Monday, February 28, 2011

Book Reading #27 - Emotional Design

Reference:
Emotional Design
Donald A. Norman
2004 Basic Books

Summary:
Emotions play a large part in how a device is received.  An elegant looking tool can cause someone to forget the frustrations they've had with similar instruments.  A cheap souvenir aids in recalling fond memories of vacations past.  Photographs bring back crystal clear snapshots of days gone by.  A project put together with some complexity provides more satisfaction and self-worth than a two or three-step project.  All these things and more contrbute to how products are viewed.
Discussion:
The effect that nostalgia has on people is quite interesting.  It is so easy to forget the undesirable things that went along with something when reflecting on it.  For example, hearing a dial up modem would bring back memories of my first experiences with the internet and all the information I had accessible at my fingertips.  Then again, considering that it would take 20-30 seconds to navigate between pages, it probably would have been just as efficient to use a book.

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