After waking up (oops)...I mean, after reading the Attractive Things Work Better article, I didn't feel as though any new or exciting information was given....sorry for spoiling it for you Saturday class.
The article begins with a ridiculous experiment using ATMs in Japan and Isreal. The designer thought it would be a good idea to arrange the buttons in "an attractive manner" and the other in "an unattractive manner" (why is that person classified as a "designer"?). It was no surprise that people preferred the "attractive" machine. I have to pose this; in saying "attractive manner" are we to believe he meant "organized" and if so, doesn't it seem kind of absurd to say that people gravitated toward the "attractive" machines? Point being, ATMs are supposed to be easy to use which is why people in both Japan and Israel (notice they didn't even try this in America) liked the attractive/organized machines.
The article goes on to present such revelations as "Emotions change the way people solve problems", "attractive things make people feel good" and of course "when people are happy, they are more imaginative". Norman goes on to say (not exactly in these words) happy people are also able to find alternative solutions to problems as opposed to people who are stressed or under a specific pressure; hence why creative people should not have deadlines.
After reading the 12 pages, the above is what stuck with me most...simply because he appeared to ramble through the last 8 pages; speaking about how humans have the ability to reflect upon previous experiences and utilize such experiences when encountering new challenges (a trait which I don't believe EVERY human has...yes, I do have a friend who lacks that ability). He also speaks about people who like roller coasters because of the correlation between fear and pride.
Norman also offers his version of positive and negative conditions that have an influence on the brain. The positive side includes such inquisitive items as "sweet tastes", "attractive people" (which in my opinion could be a negative as well) and "warm places". On the negative side; "heights" (which to some could be a positive), "extreme hot or cold" and "crowds".
I have to say that during my entire time reading this article, I too was very anxious...to get to the end of it. I now know that being anxious did not make me happy which is why I could not be creative while writing this entry. :)
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1 comment:
Wow! You should definitely NOT be a cognitive scientist! :)
I have to agree with DN, though, that we're hard-wired to be drawn to pleasant and/or attractive things and to be repulsed by really ugly or disgusting things. I heard somewhere that there's an evolutionary aspect to this: that when we were all still dragging our knuckles on the ground, we would be more apt to nuture our infants because of their cute little faces and stay away from icky, dangerous hairy spiders. Anyway, this type of survival stuff is still with us today, although obviously, it's not very important whether or not we use a gorgeous ATM or a fugly one. All that counts is that we get our money. In any event, I guess what DN is trying to say is just make a nice pretty gadget (or website) and more people will be apt to use it. End of story.
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