“People appreciate the love that goes into a product and they don’t forget.”
So says Simon Schmidt in a recent blog post on Smashing Magazine – The Personality Layer . The idea of personality in design is strangely new and gratefully gaining in popularity.
When you say ‘love’ do your users understand?
If you are new to the idea of ‘The Personality Layer’ or emotional design, do your self a favor and read Simon’s article. It’s thorough and well illustrated. If you find yourself wanting more [God Bless you, real american hero], get on over to a book apart and download a copy of ‘Designing for Emotion’ by Aarron Walter. And, lastly, if you want to get the scoop on how best to engage your users via emotions and personality – and you want it straight from the Grand Papa of user centered design – pick up a copy of Amazon.com: Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things (9780465051366): Donald A. Norman: Books.
News Flash – Professor Walters has compiled an Emotional Design Reading List that includes the two books above and several more which look interesting.
Okay, you are all schooled up on Emotional design. Here are some of my thoughts. (Quick, Summer time, easy reading thoughts)
Actually, only one thought – because I know you have a BBQ to get to or your friends are ready to go on a river trip.
That sounds about right
“People appreciate the love that goes into a product and they don’t forget.”
The big take away here is: Put some love into your product. Care for it. Nurture it. Take it fishing and spend some quality time with it. What’s that stuff about the love languages? It’s 5 general ways that people express love and affection – Quality time, Acts of Kindness, Words of affirmation, Gifts and physical touch. People in a relationship – and you and your customer are in a relationship via your website – need to know the other persons preferred ‘love language’.
These can be easily translated into design elements. Okay – ‘physical touch’ might be difficult for a website. But -
- Quality time = an pleasant overall experience on the site.
- Acts of Kindness = filling in your city in a form based on your ZIP code, or including an FAQ or Live chat on a site.
- Words of Affirmation = trust building stuff like quotes and testimonials.
- Gifts = BOGO [Buy one, Get One], special offers and discounts.
- Physical touch = maybe sound or possibly emotional touch.
So there you have it – a mashup of the Five Love Languages and ‘The Personality Layer’. All made special for you, my dear reader.
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