Don Norman: Emotional Design. www.TED.com

Don Norman talkes about the idea and concept of emotional design, he says it is the was design reflects how we think about, feel about and perceive a product. He says that the saying 'I don't know what it does, but i want it' is something that comes about because the design is 'beautiful and fun'. Without taking into consideration of a products specifications and faults consumers will want things because of and emotional level of excitement experienced which has derived from the design of the product.

Norman gives the example of the Alessi juicer. As a special edition the juicer was released in a gold plated model and was specifically said not to be used in juicing. The desire to have something that is fun and attractive is an emotional feeling that consumers have and it plays a very large role in the way we purchase things. this video has shown people how alike everyone is in terms of how we all are slaves to our emotional feelings towards products and this is just because we are more attracted to products that look better than others and thus we believe that they will work better. It is the same with negative emotional effects, we are less likely to be drawn to something if it causes anxiety towards us.

He also describes how there are three different levels of emotional design

Visceral - this is the way our responsive system reacts to a design. Our biological design is supposed to be attracted to bright colours, and react to the eg cold=blue or red=hot.

Behavioural - our behavioral level is our subconscious and it does all the work for us. it is the automatic skills and behaviours, eg the ability to breath without having to think about it. in design this area is the experience and pleasure that consumer feels when they are using the product. Also usability and the understanding of the product come into play on the perception of a product.

Reflective -or the 'super ego', this is where we have no control over the brain or muscles. It is our inner voice that is telling us if a product or design is good or bad. this level of reflectiveness shows the interaction and connection between the product and the consumer/user, this includes attracting attention, concerns for the environment and the ability or want to impress other people.

I think all people should watch this video no matter what they do for a living or who they are. the video gives us an insight into how alike we all are in terms of how we see and percieve different products and designs, whether we like them or not, if it makes us excited to just makes us want to put it away. We can better understand our thought processes much better after watching this video, because it gives us a very basic study of ourselves and our minds and see how basic yet complex our thought processes are in terms of how we interact with products and designs.