357) Emotional Design

I was fortunate enough to attend PSFK's annual conference today. It was a day full of insightful speakers, and my head is buzzing with the interconnectedness of everything. I have pages of notes, but wanted to pull out one point that really struck me for tonight's post.

An associate professor at Georgia Tech's College of Computing started noticing pictures of people dressing up their Roomba vacuum cleaners (yes, people do this), and decided to study the phenomenon. Her 2007 report suggests that we can become emotionally attached to our gadgets and forgive them for not picking up all the dirt on the floor.

“They’re more willing to work with a robot that does have issues because they really, really like it,” [she] says. “It sort of begins to address more concerns: If we can design things that are somewhat emotionally engaging, it doesn’t have to be as reliable.”

This idea of "emotional design" was touched upon at a panel today called What's Next: A Panel on the Future. One panelist made this very important point: artists and designers should be involved in making technology, not just skinning it. Artists understand engagement, entertainment, and self-expression, which can help solve more nuanced emotional issues - something that computer science and engineering hasn't been able to crack.

Totally unrelated photos. I went to the Highline Ballroom right after the conference ended to see my friends Jesse and Kina play a show. Jesse got me a pass so I was able to sneak in early and watch him sound check. Was so good to see familiar faces from LA.


(Click click for full-size glory.)