Sunday, February 27, 2011

Book Reading #30: Emotional Design

Chapter 3: Three Levels of Design: Visceral, Behavioral, and Reflective
Emotional Design
Donald A. Norman

Summary: In this chapter, Norman discusses the three levels of design: Visceral, Behavioral and Reflective. He goes more in depth of what factors are considered and affect these three levels of design. Visceral design consists of emotions, appearance, the first impression of an object. It is important because it hooks the user's attention, sometimes without knowing what the item really is or what it is for. Behavioral design is concerned with usability - basically the topic of The Design of Everyday Things. And finally Reflective design, which relates to our perspective to the product. How it affects our lives, culture and other factors may affect this level of design.

Discussion: It is a big change from the readings from The Design of Everyday Things, but at the same time Norman is integrating both sides of design, and understanding not only usability is important. "I want it, I don't know what it is, but I want it." I've heard this before, from myself and from others... my little cousins and their toys, they don't even what the toy is for, but they want it. Appearance. I do think that appearance is a major part of design, that is how users' attention is called in the first place.

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