Getting in touch with your feelings

Don Norman has got religion. I'll let him explain:

"In the 1980s in writing The Design of Everyday Things, I didn't take emotions into account. I addressed utility and usability, function and form, all in a logical, dispassionate way - even though I am infuriated by poorly designed objects. But now I've changed. Why? In part because of new scientific advances in our understanding of the brain and of how emotion and cognition are thoroughly intertwined. Sure, utility and usability are important, but without fun and pleasure, joy and excitement, and, yes, anxiety and anger, our lives would be incomplete."

Donald has discovered that aesthetically pleasing objects enable you to work better. I would have loved to be have been a fly on the wall when he first discussed this notion with his business partner, the usability guru Jakob Nielsen, who has the world's most usable but least attractive website.

Emotional Design - why we love (or hate) everyday things (Basic Books, 2005) is a book about design in general, but which has many implications for the design of e-learning materials. Donald proposes that when we design anything, we take into account that users will respond on three different levels:

1. At the visceral level, users will respond instinctively and unconsciously to first impressions of the product. At this level issues such as appearance really matter.
2. At the behavioural level, users will respond to the function, usability and performance of the product. Products that are easy and fun to use will generate a positive emotional response.
3. At the reflective level, users will respond to what the product says about them, the satisfaction that they gain from their relationship with the product over time.

Now Norman is a cognitive scientist by profession. He is a professor of computer science at Northwestern and has served as VP of Apple's Advanced Technology Group, so, killjoys cannot dismiss Norman's work as that of some new-age airhead.

Take his advice on board and what do we have? E-learning that is great to look at, fun to use and a pleasure to work with; e-learning that hooks you in emotionally as well as intellectually.

Donald has this thought for instructional designers everywhere:

"Students learn best when they motivated, when they care. They need to be emotionally involved, to be drawn to the excitement of the topic ... Developing exciting, emotionally engaging and intellectually effective learning experiences is truly a design challenge worthy of the best talent in the world."

He's talking about us!