The Overlap of Emotion and Usability

Logic and statistics drive many usability discussions. How many users accomplished a task? How long did it take on average? What labels caused delays? etc.

Likewise, emotion is often discussed in context of interactivity and aesthetics. Emotion and usability sound like separate topics but they closely intertwined, so much so they are impossible to separate.

I will go out on a limb and claim emotion is actually the most important aspect of usability. Because emotion is the root of all behavior, how one feels ultimately determines what they will or won’t do on a website.

In this session I will demonstrate how one can design themes and websites that are emotionally engaging and intuitively usable; creating the most compelling user experience possible.

Transcript

1. by Ross Johnson of 3.7 DESIGNS @3pointRoss / @37Designs THE OVERLAP OF EMOTION AND USABILITY
2. @3pointRoss @37Designs I AM ROSS “DANGER” JOHNSON
3. My background is a bit diverse... DESIGNER SOCIAL SCIENTIST DEVELOPER EDUCATOR
4. I founded a company in 2005 3.7 DESIGNS WEB DESIGN BRANDING USER EXPERIENCE DIGITAL MARKETING WORDPRESS (YEAH BABY)
5. I started teaching in 2008 WASHTENAW COMMUNITY COLLEGE In 2012 I began teaching at MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
6. Wrote a book in 2011 the SIX LAYERS of DESIGN My research is the foundation for much of this discussion.
7. Whether designing commercial themes or custom ones for clients (or yourself) GREAT DESIGN LEADS TO GREAT EXPERIENCES. GREAT EXPERIENCES LEAD TO SUCCESSFUL WEBSITES.
8. HOW DO WE APPROACH USABILITY / UX?
12. Now that we know what “UX” is... WHAT ARE THE DELIVERABLES?
13. INFORMATION ORGANIZATION
16. LAYOUT & WORKFLOW
19. PROCESS MAPS
22. USABILITY STUDIES
24. Ease of use Frequency of use Difficulty to keep track of location in website Learn ability Information facilitation Look & feel appeal Site content Site organization ✓
25. ALL HELPFUL & VALUABLE BUT...
26. IS THIS YOUR USER?
27. IS THIS YOUR USER?
28. SO I ASK... IS THIS YOUR USER?
29. WHAT’S MISSING?
30. LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO HUMANS...
31. FOR A SUBJECT SO FOCUSED ON HUMANS, THERE IS LITTLE EMPHASIS ON THE MOST HUMAN CHARACTERISTIC
32. EMOTION
33. EMOTION DRIVES ALL OF OUR BEHAVIOR. WE JUSTIFY DECISIONS WITH LOGIC AFTER THEY ARE MADE.
34. THE PLANK EXAMPLE...
35. BEHAVIOR IS PREDOMINANTLY DRIVEN BY THE SUBCONSCIOUS.
36. X 1. Weinschenk, Ph.D. Neuro Web Design
37. AN EMOTIONAL QUESTION? WHAT CEREAL DO YOU WANT? 2. Emotional Design, Norman
38. EMOTIONS MOTIVATION ACTIONS JUSTIFICATION
39. EMOTIONS SITE OBJECTIVES GOOD EXPERIENCES
40. UX != MAKE IT LOGICAL
41. UX == MANAGING EMOTIONS
42. PRIME EXAMPLE: AESTHETIC USABILITY EFFECT. 3. Norman, Emotional Design
43. HOW? MANAGING EMOTIONS FOR UX...
44. Three Types of Emotional Responses: VISCERAL BEHAVIORAL REFLECTIVE
45. VISCERAL BEHAVIORAL REFLECTIVE SUBCONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS
46. Old Brain VISCERAL
47. FIGHT or FLIGHT DANGER or OPPORTUNITY
48. FIGHT or FLIGHT DANGER or OPPORTUNITY
49. VILAYANUR RAMACHANDRAN BRAIN IS MADE UP OF 100 BILLION NEURONS. MOTOR NEURONS FIRE WHEN PERFORMING ACTIONS.
50. VILAYANUR RAMACHANDRAN THOSE SAME NEURONS FIRE WHEN YOU WATCH SOMEONE PERFORM THE SAME ACTION.
51. VILAYANUR RAMACHANDRAN THE LIMBIC SYSTEM AND THE AMYGDALGA
52. VILAYANUR RAMACHANDRAN SEEING IMAGERY OF IMPORTANCE CAUSES PHYSICAL REACTIONS.
53. “FEELS” SAFE
54. “FEELS” UNSAFE
55. VISUALS EMOTIONAL REACTIONS MOOD & MINDSET
56. What does it “feel” like to use? BEHAVIORAL
57. INLINE WITH TRADITIONAL UX FACETS
58. Learn and Love COST BENEFIT PRINCIPLE
59. Why we hate LONG WEB FORMS...
60. Why we DON’T READ INSTRUCTIONS UNLESS WE HAVE TO.
61. And love CALORICALLY DENSE FOOD
62. EFFORT TO OBTAIN BENEFIT OF OBTAINING
63. Hick’s Law in Action EXAMPLE 4. Weinschenk, Ph.D. Neuro Web Design
64. Selective Disregard EXAMPLE #2
66. RECOGNITION OVER RECALL
67. PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE
68. MINIMIZE ALL OPTIONS
69. ULTIMATELY MINIMIZE EFFORT REQUIRED.
70. Influencing Ones Conscious Thought REFLECTIVE
75. Basic influence: HOW DO I REMEMBER EXPERIENCING THIS WEBSITE?
76. Mid Level Influence: DOES THIS REMIND ME OF A GOOD OR BAD EXPERIENCE?
78. Mid Level Influence: DOES THIS SEEM LOOK LIKE IT SHOULD BE USABLE? 5. Blink, Gladwell
79. Mid Level Influence: IS THIS A PRESTIGIOUS WEBSITE?
80. Mid Level Influence: IS THIS A PRESTIGIOUS WEBSITE?
81. Mid Level Influence: IS THIS A PRESTIGIOUS WEBSITE?
83. Ross Johnson of 3.7 DESIGNS @3pointRoss / @37Designs THANK YOU Recommended Reading Neuro Web Design by Weinschenk, Ph.D. 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People by Weinschenk, Ph.D. The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman Emotional by Don Norman Designing with the Mind in Mind by Jeff Johnson Blink by Malcolm Gladwell Designing for Emotion by Aarron Walter