Design Discussion – Week 2
Emotion and Smart Design
– Video Discussion –Smart Design and Emotional Design in Our Lives
The influence of Smart design and Emotional design can be seen in our everyday lives. Although it is not the easiest to spot, and oftentimes the details in our products go unnoticed, these subtle details derived from the design decisions shape our experiences and relationships with the products we use in our everyday lives.
Smart design is centered around understanding people and their needs. By focusing on their audience, designers are able to identify what the necessary components of their products are. However, for this they must also look at the extreme cases, in order to properly develop products that will appeal to a broad range of people from any background and anywhere in the world. Moreover, Smart design also involves various stages of experimenting in order to reach a final product. To do this, designers spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas and creating physical prototype models with resources such as CAD. If those prototypes match the intentions of the designs, designers can then move forward in their creation process. Overall, designers are constantly searching for ways to enhance the daily lives of people without them noticing. Smart design is about the subtle improvements that are integrated seamlessly into our daily products.
Emotional design on the other hand emphasizes the key concept of wearing products in, not out. This suggests that when products are well developed, users will often grow attached to them, in turn encouraging them to take better care of their items, instead of simply using them until they wear out. Products should resonate with users and satisfy some aspects of an emotional relationship. Having said that, consumers don’t have to be in love with a product, but they should be fond of what they choose to use. Even so, as important as both these design methods are, it’s vital to consider all aspects of design. Designers must recognize the whole experience, not just pieces of it. User interest and interaction with products is diverse, and audience use with every component should be considered.
Products That I Have an Emotional Connection To
1) My wallet
Before I leave my dorm every morning, there are always three things I check for: my phone, my bag, and my wallet. Despite being such a compact item, it holds some of my most important possessions. My ID, money, cards, and many other things I’ve collected over the years reside in my wallet. It is as if it is carrying a part of my life inside of it. Despite relying on it less since I moved to China, this morning ritual of checking my pockets is something that has stuck with me to the point that it has become a subconscious action. Even if I may end up never needing it that day, I can’t imagine walking out my door without my wallet beside me.
2) My pen
The pen that has always been in my pencil case and that I use daily for all my classes has been with me for years. A gift from my dad, I’ve used it throughout high school and now, it has accompanied me to University and on my journey across the world. Although it is a simple inanimate object that I could purchase for mere cents practically anywhere, I have become attached to and developed a dependency on it. There have been times where I needed to use another pen, but I find myself feeling that they just don’t fight quite as right in my hand, the color is always a bit off, and the click just isn’t as smooth. Still, with only a few ink refill cartridges left, I find myself in a predicament where I might not be able to use one of my favorite tools for much longer.