In his Ted Talk, Don Norman tries
to understand how beauty and emotions are tied to design. He talks about
design, that it should be fun, but not necessarily useful for every object. For
example, his juicer is on display on his entry table. He comes up with a theory
that has three components; the object should be beautiful, functional, and
reflective.
When he talks about the mini
cooper, he says that even though the car has faults, he likes the aesthetic and
finds it fun to drive. Norman says pleasant things work better. In a
psychological experiment, when people were happy they were better at out of the
box thinking, and solved the problem. When you’re happy you’re more creative,
according to Norman.
You buy things because of the
aesthetic, keep things like water vases after they’re done because of their
aesthetic.
He says from now on he’ll only say
positive things. And I like his views. I think design should make life easier
and more enjoyable. Injecting beauty and simplicity into life is a perfect way to
make your space happier, to make you happier. Good design is underestimated.
