An
Emotional
Unboxing
Experience
Are (emotional) designers the
perfect gift for a world in change?

An
Emotional
Keynote presentation
Unboxing given at Factor Clave Congreso
30/09/2011
Experience Querétaro, Mexico
Are (emotional) designers the
perfect gift for a world in change?

Twitter: @demadera
www.design-emotion.com
www.susagroup.com
Emotional design Experience design
Tools & Methods Strategies/ ideation
Teaching/ workshops Not design itself

Products
Web
Services
Bic, Energizer, Decathlon, Fidelity, KLM, Lenovo,
Mars, Microsoft, Toyota, Unilever, Wilkinson....

Story
‣

Unboxing
‣

The Independent 14/01/2009
The ultimate geek porn

“Hardcore”
Photo: Swat Blog

“Softcore”
Photo: Gadgets & Tech

Unboxing
‣
the world

Facing economical, ecological and social challenges

Economy
‣
The financial crisis creates enormous uncertainty
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/mhein73

“Self-interested pursuit of wealth, which
is the basis of many economies in the West,
is not sustainable...” (Dr. Victoria Thoresen)
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/ColinBroug

Ecology
‣
Environmental and ecological threats become evident
Photo credits: Luis Parades

Ecology
‣
Exhaustive: 20% consumes 80% of resources
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/lonniehb Parades

Social
‣
Dense population and increase of ‘share’ puts society under pressure
Photo credits: Emily Ellison

Global Village
‣
Not more challenges, but our connected world increases the impact
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/jeinny

‣ Anxiety
Despite unprecedented wealth there is vast insecurity, unrest and dissatisfaction
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/demonteiro

‣ We are the world
We feel that we are the world. We can shape our world according to our design
Photo credits: USA for Africa

‣ We are our stuff
The things that we own often define who we are. We identify with them
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/Moon_Beam

‣ Stuff
99% of stuff that is mined, purchased and used ends up on a landfill within 6 months
Photo credits: Chris Jordan

‣ Responsibility
Why do we feel we need so much stuff? Do designers have a part in this?
Photo credits: Tofslie

The world is a challenging gift...
facing economical, ecological and social challenges
However, we have ‘designed’ our world that way
... and should take our responsibility.
How do designers fit in this? Do we have a part in
So...
the ‘design’ of the world and can we change it?
‣

Unboxing
‣
the designer

What role does design and the designer have in this world?

Design
‣

Why do we design?
‣
We love to design and redesign
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/brittahaal

“Our current age sees everything as an object of manufacture,
as something which can be got hold of and improved, or
altered, to produce better or more effective outcomes.”
(Laurence Paul Hemming)
Photo credits: Brankopopvicblog

To meet a need (in a new way, in a better way)
To achieve a goal
To make a statement.
‣ Purpose
We don’t design for the sake of designing, we design for a purpose
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/jeinny

“There are more professions more
harmful than industrial design
- but only very few”
(Victor Papanek, 1984)
Design as guilty party
Photo credits: Hasse / Tweakers.net

True
‣
Decisions that affect future environmental impact are often made in the design phase
Photo credits: http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/

But...
‣
Decisions that affect future environmental impact are often made in the design phase!
Photo credits: W.I.K. and me

Design in a
‣
changing world

“Events, threats and opportunities aren’t just coming at
us faster or with less predictability...
Photo credits: http://www. ickr.com/photos/sierragoddess/

they are converging and influencing each other to create
entirely new situations...
These first-of-their-kind developments
require unprecedented degrees of creativity.
(Capatilising on Complexity / 2010 IBM CEO study)
Photo credits: http://www. ickr.com/photos/sierragoddess/

Time to shine
‣
It’s design’s time to shine in a challenging world
Photo credits:http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/shadowkill

Today, integration, rather than raw technology,
has become the pressing problem of our world.
This is what designers, above all else, are good at.
(Belinda Lanks - Fast Company)
Photo credits: Takeoka Mini Car Products Co Ltd

Can design
‣
save the world?

An ongoing discussion
Photo credits: designer-daily.com

I am somewhere
‣
in the middle

Design can HELP save (or better: change) the world
Photo credits: designer-daily.com

‣ A story
Design for small change with big impacts. (Chappell Ellison - Good.is)
Photo credits: 2nd Green Revolution

Plastic bags in supermarkets
Photo credits: Gulf News

Small ‘design’ intervention, with a big impact
Photo credits: Good.is

‘Small’ actions
‣
Big impacts?

‣ OLTPC
For one child, world changing
Photo credits: RKS Design/ Kor Water

‣ Cachiiing!
Fundraising made fun. Everyone a collection box in their hand. For some world changing
Photo credits: Designit - Denmark

‣ Cheetah
Prostetic foot. For this person world changing
Photo credits: Runnerworld.co.za

‣ KOR
Use less water bottles. Could be world changing
Photo credits: RKS Design/ Kor Water

‣ Disconnect
World changing ideas and products not always get to the people
Photo credits: the nancialdaily.com

Designers
‣

Critique
‣
There is often critique on designers
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/coscurro

“There are many things wrong with design
in our world, but designers, as a group of
people, are not the problem...
Photo credits: D. Sherwin / Changeorder.typepad.com

... If we can design our way into difficulty, we
can design our way out.
What would MacGyver do?
Photo credits: MacGyver

Useless product category?
Sensitivity to context, relationships and
to consequences are key aspects to the
transition from mindless development
to design mindfulness.”
(John Thackara)

Start by
‣
questioning

‣ Deep Ecology
Learn from other disciplines
Photo credits: http://www. ickr.com/photos/emonxie/

Deep ecology seeks to develop ecological
wisdom by focusing on deep experience,
deep questioning and deep commitment.
Arne Naess (1973)
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/guitargoa

Deep ecology Why do we need this?
Can we go without?
Why and how Mindful design
Design How can we improve this
product, service or activity?
Deep ecology -vs- Design
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/mzacha

Go deep
Work smart
Mindful
‣
Designers as facilitators of change rather than individual object creators
Photo credits: http://www. ickr.com/photos/thejoeyway/

Design can be a great gift as long as...
Designers understand the impact of their designs
They don’t pretend to save the world, but take
small steps to assist world change
Go deep, question everything. Work smart, go
into all the details to get the best solution
So...
‣ Mindful design prevails. Context, relationships,
consequences and meaning are always considered

Mindful =
‣
Meaningful

As mindfulness would indicate empathy and human centeredness...
... mindful has to be meaningful (to others)
Photo credits: http://www.sxc.hu/pro le/jeinny

Meaningful
‣
= Emotional

“Great design (thinking) results in functio-
nally and emotionally satisfying solutions /
experiences where the emotional value is
generated through the creation of meaning”
(Tim Brown)
Photo credits: Whirlwind Wheelchair

Emotional
‣
design

Emotions, enrich, guide and ennoble life
They play a vital role in how we understand
our environment, learn and behave

All design is emotional...
intended, or unintended. It evokes an emotional response

Some refer to fun as emotional design

‣ Fun
How to change behaviour by making things fun

Yes, this is also emotional design

And this...
Photo credits: JJaeyoung Ha

And even this
Photo credits: http://www.armaghelectrical.com

It’s about emotional impact...
Not necessarily only positive!
But also...
Photo credits: Jennifer Noon Design

Intensify achievement
Empower for action
Negative emotions to design richer experiences / Steven Fokkinga (TU Delft)
Photo credits: http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein

Emotional design is to design a product or
service with the intention to evoke predefined
emotions.
Photo credits: Sexy urinal

Emotional design can assist designers to
design change...
... as it puts people before technology
... and runs on the basis of meaning,
mindfulness and empathy.

Emotional design can create the connection
with a product that is needed...
... to make it more sustainable.

In that sense. Emotional design can be...
The way for designers to connect with people
in a more profound way
A practical method to incorporate experience
centeredness into design
So...
‣
A way to create sustainibility through
connection.
The Factor Clave? :-)

Books that may inspire you...

Since 1999
the Design & Emotion Society raises issues
and facilitates dialogue among practitioners, researchers, and
industry in order to integrate salient themes of emotional
experience into the design profession.
www.designandemotion.org

‣ Non-verbal self report instrument
‣ 12 animated validated characters
‣ PrEmo
Emotional experience of products
‣
‣
Measures low intensity
and mixed character
www.premo-online.com

Need to know more? marco.vanhout@susagroup.com
Twitter: @demadera
www.susagroup.com