Emotional Design

When we are confronted with a product or service of any kind, we are not just sensitive to its utilitarian aspects. Its appearance, the sensations we feel when touching it, the sounds it emits, etc. trigger more or less intense emotions which largely influence our perception. For the author of this book, the design of a product has an essential impact on the emotions it evokes in us. The commercial stakes involved are thus of critical importance.
The central precept of the book is that a product or service is perceived at three levels: instinctive (which answers the ""gut"" question ""I like it"" or ""I don’t""), functional (which determines whether the product does what it is supposed to do), and reflective (which determines the appeal of the product relative to an individual’s personal values and preconceptions). Three levels of design correspond to each of these levels of perception, that is, a product must please customers on a ""gut"" level, prove to be functional, and convey a positive symbolism.
These key principles are explained in chapter one, and complemented by many examples in chapter 4 – Segway people movers, Hollywood films, etc. The cornerstone of the book is chapter 3, which provides a detailed presentation of the three levels of design and ways to play upon them to optimize product design. Some penetrating ideas can also be found in other parts of the book – such as the fact that the best design is not necessarily the most beautiful, or relative to the modes of interaction between customers and products (chapter 2) or on our tendency to anthropomorphize products and how this influences design. In our view, the discussion of automation systems in chapters 6 and 7 appear to be somewhat less essential.