So we learnt, human responses to the things around them are complex and determined by a wide variety of reasons. It could arise from our preconceptions, our experiences, or what the designers and advertisers tell us.
Norman highlighted the three levels of design – visceral, behavioral and reflective – in his book Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. I particularly like this statement he made, “If it is this expensive, it must be special”. Ridiculous as it may sound, all of us must be guilty of this at some juncture of our shopping experience. That is the reflective side of the mind talking to us.
For example, how is this Juicy Salif by Philippe Starck in any way effective and/or efficient to be a citrus squeezer?
According to (beloved) Wikipedia, Starck is rumored to have said, “My juicer is not meant to squeeze lemons; it is meant to start conversations”. Hmm. They even came up with gold plated version to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Juicy Salif launch (where only 10,000 were produced and individually numbered).
Very pretty (or visceral), yes.
Very glamourous (or reflective), extremely.
Usability (or behavioural), almost zero.
But will you buy it if you’ve got the spare cash?
I’ll say why not.
Let’s now talk about flip-flops. I am almost a 24/7 flip-flops person. Thank goodness flip-flops are more timeless than say, bell-bottoms are. (If you managed to escape the ‘90s without a pair of bell-botts, kudos to you!)
VISCERAL FLIP-FLOPS
How something looks like
The visceral level is biological and refers to your wired in preferences. For flip-flops, it could be the colours, the varied prints, the material used or the overall shape of the flip-flops that influence your perception.
The conception of visceral perception is simple – it is all about your reflexive response to aesthetics, and hence, varies among individuals.
BEHAVIOURAL FLIP-FLOPS
How something works
The behavioural level is all things practical: the function, the usability, the understandability and the physical feel of the object.
When it comes to behavioural flip-flops, it has to be Crocs. I’ve never personally tried one but according to Crocs, the philosophy behind this (gentle) giant is “a lightweight, comfortable, slip-resistant, fashionable and functional shoe, which can be produced quickly and at an affordable price to our customers”.
Personal note: Erm. I don’t know so much about the “fashionable” part, but according to friends who own Crocs, it is as it promised, “lightweight, comfortable, slip-resistant and functional”. Crocs haters who are Facebook users, click here and here and here.
REFLECTIVE
What something means to you
Norman says, “Our house is littered with things that don’t work too well but I wanted them anyway.” Sounds familiar?
The focus is not whether the object works well or not, but the message brought along by the possessing and associating with the object. Reflective design can be the personal remembrance something evokes, but is more frequently the shared meaning of a product in a culture.
Reflective design is very much culture specific. Havaianas is a fine example of how flip-flops can be moulded into a fashion statement.
Who would have thought of putting Swarovski crystal on otherwise cheap rubber flip-flops?
Reflective design is in essence deliberate and intentional. It is nothing practical (behavoural) and nothing biological (visceral). The visceral level is designed to fulfill people’s emotional needs and allows the establishment of one’s self image and status in the world.
AFTER THOUGHTS
Design is hardly neutral and we can say, it is manipulative. As user experience designers, we got to wise up and be aware of the power of the design. The irony is that doesn’t seem to stop me from buying my staple havaianas.
Oh wells, I am a willing victim of the power of (good) design AND excellent branding.
Tags: behavioural, Crocs, flip-flops, Havaianas, norman, reflective, visceral
