Applied Concepts Of Emotional Design

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.