Emotional design aims to improve user experience, which indirectly results in increased sales and brand awareness. Designers play with our cognitive functions. Often, junior designers neglect this aspect, but their designs still evoke emotions and carry a personality. However, those emotions can be negative.
Emotion is deeply embedded in our daily lives, it drives many behaviors and decisions. I agree with Alan Dix that successful emotional design must be:
- Effective – Does it do the job?
The design should be functional and guide the customer through the desired user journey. - Efficient – Is it as easy to use as possible?
On a collection page, filters should help users find what they’re looking for and be easy to add, remove, and navigate through the filters, especially on mobile devices. - Satisfying – Does the user enjoy what they’re doing?
Satisfaction on a product page might come from features like a high-end gallery, color swatches that don’t refresh the page and load the different images immediately, or interactive elements like videos or a before/after slider.
Example of just doing the job:
A clothing store simply displays the same static list of "popular items" on every product page, regardless of the user's browsing history or the specific product being viewed.
Making it efficient:
Strategic or AI-powered recommendations based on user behavior. For example, if the user has previously browsed a product or is currently looking at a winter jacket, the recommendations could include complementary items like gloves, scarves, or winter hats.
Don Norman, a leader in emotional design, defines three levels of cognition that we can influence:
- Visceral Level: This involves initial reactions to things like feel, look, and smell. For example, in store design, this could be the overall impression created by the combination of colors, typography, and copywriting.
- Behavioral Level: This addresses the essence of the product. The design should answer questions like “What is the purpose of this product?” or “What is it used for?”
- Reflective Level: This is the most challenging to achieve. It involves connecting with the user personally, making them emotionally attached to the brand, and helping them feel its full essence.
Emotional Design Explained Through Examples:
1. Allbirds
- The split view of the boot strongly highlights the water-repellent feature.
- Elegant fonts and concise, effective text.
- Neat showcasing of variety.
- Easy-to-find cart, menu, and search with clear, straightforward calls to action.
2. Italic
- Micro-interactions, like showing a second image on hover and quick-add-to-cart functionality.
- Highly effective product photographs.
- The combination of fonts, concise copywriting, and minimalistic design evokes feelings of exclusivity and empowerment.
3. Skullcandy
- The image of the man in his environment provokes a strong emotional reaction in the customers.
- The phrase "BIG DEALS ON BIG BASS" highlights high-quality sound.
- The contrasting “SHOP THE SALE” button creates urgency.
By understanding our users, we can identify the best emotional design elements for our brand. These elements can then be reflected on our websites, improving user experience and conversion rates.
Of course, we must use this power responsibly to provide the best for our users, not to manipulate them with dark patterns.
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