Emotion in Design: Don Norman’s Three Levels
The goal of design is to appeal to our emotions and make us do specific actions based on them. This could be things like staying on a website longer, making a purchase, or sharing with friends.
But how does design do that? Designer Don Norman seeks to explain it. He has proposed three levels of processing that map the experience from when you first see a design to long after you’re done with it.
The 3 Levels of Processing
According to Norman’s TED Talk video The Three Ways that Good Design Makes You Happy, his system is broken into three parts: visceral, behavioral, and reflective.
1. Visceral
Visceral relates to things that are felt strongly and deeply within ourselves. As the first level of processing, visceral is the first impression we get when faced with a design. It is the initial reaction towards a design’s appearance based on its colors, size, shape, etc. If it’s a physical product, we may have a reaction to its texture, weight, or another tangible component.
Apple’s packaging is designed to tap into visceral emotions when opened (YPMac)
2. Behavioral
Once you have processed what something looks like, you have to actually use it. Behavioral is the level that focuses on how well a design helps you complete a task. In his Interaction Design Foundation article, Andreas Komninos says, “Behavioural design is probably more often referred to as usability, but the two terms essentially refer to the practical and functional aspects of a product or anything usable we are capable of using in our environment” (Komninos). The clarity and functionality of a design determine how usable it is and thus, how enjoyable it will be to interact with it.
The way a design behaves is crucial because if it is lacking, then it might not matter how nice it looks or feels.
3. Reflective
Reflective is the final level. While the first two levels are based on how a design makes us feel, reflective is when we take a rational approach to our perception of a product. Here, users reflect on the design in a deeper way and try to determine what meaning it holds for them. It may not be as straightforward as you’d expect.
For instance, as Norman explains in his talk, some people may consider owning a product not so much because they enjoy its visceral or behavioral quality but because they feel it improves their image. Norman gives luxury cars or watches as an example of this.
A luxury car may be valued more for the status it gives than its function
Going off of watches, Komninos gives the example of Apple smartwatches and how reflective processing may override the other levels; he explains, “users may well put up with difficulties and shortcomings in the usability of the smartwatch because they believe they will gain other, non-functional benefits from it” (Komninos).
Because of these reasons, reflective may be the least clear of the three levels. It requires looking at user wants from a new perspective and understanding that what people desire may not always be what’s most logical.
Emotion in Design
Understanding the three levels with which people approach a design allows designers to build a better product. Of course, it’s important to make it appealing and even more so functional, but Norman asks us to think about less obvious aspects too.
By creating things that look nice, work well, and appeal to all types of user wants, designers can make products with lasting impression and enjoyment.
