Designing for Emotion Chapter 2

In my PR Publications course, we are reading a short book called Designing for Emotion. This week I finished chapter 2.

This chapter discussed the design elements that humans are predisposed to like. I was surprised to discover that many cartoon characters, like Mickey Mouse, were designed with small bodies, large heads and big eyes because humans like babies. We think babies are cute–and therefore we think anything that kind of looks like a baby is cute.

I definitely agreed that aesthetics are important in even the most functional of designs. I found it interesting but not altogether surprising to learn that aesthetically pleasing things are actually easier to use.

There’s not much to disagree with here, since all of Walter’s commentary is informed by scientific fact. I guess I disagree with his adoration of the Duplos.com layout–I personally found the design somewhat daunting and exhausting (even before I’d read more than a few speech bubbles). Still, it is different. I’ll give it that.

I’m enjoying this book so far and looking forward to the next chapter.