and desires in the name of profit. The true art of UX is found in building genuine connections that benefit users, refining the things we buy and services we use and providing users with a sense of worth and presence. We must balance technology and emotion to create a helpful experience rather than detract from humanity.
After this read, do you feel like you have been manipulated? What was your most memorable experience with a brand, and what was it like for you, emotionally? Comment down below and share your experience!
About this article
This article has been written by a group of students at the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminating the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
