Designing for Emotion Chapter 1

I enjoyed reading the first chapter of Designing for Emotion because it provided some facts that I normally wouldn’t think about. I didn’t realize the intense emotional connection with a certain design based on Maslow’s Hierarchy. I completely agree with the fact that honesty is a key factor in a website or app’s success. According to the chapter, users expect a certain personality on websites and apps based on the brand and interface. If the user’s expectations aren’t met and there is no emotional connection, there is a low chance that the user will return. For example, certain websites that I don’t connect with emotionally are ones that I usually don’t go back to. Why would I go back somewhere I didn’t feel welcomed?

Even though design and interface are two of the immediate ways to grasp the user’s emotional side, I think that words are important too. Messages, if constructed properly, can capture the emotions of the user just as much as the design. When the interface, design and words work together to create a cohesive message, the emotional connection is the strongest. This should be kept in mind moving forward in my opinion! Each component has an equal weight, so I will keep that in mind when I’m working on the upcoming projects.