DON NORMAN

I found this video; Three ways good makes you happy, to be a extremely interesting and intriguing video. I also found his three ways of design making you happy to be overlapping and somewhat similar. 

This video was basically about evoking a persons choice of beauty over comfort.

I happened to have watched some of his previous videos which bring up similar ideas, one of which was emotion. In my opinion design is emotion. If you do not feel connected to a product, you are not going to buy it, or if you do buy it, you are not going to want to use it. This is what makes design such a subjective area. Philippe Starcks Juicer is constantly used to reference this idea, Norman draws on the fact that the juicer even comes with a note saying 'do not use this as a juicer'. 

Why would someone buy something that they cannot use? This is where Normans three ideas come into play. 

VISERAL
Where we are more likely to buy things that please our visual senses such as bright colours. Proven by how we choose to buy a bottle of water for the design of the bottle, rather than the product within. I would definitely buy something because it looks pretty. I like to have possessions that I can look at or that make me feel happy. It could remind me of the day that I bought it, or the reason behind WHY I bought it. Having pretty things are also a reflection of who you are as a person. This is also shown in fashion, people have completely different perceptions of what looks good and what does not, it is really just dependent on what you like and what you think looks nice. A great example is the 1963 jaguar, it is very beautiful but always falls apart but people still by it because it is so beautiful. The  visceral experience is subconscious 

BEHAVIORAL
The idea of being in control of an object, understanding it and the feeling of being safe within one's own world. This is the middle level of processing, it is feeling in control, but is subconscious. Examples include high powered cars which give you control.To me this point is about the function of the product. You connect with a product if you feel in control with it. For example I have a vegetable peeler in my house, I hated it for a long time, but when I was shown how to use it I found it be incredibly useful and enjoyable to use because I was in complete control. I felt I was safe using it. This could also be reflected in driving fast cars, the car may use alot of petrol costing you money and polluting the environment, as well as the risk factors of driving so fast. But you still want the control of the fast car. It makes you happy. 

REFLECTIVE

Where you have no control, it doesn’t see the senses! An expensive watch shows people your high image, versus G-shock watch, which is behavioural because it works better. Reflective is all about image. This is where the Starck juicer comes in again! When I think about the concept of reflection I think about brands, and how people represent themselves with the worth of the brand.  The Jaguar is a beautiful car, owned, loved and collected because of this, however the car itself is ‘crummy’. Reflective is the battle of whether you want a product because of its practicality or beauty and image. How our subconscious mind automatically goes over what we are experiencing in our world, and how it reflects how we percieve ourself/our self worth. 

Product design and consuming really depends on the individual. Design makes us happy, and only will we enjoy the product if we connect with it whether it be through visceral, behavioural or reflective.