Designing for Emotion: Chapter 2

For week 2 of our direct mailer assignment in Public Relations Publications, Professor Croom asked us to read Chapter 2 of Designing for Emotion. This chapter talks about designing for human interest and why we design the way we do.

One thing I agree with in the book is that over populating a website can lead to inefficiency. I really enjoy the example the book used of two people talking at a party and everyone continues to talk louder to hear their personal conversation. Often the conversation leads to a mutual agreement between the two individuals rather than comprehending the conversation topic because the voices of other couples talking distracts the two from the main point. Websites will a clear call-to-action like “log in” or “sign up” have a better chance at keeping my attention than websites with several tabs to choose from.

One thing I disagree with in the book is that as humans we constantly look for a representation of ourselves within design. For example, the book used the light on Apple Macbook screens. When an Apple Macbook is in sleep mode the light will pulse as if it is breathing like a human. Honestly, I would have never associated this feeling with my Macbook if I did not read previously that the purpose of that feature was to relate to the users of Apple products.