Emotional Design

1. What do you feel were the author's key points in this chapter?

Norman's goal in this chapter was to describe three ways he sees design connecting to the human psyche. From this goal stem his key points: design reaches out to people with looks, feel, and performance. He has grouped these into three categories of design: visceral, behavioral, and reflective.

2. How does this chapter compare to the earlier writing (The Design of Everyday Things) by the same author?

This chapter is written in a very similar fashion as the last reading by the same author; he uses many examples to illustrate his points. This lends validity to all of his writing. Norman does, in fact, reference his earlier book The Design of Everyday Things in this chapter.

3. Give examples, from your own experience, of 1) something that succeeds as Visceral Design, 2) something that succeeds as Behavioral Design, and 3) a Reflective Design success. What do you think makes each thing successful?

I think my cell phone has a good visceral design. It has a sleek, yet solid design. It has a sufficient heft to it that is somehow aesthetically pleasing.
I own a tower fan that exhibits good behavioral design. The fan has three speeds, a timer, and oscillates. The fan is perfect for keeping a small room cool, is not noisy even on the highest setting, and takes up very little floor space.
Some of the clothing I wear I choose for its reflective design, or for the image I want to convey. For example, I have "board shorts" that I wear in the summer to reflect a lakeside lifestyle. They are fitted and patterned in a very recognizable, unique way.