Designing for Emotion: First Look

The first chapter of designing for emotion gave an introduction into what the author really means by this, that is to say: what is it to design for emotion?

One concept that really struck a chord with me was the idea that we are in this new age that consists of going back to old ways. The authors mentions the industrial revolution and how it was meant to drive humans into a new era but what it really did was create the  assembly line/mass production and leave the art of human creation and design behind.

The new concept we are living now is to go back to that man-made craft. No consumers are demanding products like free roam farms or giving more value to handmade or DIY items.

This idea then translates into design by going beyond templates and fill in the blank design into a personalized experience that reflects the brand and showing people what brand personality is, leaving them with a positive emotion.

One concept I found interesting but I’m still not sure that it translates to all kinds of products/services is what is mentioned as the “pink panther” story. The basic idea of this is that a fun customer experience is more rewarding than good customer service. I can see how it could work on a small brand or company. I do think that the more consumers a person expects a brand to have, the higher standard of customer service and satisfaction they will expect. It would seem to me that in this case, fun user experience and good customer service would be regarding separate from each other.