Emotional Product Innovation

Master Thesis 

Throughout our life we are surrounded by products that we use, see, wish to possess or own. Artifacts are meant to make our life easier, more beautiful, comfortable, enjoyable, and interesting. They give us an opportunity for self-expression.

Most of the objects that surround us contain creative energy infused into them by teams of designers and product developers. Many believe that the primary responsibility of a designer is to improve product aesthetics, ergonomics, usability and production that will make it not only work well but also look more attractive.

However, the rapidly changing nature of objects and the skills needed for their realization demand  a broader definition of design. The experience of the product through interaction becomes more important. Functionality, reliability and usability are indispensable aspects of an object, however those qualities are not sufficient anymore for the object to satisfy its users. Users demand more than just functional requirements. They truly desire to be touched emotionally . I propose Emotional Product Innovation as an approach in order to satisfy and elevate the users’ demands for these tendencies.

Prima facie evidence suggests that the industry has recognised that emotions play a major role in the decision-making process of the consumer. As a result many companies try to seduce the consumer to purchase their products by using sophisticated marketing campaigns. However, these marketing campaigns do not design product emotions. Rather, they invent emotions that are in many cases not authentic to the product. They intend to “deceive” the consumers’ mind to make them buy something they do not really need or want.

This strategy could be dangerous for the companies, especially when the products do not hold the standards promised by the marketing campaign. In the end the consumer might experience emotions such as disappointment not only with the product itself, but also with its manufacturer. On the other hand, products themselves can elicit positive emotions in users. These emotions are authentic and true to the product and will not vanish after a short period of time. Emotional Product Innovation focuses on developing consumer products that evoke emotions not through the marketing campaigns, but through the true nature of the product and the interaction with it.

In this work I developed the “Timeline of Interaction”. This timeline may help those involved in product development bring emotions out of their products.

Please feel free to contact me for more information about my work.