On Don Norman on 3 ways good design makes you happy

In February 2003 design critic Don Norman adressed the TED conference with a talk entitled '3 Ways Good Design Makes You Happy' (see video at http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/don_norman_on_design_and_emotion.html).


Norman identifies three elements that interact to shape the emotional response that people have toward products. These three elements are Visceral, Behavioural and Reflective.

According to Norman, the Visceral element is a subconscious response that is concerned with the visual representation of an item. This involves the typical qualities associated with visual response, including colour, symmetry and line. The Visceral element is what attracts people to visually pleasing objects. Howver, it may also work to simply meet a person's expectations of an item. For instance, a train passenger may be encouraged by a solid/sturdy looking railway line, without finding the railway visually attractive.

The Behavioural element is also a subconscious response. This element is oriented around the sense of control that a product conveys to the user. At one level, this can refer to the actual feel, and useability of an object. Is it easy to operate? Does the user feel they can control it?

The Reflective element is a user's conscious response to an object. It deals with a user's image of themselves and their surroundings. The Reflective element is, in some ways, refers to a wider sense of control, beyond the functioning of the object. It refers to the user's sense of control in the wider world. For example, an expensive watch may provide no more functional control than a cheaper watch, but it conveys a social status that provides the user with a greater sense of control of their surroundings.

Norman goes on to explain that these three elements are all considered (consciously and unconsciously) when a user interacts with an object. In some cases they may provide conflicting repsonses in a user. In this sense, it would seem that better design will occur when all three of these elements are satisfied in one object.