Designing for Emotion

Don Norman, Human-Centered Design Guru and writer of the inspirational design book, The Design of Everyday Things, asks CHI-WEB for examples of physical products and websites where the attractiveness and playfulness enhanced the product or site.”

Turns out he’s writing a new book, the Design of Future Things that will explore the role of emotions and aesthetics in information devices. He outlines some of his new thinking in a recent article, Gratuitous Graphics and Human-Centered Website Design.

Usability alone does not suffice; websites and products should also be fun, enjoyable. This means aesthetically pleasing and exciting, depending upon the image one wishes to convey.

There is no such thing as a single rule for all purposes. A product for entertainment should be entertaining. Is the Sony website fun? Why not? Does Disney have animation and graphics? I’d be disappointed if it didn’t. I like funky things, creative design. But only when it doesn’t interfere with getting work done.

This might be a wake-up call for Don Norman die hards, but prominent web design folk have been talking about this for years. At any rate, I’m glad he’s making a point of it and even better, writing a new book about it. Maybe the new book will inspire a new generation of human-centered designers that strive to understand the balance between usability and beauty? I know that’s my goal, every single day.