Wednesday, 14 March 2012

EMOTIONAL DESIGN DONALD A. NORMAN
   Why we love (or hate) everyday thing


DONALD A. NORMAN



              Donald A. Norman is an academic in the field of cognitive science, design and usability engineering and a co-founder and consultant with the Nielsen Norman Group. He is the author of the book The Design of Everyday Things. Besides, he also is the author of twelve books, which have been translated into twelve languages. This time, I will write about him, Donald A. Norman Chapter 1-3 of Emotional Design : Why we love (or hate) the design of everyday things. This book is quite good than Schiller’s First Letter because the words in use is very simple and it is easier to understand. This book is about how we view everyday lifestyle with overall things in our life on which we like or dislike it. Moreover, it also about on how emotion related to design in our everyday life.

First of all, before I start to elaborate the content of the book, the first chapter is about attractive things works better. After reading all chapters, I think the first chapter is the most interesting part because I really understand it and very meaningful. The second chapter is about the multiple faces of emotion and design. As last but not least ,the third chapter is about the three level of design which are visceral, behavioural, and reflective. All this chapter are related to each other.

Based on my reading, I found that the main point of the content of the book is when we like to do something that we should do to focus to have a good quality of result and satisfy it. In our daily life there are three level system which are visceral, behavioural, and reflective. The suggestion that human attributes result from three different levels of the brain are from professors in the Psychology Department at Northwestern University which are, the automatic, prewired layer is called the visceral level, the part that contains the brain processes that control everyday behaviour known as behavioral level and the speculation part of the brain or the reflective level. Mostly, the visceral level is to make them feel comfortable and freedom.  A person faces an experiences at many level, but the only one may not at another.

While behavioral level is about experience with function and performance skill. Performance means how it does usability of function to describe how users understand how it works. If the product satisfied the three of this criteria , then the result is positive effect and so the otherwise. From this three criteria, reflective is the highest needed because we can reflect the past and analyse it for our future. In design, reflective is a long-term of feeling satisfaction produced by displaying and using a product. Therefore, all this three level are very important because to designers this means that no single product that can satisfy everyone.
When we are in the positive affect , it make the brain more focus because at that time we are in arouses curiosity, creativity and make the brain into an effective learning. Otherwise when in the negative affect, it make the brian less focus and likely to see you are sad and anxious.

What role do these states have in design? Firstly, we should be happy, relaxed, in a pleasant mood and more able to overlook and cope with minor problem with a device. Second, when people in anxious, they are  pretend to more focus and the designer  must pay special attention to ensure that all the information required is continually at hand, readily visible with clear feedback about that the device is performing. One interesting effect of the differences in thought processes of the two states is the impact upon the design process itself. Firstly, creativity is good for the designer to be relaxed and in a good mood. It also can warm up by telling jokes and playing games. No criticism is allowed! Real product will transformed that have been generated when creative stage is completed. Their anxiety helps them get the work done.

When people is under high anxiety or known as high negative affect, people will focus upon escape because natural response to push them harder. Designer will never lack for things to do, for new approaches to explore. The only way to satisfy a wide of variety of needs and preferences is to have a wide variety of products. There have a  conflict between emotion in design before real product provide a continual set of conflict. A person may interpret at many levels but what appeals at one level may not at another level. A successful design has to excel at all levels and finished their task eventhough the task is not easy. If the user of a product is satisfied it will give positive emotion result and otherwise if user is frustrated, it will give negative emotion result. Satisfying people’s true need in requirement of different cultures, age groups, social and national requirement is difficult and that’s why a distinction between needs and wants is important. Needs is necessary where wants is person ask for. Needs are determined by task where wants are determine by culture.  In design, we tend to associate emotion with beauty. We build attractive, colorful and cute things. We like attractive things because of that way they make us a feel . In reality life , it’s obvious seen that we like things that is attractive and dislike ugly things. Emotions reflect our personal experience, associations and memories. In muzium, miniature monuments or building exhibition are display not only for the artistic quality but also their sentimental value, for memory and history they have, in short for their emotion impact towards owners. Those of us viewing it did not necessarily have emotional attachment to the objects.

Photographs have special emotion appeal when they start to tell their stories. Personal photographs are mementos, reminders and social instruments , allowing memories to be shared across time, place and people. Although we like to look at photographs, we do not like to take the time to do the work required to maintain them and keep them accessible. The design challenge is to keep the virtues while removing the barriers which are make it easier to store, send, and share. Make it easier to find just the desired pictures years after they have been taken and put into storage. Those are not easy problem, but until they are overcome, we will not raise the full benefits of photography. Then nostalgic music set to a photo can evoke more feelings and memories of era in which the photo was taken, and a spoken story can help others to interpret the meaning of the photo, especially in the absence of the photographer.

In design, there is some permanent conflict among preferences of the popular target audience.  It is probably necessary to have multiple versions of the different market segments and it is also necessary to do rapid changes in the style and appearance the market dictates. Making movie or art is complex and difficult process and usually best design from a following great  theme is drive by one person. One thing that is very surely, the  conflict will continue as long as the creators of art, music and performance are not the same people as those who must pay to get them into the world.  A successful product comes from test and revise whereas a great product that can change the world comes from someone with clear vision.
Finally this is the summary of the three level :
v  Visceral – Appearance
v  Behavioral – Performance, function and well done of use
v  Reflective – Personal satisfaction and memories

           As a conclusion, emotion always happened in our daily life and also can give  negative or positive reaction and there are there levels in our brain called visceral level,behavioral level and reflective level. These levels related in each others and working in our life. Without these, we can not think  good idea to produced some real of product.




                                                  (^_^).......(^_^)

No comments:

Post a Comment