Reddit reviews Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things

A good way to do this is to take an object - any object - and then think about what it's for, using only a a verb and a noun usually.


So a cafetiere "Brews coffee". Make this first one the absolute most important thing about the object. Then think about its secondary use, which might be "transports coffee". They're usually glass so a third use is "displays coffee".


Then you've got things that aren't really the core functions of the object, but are part of its use or behaviour, like "compresses coffee grounds", "releases odour of coffee", and so on and so forth until you get down to the level of "promotes ritual", since every coffee machine has a certain process and method to it that's as much a reason for its user's preference as the taste of the coffee it makes.


The point is to try and pick apart all of the experiences and uses and interactions that make up the gestalt of the object. They're subconscious for sure, but all the more important for that. Be methodical, it's easier. Donald Norman's Emotional Design will probably help you.

you friend should look into shape and the power of shape in design. This isn't something a dumb stoner said, this relates to how cars are design, to how supermarkets are laid out.

here's a book that talks about similar principles

A friend of mine who is an artist just recommended to me this book, Emotional Design. I read the first few pages on Amazon and it looked quite good. I'm definitely going to be picking up a copy.