Emotional Design - Why We Love Or Hate Everyday Things

[AMAZON.COM]
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Techno author Norman, a professor of computer science and cofounder of a consulting firm that promotes human-centered products, extends the range of his earlier work, The Design of Everyday Things, to include the role emotion plays in consumer purchases. According to Norman, human decision making is dependent on both conscious cognition and affect (conscious or subconscious emotion). This combination is why, for example, a beautiful set of old mechanical drawing instruments greatly appealed to Norman and a colleague: they evoked nostalgia (emotion), even though they both knew the tools were not practical to use (cognition). Human reaction to design exists on three levels: visceral (appearance), behavioral (how the item performs) and reflective. The reflective dimension is what the product evokes in the user in terms of self-image or individual satisfaction. Norman's analysis of the design elements in products such as automobiles, watches and computers will pique the interest of many readers, not just those in the design or technology fields. He explores how music and sound both contribute negatively or positively to the design of electronic equipment, like the ring of a cell phone or beeps ("Engineers wanted to signal that some operation had been done.... The result is that all of our equipment beeps at us"). Norman's theories about how robots (referred to here as emotional machines) will interact with humans and the important jobs they will perform are intriguing, but weigh down an already complex text.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Computer science professor Norman also advises design firms. He brings his background in academics and business to bear on the emotional valence surrounding objects of daily use, be they kitchen utensils, automobiles, or a football coach's headset. Norman's analysis of people's emotional reactions to material objects is a delightful process, replete with surprises for readers who have rarely paused to consider why they like or loathe their belongings. He breaks down emotional reactions into three parts, labeled "visceral," "behavioral," and "reflective," asserting that "a successful design has to excel at all levels." Norman's examples of items ranging from bottles to hand tools fulfill this dictum, although he feels that designers do not often take emotion into account when formulating what an object should look like. With household robots on the horizon, Norman implores designers to redeem their mistakes in designing personal computers. His readers will take away insights galore about why shoppers say, "I want that." Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Amazing.... Norman does a wonderful job making these ideas come alive." -- Daniel Bobrow, Research Fellow, Palo Alto Research Center

"This is a valuable book.... It will help the design world to do great work." -- Patrick Whitney, Director, Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
By the author of The Design of Everyday Things, the first book to make the connection between our emotions and how we relate to ordinary objects-from juicers to Jaguars.

Did you ever wonder why cheap wine tastes better in fancy glasses? Why sales of Macintosh computers soared when Apple introduced the colorful iMac? New research on emotion and cognition has shown that attractive things really do work better, a fact fans of Don Norman's classic The Design of Everyday Things cannot afford to ignore.

In recent years, the design community has focused on making products easier to use. But as Norman amply demonstrates in this fascinating and important new book, design experts have vastly underestimated the role of emotion on our experience of everyday objects.

Emotional Design analyzes the profound influence of this deceptively simple idea, from our willingness to spend thousands of dollars on Gucci bags and Rolex watches to the impact of emotion on the everyday objects of tomorrow. In the future, will inanimate objects respond to human emotions? Is it possible to create emotional robots?

Norman addresses these provocative questions-drawing on a wealth of examples and the latest scientific insights-in this bold exploration of the objects in our everyday world.

About the Author
Donald A. Norman is Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, a consulting firm that promotes human-centered products and services. His books include The Design of Everyday Things, Things That Make Us Smart, and The Invisible Computer. He lives in Northbrook, Illinois.

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If you have a basic understanding of how the mind works, this book can really broaden your understanding. You wanna see how products, services, and related industries take advantage of people susceptible to pressure, suggestion, and anything else that gets them a sale, you'll READ THIS BOOK. Seriously, it opened my mind, and it'll open yours too.

EMERGE!