The roles of products in product emotions an explorative study

Although several theoretical frameworks that aim to explain the emotional impact of product design have been introduced in design research literature, none of these frameworks clearly specifies the role of the product in these emotions. This paper reports a study that was designed to explore the variety of roles that products can play in emotional experiences. In a three staged experience sampling study, 29 participants produced 170 records of emotions experienced while interacting with products. Each case was examined in order to identify the antecedent event (the event triggering the emotion) and the mental object (what the emotion is about). The results indicated that several types of events involved in the user-product interaction can elicit an emotional experience: noticing a product; an event occurring during product usage; an entire usage episode; an external agent mentioning the product; and a change in the relationship between a user and a product . It was also found that the resulting emotional responses can be about (can be attributed to) several types of mental objects: a physical object, such as the particular product involved; the user or some other person; the actions of the user or the designer; the antecedent event itself. The results are used to identify and discuss eight distinct roles that products can play in the experience of emotions. In addition, examples are provided to illustrate how these roles can facilitate a structured approach to design for emotion. Keywords: Design and emotion, user-product interaction</p

Sensory enrichment for people living with dementia: increasing the benefits of multisensory environments in dementia care through design

Recent research has investigated the impact of design on providing multisensory experience for people with dementia living in care homes, particularly the quality of multisensory environments (MSEs). This interdisciplinary research evolved from a broad consideration of the role of design in dementia care enhancing the wellbeing of people living with dementia and their carers. Previous research suggests that using MSE in dementia care as a resource for meaningful engagement has beneficial effects and many MSEs have been installed in UK care homes. However, evidence indicates that these spaces often fail to benefit the residents causing staff becoming discouraged and subsequently the room becoming unused. A study investigating the current facilitation of MSE in sixteen UK care homes revealed two key issues: (1) set-up and design of existing MSEs in care environments is, in most cases, not suitable for older people; (2) there is a lack of knowledge and information for care practitioners for facilitating sensory activities and environments. Based on these findings, design criteria improving usability and accessibility for people with dementia were established and user-centred design recommendations developed. As a first step towards closing the knowledge gap amongst healthcare practitioners in providing multisensory experience, initial design guidelines were published as an online resource

Workshop: Positive Design. Designing the road of happiness

“If you want to increase your happiness, don’t buy new products, change your behaviour.” Positive psychologists sometimes advise that not too much ought to be expected from the contributions to subjective well-being made by consumer products (Nicolao, Irwin, & Goodman, 2009). The ‘Positive Design’ workshop challenges this view by proposing that design can increase happiness. The central question addressed is: How can designcontribute to human flourishing? Positive Design is an umbrellaterm for all forms of design, design research and design intention in which explicit attention is paid to the effects of design on the subjective well-being of individuals and communities (Desmet & Pohlmeyer, 2013; Pohlmeyer & Desmet, 2014). In their workshop, Anna and Pieter will introduce their view on Positive Design andpresent examples of how design can help people in finding balancebetween pleasure, purpose in life, and virtuous behaviour. They will introduce some of the key research questions in the domain of Positive Design and detail a Positive Design Framework in-depth. In addition to providing relevant background knowledge, a number of hands-on exercises will be conducted to familiarize participants with essential concepts and design methods. The aim of the workshop is to inform, engage, and inspire; offering a balance between theory & research on the one hand, and experiences & design examples on the other