Chapter 3 Designing for Emotion

Designing for Emotion by Aaron Walter is a book I  am reading for PR Publications. This week I was assigned chapter 3 to read and answer two general questions. This book touches on great design techniques and is insight into how design started.

1. What is one thing in Chapter 3 that you agree with?

Chapter 3 focuses on personality. More specifically, assigning a persona to your website. If your website were a person, would it be professional?trendy?traditional?modern? I like this approach Walter wrote about. It made me think about how every aspect of design has a purpose. Before designing, you must identify the persona your publication needs to “take on”. Whose my target audience and how can I relate to them is a question that can help identify the persona.

2. What is one thing in Chapter 3 you disagree with?

Walter made the comparison that personalities clash, so do not worry if a group or person does not like your publication. “If people don’t understand your personality, chances are they aren’t the right customer for you,” (Walter, 2011, p.47). This statement made me think. If you are designing for a client, when is it appropriate to insert your design opinions vs what they actually want?

 

For example, lets say you know your design will attract their audience and receive better feedback, but the client wants to stick to their own idea. In this case, they are your client and even though they don’t understand your persona design that doesn’t mean they aren’t the right customer for you and to simply move on, right? I guess, I am confused how to respond in a situation where the client is the customer (who we work for) , but there comes a time when they need to recognize the benefits of switching up design and such.