Designers of merchandise from breath mints to software need to explore the role of emotion and pleasure as they develop new products, said Donald Norman, cofounder of Nielsen Norman Group and author of Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things.
“A product is more than a product,” said the Northwestern University professor of computer science. “We take for granted a product will work well, but it also must appeal to our emotions and self-image.”
On campus Nov. 19, Norman was the final speaker in the School of Information Sciences and Technology’s Distinguished Lecture Series. A standing-room only crowd heard Norman analyze why some products capture consumers’ attention while others don’t.
Well-known for his research on human-centered product design and services, Norman theorizes three levels of responses to products: visceral, behavioral and reflective. The visceral response is biologically based; behavioral, expectation-driven; and reflective, intellectually driven.
