Emotional design is the concept of how to create designs that evoke emotions which result in positive user experiences. Designers aim to reach users on three cognitive levels—visceral, behavioral and reflective—so users develop only positive associations (sometimes including negative emotions) with products, brands, etc.
“Everything has a personality: everything sends an emotional signal. Even where this was not the intention of the designer, the people who view the website infer personalities and experience emotions.”
— Don Norman, Grand Old Man of User Experience
Professor Alan Dix explains why considering emotions is vital when you design experiences.
As a designer, you focus on users’ needs in their interactions with your products or services. It’s logical that the functionality you design should help them achieve their goals as efficiently and effectively as possible. But you also have to focus ontheir responses, which are naturally emotional. As rational as we may like to think we are, emotions are at the heart of how we interpret reality. Positive experiences drive curiosity. They help motivate us to grow as individuals. Negative experiences help us prevent repeated mistakes. However, these not-so-positive experiences can sometimes be fun—consider the chilling thrills of horror movies. Likewise, users associate feelings with what they encounter. They also have tempers; some get frustrated faster than others. The fact is that the emotional design of a product or service affects its success—and thus the bottom line. Whether or not they realize it, users have sophisticated thought processes going on most of the time. So, you must address three levels of cognitive responses when you design:
Visceral—Users’ gut reactions to or their first impressions of your design; e.g., an uncluttered user interface suggests ease of use.
Behavioral—Users subconsciously evaluate how your design helps them achieve goals, and how easily. They should feel satisfied that they’re in control, with minimum effort required.
Reflective—After they encounter your design, users will consciously judge its performance and benefits, including value for money. If they’re happy, they’ll keep using it, form emotional bonds with it and tell their friends.
To apply emotional design, you first need a good functional design to work with. You also need to gain a deep understanding of your users through UX research. Here are some ways to make emotional design work for you:
Give your work a signature personality – a face/mascot for users to identify with that suits your brand/organization/industry (e.g., MailChimp’s Monkey, Freddie).
Have your design engage users as a character. Include personal touches in all tasks, to reinforce the illusion of a personable helper who knows users like an old friend.
Use color/contrast advantageously (e.g., blue for banking = trustworthiness).
Craft copy with the right tone to inspire or accommodate emotions. Write appropriate terms/phrases (e.g., Slack’s “You’re here! The day just got better.” greeting). Use fonts and styles that suit the image you want to project.
Customize microcopy (labels, etc.) users can relate to which matches your other copy’s voice/tone.
Apply video/sound to carry messages “in character” (like in the above).
Personalize the experience for different users. (E.g., show users what else they might like, based on their information.)
Offer prizes and surprises (e.g., let users check how many likes they have and find new log-in background images). Consider including Easter eggs.
Use storytelling.
Maintain attention to detail, especially on error messages. Include polite, light-hearted/humorous messages to alleviate users’ frustration whenever problems arise (e.g., downtime). Consider treats to compensate for inconveniences – e.g., chances to win account upgrades.
On the Interaction Design Foundation’s 404 error page, we use light-hearted language to try to alleviate frustration—and a small treat in the form of an article on great 404 pages.
Above all, to creative positive emotional engagement, you must have a friendly presence in your design—to show users you know them. Reinforce this with happy customer testimonials and pictures of your office/team. Your design should look different from competitors’. It should also feel different, as a reliable, pleasurable part of users’ lives. Attractive designs that accommodate users’needs and feelings give the impression they work better, too. Whatever the emotions your design conjures in users, these feelings will affect the bottom line. Even a minor oversight can trigger the wrong impression overall.
Take our Emotional Design course.
Read Smashing Magazine’s in-depth, example-filled piece on Emotional Design.
This blog is loaded with industry insights and examples.
For an insightful view of Emotional Design from the Grand Old Man of User Experience himself, Don Norman, read his book on the subject.
Emotional design in UX involves crafting design elements to evoke specific user emotions. It goes beyond mere functionality, aiming to create a memorable user experience. This video discusses the incorporation of emotional design in UX. It emphasizes four threads of user experience:
The sensual thread (immediate sensory experience)
Deeper emotional level (relationship and feelings)
Compositional level (integration with past experiences)
Spatio-temporal thread (influence of time and place)
Emotional design fosters a deeper connection between users and the product. It does so by integrating aesthetics, usability, and storytelling. The goal is to create designs that resonate with the users. It leaves a lasting and positive impact on users’ perceptions and interactions.
Norman’s emotional design theory has three levels: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. The visceral level is about immediate reactions to how something looks and feels. The behavioral level focuses on usability and how well a product does its job. Finally, the reflective level involves thinking about and interpreting the design, affecting emotions. These levels combine aesthetics, functionality, and meaning to shape user experiences.
This article on Norman’s three levels of design explores how these levels contribute to the user experience. It addresses immediate sensory responses and more profound emotional and cognitive aspects throughout the design process.
By incorporating emotional design principles, designers can create products that function well and resonate emotionally, providing users with a better experience.
Aesthetics: Focus on how the design looks and feels. It aims to create an immediate positive reaction.
Usability: Ensure the design is practical and easy to use, enhancing the user’s experience in performing tasks.
Storytelling: Convey a narrative through the design, allowing users to engage and connect with the product.
Meaningful Interaction: Design for meaningful user interactions, fostering a positive and memorable experience.
Reflection: Encourage users to contemplate and interpret the design, building a deeper emotional connection.
This chapter, “User Experience and Experience Design,” delves into the significance of emotional design principles in crafting a positive and impactful digital experience.
Emotional design enhances user experiences by creating a meaningful and memorable connection. It goes beyond functionality, influencing how users feel about and interact with a design. Users are likelier to remember and engage with products that evoke positive emotions. It results in a lasting impact on brand perception and success. In essence, the value of emotional design lies in its ability to forge deeper, more meaningful connections with users.
This article on how to put emotions in your design emphasizes the importance of tapping into users’ emotions to enhance the overall user experience.
Good design often incorporates elements of emotional design. However, these two concepts are not synonymous. A good design is a functional, user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing solution and meets its intended purpose. Conversely, an emotional design goes beyond mere functionality and aesthetics to consider the emotional impact on users. It aims to bring positive emotions, create a memorable experience, and establish a meaningful connection.
A design that blends design principles with emotional elements is functional and creates a lasting positive impression, boosting user satisfaction and loyalty. Watch this video on design principles for insights into crafting a robust and user-friendly experience.
The concept of emotional types in design is not standardized. However, a common framework includes four emotional dimensions:
Happy: Designs that evoke joy, satisfaction, and positivity.
Sad: Engaging designs that may elicit feelings of empathy or reflection.
Angry: Designs that provoke a sense of urgency, passion, or intensity.
Scared: Elements that instill a sense of caution, excitement, or anticipation.
These emotional dimensions explain how different design elements can impact users. It allows designers to tailor their creations to evoke specific emotional responses.
Read Plutchik’s Psycho-evolutionary Theory of Emotion to learn more about the different types of emotions.
The golden rule of design in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) focuses on creating user-friendly interfaces. The video below introduces HCI and outlines two sides of HCI:
An academic discipline studying how people interact with technology, particularly computers
An applied design discipline focused on creating interventions that impact people.
HCI requires a balance between technical knowledge, analytical skills, and a people-centric attitude. This balance helps in creating meaningful solutions for users.
A “sponge personality” is an individual who is highly receptive to emotions and experiences. Like a sponge absorbs liquid, a sponge personality tends to absorb emotions from their surroundings.
This concept underscores the idea that design elements, like colors, shapes, and user interactions, can impact individuals with varying personalities. Understanding the sponge personality helps designers create emotionally resonant experiences. These designs can cater to users with heightened sensitivity to the emotional aspects of design.
An empath is an individual who has a heightened ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Empathy is a personality trait of emotional intelligence. It is an absolute ideal in design and is one of the traits that differentiates good design from bad design.
Some key characteristics of an empathic personality include:
High affinity towards the emotions of others and may feel those emotions as if they were their own.
They feel compassion and want to help and support others.
They have strong intuition and can sense and understand others’ needs and emotions.
Empaths listen well and support others to express their feelings.
Emotional design is a strategic approach. It goes beyond functionality. The goal is to create a profound connection between users and a product or interface. Designers use aesthetics, usability, and storytelling to create specific emotions. This enhances user satisfaction and engagement.
To learn more about emotional design, dive into our course and learn how to create emotionally resonant product designs. The course will also help you understand the factors influencing human reactions to a design with real-life examples.
Here’s the entire UX literature on Emotional Design by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:
We believe in Open Access and the democratization of knowledge. Unfortunately, world class educational materials such as this page are normally hidden behind paywalls or in expensive textbooks.
If you want this to change, , link to us, or join us to help democratize design knowledge!
