Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things

by Don Norman

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In his follow-up to The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman argues that attractive things actually work better because positive emotions broaden cognition and foster creative problem-solving. He introduces a three-level framework of emotional processing, visceral, behavioural, and reflective, that explains why users develop deep attachments to certain products. The book bridges cognitive science and design practice, showing why aesthetics and emotion are not luxuries but essential components of good design.

Published:: 2004
Pages:: 272

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In the Conversation

In this collection, Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things references 3 other books.

It draws on The Design of Everyday Things, Flow and Emotional Intelligence.

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What This Book Draws On

The books Norman references and why each one mattered to the argument.

Norman explicitly extends his own work from The Design of Everyday Things, arguing that while usability is necessary it is insufficient, emotional response is equally critical to good design

References

The Design of Everyday Things

by Don Norman

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Norman references Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory to explain how the behavioural level of emotional processing relates to the enjoyment users experience during well-designed interactions

References

Flow

by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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The book draws on Goleman's Emotional Intelligence framework when discussing how emotions are not separate from cognition but integral to how people evaluate and interact with designed objects

References

Emotional Intelligence

by Daniel Goleman

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Intellectual Lineage

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Builds on (2 layers deep)

Directly cites

The Design of Everyday Things

Flow

Emotional Intelligence

2 steps back

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