Emotional Design (Part II)

1. "Just as the scary rides of an amusement park pit the anxiety and fear of the visceral level against the calm reassurance of the intellect, the Diesel store pits the initial confusion and anxiety at both the behavioral level and reflective levels against the relief and welcome of the rescuing sales person. in both cases, the initial negative affect is necessary to set up the relief and delight at the end.... But there is a difference between these two cases.... One is natural, the other not. Guess which will last over time."

I thought this quote was really interesting in how it provides a clear comparison between emotive design and emotion inspired by real-life events (at least, real-life events that aren't shopping). It describes a true scenario in which design (here, of a company and a marketing strategy) can influence people to act a certain way that eventually leads to buying their products, but most importantly causes a mental reaction related to the product in any way at all.

2. I find the phrases Norman uses in this chapter to be very straightforward and descriptive. While at first I had trouble understanding Reflective design, I feel it is key to realize that the term covers a lot of bases and ideas in design, something that is very different for Norman who tends to like to keep things simple. If I were to make a suggestion to Norman, I may suggest having even further subcategories of Reflective design depending on what each product's purpose serves as far as reflectivity goes (does it influence the way you perceive yourself? Does it define you? Does it cause you to act a different way? Does it cause a change in thought process?), but, depending on the reader, this may only make things more complicated.

3. The type of design a designer focuses on when developing a product lies between the decisions for target consumers and the purpose the product serves. If a designer focuses on visceral design, it is likely a product a person would buy to give off a certain image more than for its utility (like the example given of a plain white t-shirt versus a plain white t-shirt with Gap written on it seeming like two completely different products). Visceral design aims to impress the consumer, who aims to impress everyone else. A behavioral design focuses on the utility, and so may be targeted at consumers who value function over form and/or focuses upon a product that doesn't necessarily need to be pretty (like an industrial-size waste receptacle, for example, or a watch that can withstand more water pressure than any other). A designer will focus on reflective design when developing a product or concept that aims to draw a reaction or emotion from its customers. Reflective design also incorporates visceral and behavioral design while playing off of the mental conditions that may already exist, such as fear and excitement brought on by visual and physical cues. An example of this might be a roller coaster, as mentioned in the chapter, which looks and feels intense, but does not serve its purpose if a person's logic centers vastly overcome their fears. A truly good design incorporates all three; but the focus of a designer may lie in one or two more so than the other(s) due to the type of people and purpose the product is most likely to serve.