emotional design

Take a walk around the consumer landscapes of our larger cities and you can’t fail to experience, consciously or otherwise, all manner of design interventions whose every detail seeks to influence people’s thoughts, emotions, and actions. Back in 1957, American journalist Vance Packard coined the term “hidden persuaders” to describe the sales-promoting psychological techniques used in advertising and consumer research. More than half a century later, neuroscientific imaging, ubiquitous computer-aided technology and big data have long since caught up with Packard’s ideas. Design decisions always have an impact on the user – intentionally or not.

After the decline of modernism and the rise of postmodernism, the emotional capacities and emotional abilities of products as a major function of industrial artifacts used more than before and the interaction between user and the product was seriously considered by researchers. One of the common and effective emotions of human beings, which has positive psychological effects in terms of spiritual expansion and mental pleasure, is the sense of happiness and humor. The purpose of this article, which is promotional, is to investigate the role of sentimentality in the interaction between products and users, and in particular to express how humor impacts the user of product. In this study, after addressing the issue of sentimentality through descriptive research and examining the behavioral phenomenon of humor and humor from a psychological point of view, the role of different types of humor in products is focused on elements such as form, function, material and color. These products visually stimulate user emotions., which leads to their pleasure. The result of this study shows the role and importance of humorous design in the commercial success, particularly with emotional audiences.

Responsible design as part of the broader concept of social sustainability seeks to identify and respond to the marginalized needs without being recognized by the market mechanism. This approach, rooted in morality and social responsibility aspects, brings the empowerment of the community with them, and increases social justice. The health domain is defined as one of the eight main axes of purposeful socially responsible design. In the meantime, mental health-related diseases are less in the angle of view of the designers despite its high importance. The present article has entered the domain of Mental Diseases and tries to narrate a picture of how to meet social responsibility in the form of a product design project to control self-harm. It seems that taking four fundamental steps in an action responsible design project is required: searching and identifying the problem, empathetic understanding and definition of the problem in its social context, collaborative design, and receiving feedback and learning. In the first step, by looking for the undiscovered needs or less attention of the community and regardless of issues raised by the market mechanism, a solution was based on the treatment of suffered people from self-harm. Addressing the self-harm issue is a clear necessity because of its relevance to the possible suicide in the next steps. In the second step with the aim of understanding the problem from the perspective of the target group, five people who had experienced self-harming were identified and interviewed. In addition, the findings of observations, information of consulting sessions of two psychological experts with their clients, and also studying the notes of individuals involved with this disease in social media, were complementary to this step. After filtering the data, applied keywords were created in the form of visual cards with the objective of facilitating the common understanding of the problem-solving process. In the third step with the aim of providing solutions with the presence of people involved with the subject in the solution process, the interviewees in a joint session took action to sort the cards below their intended concepts and the free representation of metaphors and descriptions that flowed at the same time. As a result, some suggested statements formed the basis of some original ideas. Then solutions that were more worthy were developed with respect to the consultation of relevant psychologists, and developed a package of complementary products that cover a range of emotional behaviors for the user. Finally, in the fourth step, with the aim of obtaining real feedback from the solution, product efficiency was evaluated in both dimensions of design and psychology. The design-based evaluation was done based on the three layers of the emotional design of Norman in three surfaces instinctive, behavioral, and reflective; and also the psychological evaluation was performed by three experts in the field of psychology. Finally, the capability of the products set as a tool for managing self-harm has been assessed positively and has been approved for clinical use.

Positive design is one of the latest sub-disciplines of industrial design that was introduced to the design world by Donald Norman. In general, positive design can be considered beyond critical design and functionalist design. Whereas critical design attempts to show social abnormalities and functional design emphasizes preserving social normality, positive design is aimed at the promotion of life and human characteristics from a normal state to an ideal state. According to the studies by Desmet (2012), people can experience different positive emotions facing the products, although some emotions are experienced more frequently (such as joy, satisfaction, and amusement) and some other emotions are less frequently experienced (worship, lust, and dreaminess). His studies indicated that all 25 positive emotions can be experienced. The different sources of emotions provide a wide range of opportunities for the designers. When the purpose of designing a product is provoking a positive emotion, the designer can look at the object and search for an opportunity for creating human-product interaction or human-human activity which is made possible through an object. The positive design has recently found its role in the community and is considered as a factor linking aesthetics and ethics, or in other words, sensational and ethical design. However, its theoretical foundations and functions have not been fully studied yet. Regarding the dilemmas of contemporary societies and their effects on the family environment, it seems the opportunity of interaction and conversation between the family members has been minimized regarding the dilemmas of the contemporary societies and their impacts on the families’ environment. Emotions help us in decision making, and positive emotions. in particular, provoke more creativity and learning in individuals. People who are in a positive emotional state can better handle the problems and find better solutions, as stated by psychologists The aim of the research is to improve family relationships by stimulating positive feelings in users. Hence, according to the purpose of Positive Design and regarding the reduced interactions among family members, meal times could be considered crucial for creating positive emotions in this smallest community while they get together at the table. The main question that needs to be answered is how to evoke positive emotions in the user through design. In this cross-sectional study, observation and data gathering were achieved through field and library research. In the next step, due to the novelty of the issue, a positive design approach and the relevant available examples were extensively dealt with. Furthermore, the study of the product situation, an initial survey of homes, national and global markets were performed using conceptual diagrams. Final investigations and field research were done by collecting the data related to the young couples and their relationship with the products through ethnography, questionnaire, observation, and interview. As a final point, conclusion and selection of the top designs based on the user’s needs, positive design approach, proposing suggestions and research added values were on the agenda.
The initial information about the state of tableware at homes of 20 young couples, residing in Shiraz and Tehran, was gathered through ethnography, observation and interviews. The questions were related to the kinds of dishes existing at homes and the user’s opinions about them. A notable point was realized in the process of studying the users. Many changes have occurred within the concept of family life during recent years, i.e., reduction of size/members, postponed marriages, and increased level of divorce. According to a new model of FLC by Gilly and Enis, the term “young couple” has got a new meaning: a couple within the age of 18-34, who have married recently and don’t have children.
The subject population at the final phase of the research includes young couples from all over Iran. Sampling was done by a purposeful method so that a couple was selected from every city, and other young couples they introduced as their acquaintances, were added as new samples. The sample size contained about 50 couples, among which 13 people were men and 37 were women. According to the definition of a young couple by Samadi (2007), these people were in the range of 18 - 34 years old. A questionnaire including two sections was charted for the research. The overall information about the participants and their relation with the tableware was studied in the first part, and the level of excitement -stimulated by the product- through 25 positive emotions, in the second part. At this stage, the level of provocation of every 25 emotions (stimulated by the tableware) was measured using seven-points Likert scale. Each of the positive emotions provoked by dishes holds different levels of severity. It has been observed that some emotions are experienced more frequently, viz. admiration, satisfaction, relaxation, amusement, euphoria, and joy. Some other emotions are less intense and are experienced less frequently: anticipation, lust and Worship.
It was observed that the emotions of admiration, satisfaction, relaxation, amusement, euphoria, and joy are experienced more frequently than the other emotions. In order to investigate the significant difference between the 10 categories of tableware and the six emotions, the Kruskal-Wallis analysis was employed at this point. The results of the test indicated that there is a significant difference between the tableware and the six selected emotions.There are six emotional resources regarding the human-product interactions that can be defined as the following: Focusing on the object (dish), its high quality should be paid attention to. As a result, porcelain material was selected due to its quality, strength, beauty, elegance, and healthiness in addition to the users’ demands. Focusing on the concept, the pieces of tableware should allow for different layouts on the table, according to the kind of food and family culture. Focusing on interaction, producing different separate pieces facilitates access to different foods. Focusing on activity, different forms of the dishes make them suitable for different purposes, or for being used as a complement for other dinner services. Focusing on ourselves, different harmonized forms, and applying beautiful decorations and garnish can make us feel proud of our table. Focusing on others, tableware layout and decoration should have a positive effect on others. By means of a vase or candle, the described positive effects could increase, and communication would get easier for the individuals. According to the diagrams and the results of the previous sections, it seems the features that provoke each of the six emotions can be defined as the following: Admiration: being good-looking, using specific techniques, harmony between the pieces, having an integral identity Satisfaction: ordered, geometric, and logical layout, convenient access, avoiding complexity
Relaxation: plain and mild forms, using curved forms, avoiding complexity
Amusement: it seems that new and novel forms of tableware and various layouts lead to the provocation of amusement emotion. Old and repeated forms reduce this emotion
Euphoria: using uniform patterns, various layouts, creating different spaces in a dish, avoiding old and repeated forms
Joy: simplicity, integrity, without drawing, creating different spaces in a dish
The results give us considerable evidence that, enriching social/family communications is probable through design. A study on varieties of tableware revealed that form, material, colour, and layout of the dishes affect the interactions between family members during the meals, provoke positive emotions and also may improve their relationship.

Dining table is not only a place to gather for food and drink, but it also the art and culture of people throughout time. Related cultural traditions and rituals pass from generation to generation. Through the utensil use as significantly as the victuals. Persian lifestyle and culture has long played a major role in shaping the dining table utensil. The contemporary designs, however, are not much indicative of the Persian heritage particularly in case of dishes for drinks. Crystal and porcelain dishes modelled on Chinese, Japanese and Czech designs clutter in the market. In addition, most people show little willingness to include dishes with old design on their table. This study deals with the question of how to model modern design characterized with Persian- Islamic art. In so doing, it is attempted to design drinking utensils based on Qajar goblet and decanter which can be considered as then successful product and a reminiscent of past culture. The research methodology is descriptive- analytic and the required data was collected through archive as well as the analysis of the paintings of Isfahan places and the decanters of Safavid and Qajar eras. Tracing back the Qajar model to its Safavid precursor certain characteristic features of Persian design were extracted. The model was then investigated from an aesthetic perspective to drive the key design based on Persian art. Focusing on design principles such as order, rhythm, point of commonality and axis definition, the proposed model based on Qajar design creates Persian identity and cultural base for contemporary products. Emotional design approach consiste of three levels. Considering the visceral level, the study focused on form design, weigh, color and the touch of the product to impress people. Ergonomic rules and the catch of the product were taken in to consideration at the behavioral level. The reflective level was consolidated through following Isfahan artistic style as well as the pattern and form of Qajar decanter and goblets.

Dining table is not only a place to gather for food and drink, but it also the art and culture of people throughout time. Related cultural traditions and rituals pass from generation to generation through the utensil use as significantly as the victuals. Persian lifestyle and culture has long played a major role in shaping the dining table utensil. The contemporary designs, however, are not much indicative of the Persian heritage particularly in case of dishes for drinks. Crystal and porcelain dishes modelled on Chinese, Japanese and Czech designs clutter in the market. In addition, most people do not show much willingness to include dishes with old design on their table. The aim of this study is to extract physical characteristics emotionally affective while drinking. In so doing, a semi-structured interview and three experiments to test users’ feelings and examine their form preferences were arranged based on emotional design approach. Provided that the goblet with tulip- shape outweighs other goblet samples, it can satisfy the emotional dimension of the design. Modelled on Qajar style of goblet and decanter, the design would be able to highly affect user’s feelings and identity and meet their expectations regarding pleasurable usage.

One of the of main concerns of designers in the process of product design is how to design a product which can make a deeper and more meaningful relationship with the broader range of consumers. In other words, one of the important and vital points in product design is to determine what are the elements to be considered to achieve to a more successful product. In this descriptive and qualitative research, three different levels of emotional design; Visceral Level, Behavioral Level, and Reflective Level, have been employed and their importance in relation to consumers have been studied. The results show that since each level of emotional design has a different influence on the consumer, applying all these three levels will lead up to a multilateral production success.

Some products include emotional messages which are recognized and perceived by users unconsciously. Such products can have deeper influence on users and satisfy their emotional needs. From emotional design point of view, the main objective of design is to satisfy emotional needs of users, so tries to direct and incline design criteria to this main goal. Emotional design is based on advanced technology, new materials and computer aided design, so there is a possibility to produce variety of complicated products which are emotional, but it should be mentioned that all the products which are the resultant of new materials and advanced equipments, are not “Emotional”, So they can be distinguished by analysis of their forms, colors, functions and materials and the way they influence human emotions directly. Emotional objects should include semantics and emotions and they should transmit them to their users certainly. On the other hand, user responds to emotional motives in different levels; Decision making about stimulus can be automatic, without reasoning and due to comparing with last using patterns. It can be related to function and using products and be affected by designers and users experiments. Also can be formed by thinking about environmental motives and be related to cultural, social, semantic and semiotic aspects. Recent concepts can be formed gradually and influence on users insight and behavior. So visceral, behavioral and reflective levels of emotional design are distinguished. Some researchers of design field, believe that emotional design is not a style or “ism” and even does not belong to a period of time, it is an approach related to ergonomics and cognitive psychology. They believe that emotional design is the result of user centered design and focus on physical and psychological requirements of users will result in increment of sale and predominance of producers in competitive areas. It should be mentioned that nowadays we live in a world which is full of semantic and semiotic concepts and different values. Rapid and continuous development of technology and delivery of new products with new valuable capabilities by the mass media, makes it difficult to perceive and recognize rising and changeable requirements of users, so it is not possible to reach emotional design by standardization and making related patterns. Only extended study and research about individual and social aspects of users and accompany with development of technology is the main solution of this attitude. In this article brief history of emotional design is mentioned, then process of generation of emotion in users, analytical criteria of emotional design (form, function, material & color) and how to use them in design process with some related applied examples are described. Goes on to talk about the distinctions between concepts of emotionalize design, emotional design and emotion design, and at last the differences of visceral, behavioral and reflective levels of emotional design and the way products play their roles in these levels is introduced. Description of applied concepts of emotional design, helps designers to use them in design process and generate valuable emotional efficacy.