Emotional Design; Application of a Research-Based Design Approach

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss an approach to 'design for wow' that focuses on the emotions that constitute a wow-experience. In this approach, the eliciting conditions of these emotions are used to define a product character with a high wow-impact. In addition to the approach, a measurable wow-index is introduced. First, a concept of wow is described in which wow is explained as a combination of fascination, pleasant surprise, and desire. The eliciting conditions of these three emotions are examined and combined to a 'wow-appraisal.' This concept is applied in the design of a mobile telephone. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used to formulate concern themes relevant for the wow-appraisal. These themes were used to create a layered product character and a prototype of the final design. An evaluation study demonstrated that the product designed with this approach rated higher on the wow-index than alternative products.

Use of Touch Devices by Toddlers or Preschoolers: Observations and Findings from a Single-Case Study

“…A number of studies that have examined user engagement with technology (see, e.g., Desmet, Porcelijn, & van Dijk, 2007;O'Brien & Toms, 2008. Desmet et al (2007) discuss a design approach that focuses on the emotions that constitute a wow-experience -pleasant surprise, fascination, and desire, and applied it to the design of a mobile telephone prototype.…”

Emotions: Methods of Assessment

“…An example of a purely pictorial instrument to assess discrete emotions is The Product Emotion Measuring Instrument, an instrument that was specially developed for measuring emotional responses to products (PrEmo; Desmet et al, 2007). PrEmo is a self-report instrument that uses cartoon characters to represent emotions.…”

Mood Boards as a Universal Tool for Investigating Emotional Experience

“…[17,18]. Most design researchers apply research-based approach to investigate product emotions [4] and endeavor to develop systematic procedures for evaluating emotional experience. However, how to study emotion in design practice is rarely discussed.…”

“…The concept of user experience (UX) is widely embraced by the HCI community and raises many new challenges to researchers and designers [2]. As emotion is an essential part of our mental lives, one of the main challenges is to investigate the emotional aspect of user experience [3], and deliver these observed emotional qualities back to designers for initiating design processes [4]. While many researchers are striving for new tools to investigate emotions in design, designers have been using several experience-based tools for their work and some of these tools may be useful for evaluating emotions.…”