How do you create engaging experiences?

You are doing amazing work. What you do should fill you with pride. Assured that you are creating a service that gives people confidence. Work that you’re proud to tell others about and look back on.

At times, traditional business pressures make that difficult. The focus on ‘speed of output’ over ‘quality of experience’ for one. Knowing if we focussed on the experience of the user, we could create something that will benefit their life.

When we measure success as ‘speed of output’, what we create becomes functional. An experience that succeeds in ‘function’ alone, doesn’t always mean people want to use it.

I understand that getting products rapidly to market keeps us competitive. I also know that creating emotive experiences is what makes an impact and sets a business apart.

I have seen this play-out in various industries throughout my career. After years of training and working with experts: I understand why.

I’ve created a way to engage at an emotional level, which leaves an impact, regardless of: age, gender or ethnicity. An outcome of ‘quality’ that’s measurable, testable and repeatable.

With Emotive Design we can create experiences that lead to user engagement and loyalty. Regardless of how much the competition can offer them to switch.

1. Biological

HOW WE’VE EVOLVED TO REACT TO THE WORLD

Personal example:

I’m driving to work, a car roars out the junction and cuts across my lane. I slam my breaks on. My Fight/Flight/Freeze response kicks in, as the ‘Reptilian’ (Cerebellum) part of my brain saves my life.

As my grip tightens on the wheel, I get an overwhelming urge to scream at the windshield. This is the ‘Chimp’, the emotional mammalian part of my brain (Amygdala) causing me to react. Ingraining an emotional response, to stop something like this happening again.

Finally, I slow my breathing, start to think about what happened and how I’m feeling. The ‘Human’ part of my brain (Neo-Cortex), post-rationalises the experience. I start to understand why this has happened and do my best to minimise my emotional response.

We shape our experiences for the ‘Chimp’, because they hold the power of decision.

Business example - AirBnb:

Helen’s children have left home. She’s heard that listing her spare rooms on AirBnb could make her decent money.

As she turns on her computer, she feels a sense of dread at the thought of strangers coming into her home. She opens the AirBnB page ready to close the laptop and forget all about this idea (‘Reptilian’ — Flight).

She selects to start the “Host” application. As the page loads she can see pictures of smiling hosts with glowing testimonials. She unconsciously feels a little more at ease with each testimonial she reads. She can also see the monetary amount that each host has made since starting their AirBnbjourney. Feeling at ease she decides to continue with the process (‘Chimp’— Emotional decision).

Helen thinks to herself, that it seems like a good opportunity. It’s not as scary as she’d thought (‘Human’ — Post-rationalising).

Reference: The Mind Management, by Prof. Steve Peters

2. Philosophical

HOW WE SEARCH FOR MEANING AND NEED MOMENTS OF DELIGHT

Personal example:

My partner and I love to travel.

In all honesty, I’m a bit of a nightmare. I want for us to have the best holiday possible, so I’ll put together an itinerary (‘Purpose’). By “itinerary” I mean: Scheduling every hour. The focus being, cramming in as many incredible sights as we can. This focus doesn’t allow for moments of random fun (‘Pleasure’).

My partner is much better. She keeps a focus on what we want to see, but allows for moments of ‘pleasure’ to flow. Whether that’s staying out later than planned at a carnival, or getting lost in conversation with a local.

We create positive experiences, by setting purpose and having moments of pleasure.

Business example - Nationwide:

Martin is about to open his first savings account. He’s been meaning to save for a while.

At the start of opening his new savings account, Nationwide asks him why he wants to save (‘Purpose’). With this information they tailor their application experience. They use themed animated illustrations, depicting what he’ll be saving for (‘Pleasure’). This gives the otherwise functional pages of input fields, a visual lift.

Martin opens the account with £100 and feels one step closer to his goal. At the end of the application we show him how much further he has to go and encourage him to start a direct debit.

We go on to create a committed member, by engaging Martin with tips and options to get closer to his savings goal.

Reference: Happiness by Design, by Paul Dolan

3. Physical

HOW WE SHAPE OPINIONS

Personal example:

I love technology. In fact recently I’ve bought a new phone.

I was impressed as soon as I unboxed it. The crisp glass runs over the edge of the smooth metal body. It felt high quality (‘Visceral’).

I try out the camera, taking a vivid photo; I knew it was an amazing piece of technology (‘Behavioural’).

I started to think of my life with this device and everything it could offer. The holiday photos, watching films on my travels (‘Reflective’).

• My unconscious made an opinion from the superficial (‘Visceral’).

• I then unconsciously confirmed that opinion, by playing with the phone (‘Behavioural’).

• Finally, I started to post-rationalise my feelings. I place it into my future (‘Reflective’).

We affect perception by influencing the unconscious and validating the imagination.

Business example - Instagram:

Megan has downloaded the Instagram App to share her artwork.

She’s heard good things about the brand and the features the app provides. Opening the app, she sees the simplicity in the design and interface. It seems modern and easy to use (First impression — ‘Visceral’).

Megan finds it easy to discover inspiring users to follow. She’s impressed with how easy it is to navigate (Unconscious confirmation — ‘Behavioural’).

She imagines sharing her creativity with others. The satisfaction of building a reputation and community of followers. Megan feels confident in her decision to join Instagram (Positive opinion — ‘Reflective’).

She goes on to fold the app and its features into her daily life.

Reference: Emotional Design, by Donald Norman

How do we design for emotion?

1. Research and baseline our users emotional state.

2. Analyse their healthy and unhealthy emotions through an experience.

3. Use an Emotive Design lens to align their emotion to a healthy one.

4. Test to see we’ve been successful.

People make decisions based on what they feel. Creating products and services that are functional, gets us part of the way to engaging them. The true value comes when we understand the emotions driving their decisions.

Most companies offer the same suit of functionality. Standardised elements such as: components, templates, fonts and colour pallets. 
Some may even go further with: UX principles, Content Design and Accessibility standards.

With a lot of companies achieving the same level, there is one key way to stand apart. By understanding emotions, we can map-out decisions and improve experiences.

Progressive companies are starting to design with emotion, for example: Google, Headspace, MailChimp, MyProtein. With every emotive insight found, the gap between them and their competitors grows. Their customers build a deep and loyal bond with their brand. Making it so no discount or new feature from a competitor, could make their customers switch.

To make work we’re proud of, we need to positively affect the user.

To make affect the user, we need to engage their emotions.

To engage a users emotions, we view and design experiences through an Emotive Design lens.

Want to learn more?

You can contact me here: contact@jamescastro.co.uk

Feel free to ask me about running an Emotive Design workshop, or to answer any questions.