Emotional Design vs Design of Everyday Things

     The “Design of Everyday Things” focuses on how the design of an object affects the users perception of how the object should be used. The primary focus is not the look (pretty or ugly) of the design, but the mappings of functions, feedback given from the object, visibility of certain functions/information, and how the human mind makes models of an object by simply looking at it. It discusses design on more of a scientific level. For example, the book talks about how having buttons, shaped like something associated with their function, helps the user determine what the button does and how it is to be used. It also discusses how information can be gathered from the object and the environment, so that the user can paint a mental picture of the affordance of the object. Emotions are left out of the design and the object's functionality/usability is the main objective the book tries to convey.

     “Emotional Design” also talks about an objects design; however it discusses how the look of an object (attractive or unattractive) affects its ease of use, by manipulating human emotions. Based on the first chapter, the book focuses on how human emotion and aesthetics affect how someone uses an object. When someone is happy, they are more creative and are able to figure out alternate solutions to a problem. When someone is anxious, they tend to pay more attention to details and get tunnel vision. These emotions are taken into consideration and used to design objects that help users during times of stress and/or relaxation. For example, alarms and flashing lights can be used to symbolize danger and help workers focus on the problem at hand, while background music can be used to induce happiness and creativity on the job. However, overdoing the negative emotion triggers can cause even greater problems by stressing out the person and having them focus too hard on one thing, keeping them from finding a solution to the current problem.

      These books differ from one another because “Design of Everyday Things” talks about design from a physical standpoint (not looks though), while “Emotional Design” uses more of a emotional/aesthetical analysis. They are similar in the sense that they both analyze how the mind works and how objects can be designed to cater to the way the mind processes information. Other than that it is the physical appearance of the design versus the emotions a design generates.