Emotional Design and Advertising Issue - Essay Example

Assignment 6 1. We can take people’s feelings seriously by examining their mood. This shows in their facial expression and body language. For example, we normally see a lot of nervous people right before an interview sitting right next to the interview room. We normally see people adjusting their ties; some slowly sipping water and some looking at their wrist watches thrice as much as they would normally do. So how do we know they are nervous? Whenever a person makes a move or reacts to a situation, his face changes and so does his stance. We look to interpret that change in behavior and form an analysis based on our reading. For so many years that humans have evolved, they have become masters in reading their fellow beings behavior (Norman, 2004). We definitely need to take people’s feelings seriously especially as a producer or designer. A producer must keep in mind his consumers when producing something. If the product is well designed and everything works as expected from the product, then there will be a positive response coming out of consumers. They might add it as part of their daily, weekly or monthly purchase depending upon its usage and durability. On the other hand, if a product turns out to be undesirable or not what it promised, then there is a high possibility that the consumers might take out their frustration on it. It is very easy to blame the product if it does not meet out the requirement so the designer must consider people’s feeling before putting his heart and soul solely on the product (Norman, 2004). Norman is of the opinion that machines in the future will need social interaction and a network of communication to get the job done. He is of course not kidding and why would he if he thinks that machines can perform faster and better with interaction among themselves. If they could be programmed to coordinate like human beings, then I think machines can do a better job simply because they do not fatigue out. They can continuously work for longer hours without any rest. To be honest, they do not even need lunch and tea breaks. It is a very good idea to make them work independently, without humans operating them. More and more machines and robots are being deployed to work in organizations, and it would be so much easier if these robots are made to communicate without a helping hand from us. Robots are now being used in dangerous jobs like fire fighting and in military for war purposes. Apart from this they are also used for house cleaning, delivering letters and washing cars. Their role is expanding and to make way for them we need to program them with emotions. We need to make them wary of what basic emotions like pain are. We would not want to see them bumping to cars or people every now and then if we want to introduce them freely in this world. When they know what pain is they will automatically look to avoid smashing into things for their and our sake. I totally agree with Norman when he says that we could slowly distribute or install emotions in them. It is going to be a step by step process; for example, in the initial stage they could be taught what fear, satisfaction after achieving a certain goal, consistency in maintaining their work and obedience to their owners. Emotional interaction with robots will also give us an opportunity to know them better. We could penetrate if they are happy with their work or not, making progress or having difficulties. Then we could treat them according to their mood. We could also know what motivates them and reward them to work better and faster. There is so much room for improvement and with the pace science is making progress I believe one day robots will be a household name. The sooner we plan the better it is (Norman, 2004) 2. Witthower has been exemplary in his work on the iPod and the iPod’s implications. It looks like he has not missed a single point on the subject. It’s not only detailed, but it is also one of the most organized books to read. The book has a systematic pattern to it where everything is explained in order. He has not skipped a topic without completing it, and that is what makes it so simple and easy to follow (Witthower, 2008). If I were to write a book on iPod, I would thoroughly go through Witthower’s book. I would divide it into four parts and elucidate each part separately just like Witthower did. The book would be divided into object, design and image (Witthower, 2008). Object is the product itself, in this case an iPod. I would start my book first by defining what an iPod is and its types available in the market such as nano, touch, classic, and shuffle etc. I would compare each one of them by their size, color, battery life, and storage etc. This information would help readers know what kind of an iPod they wish to buy. I would look to provide every information relating an iPod like audio, video, photos, external hard drive, contact syncing, games, and car integration etc. These are the kind of things readers what to know about, and I will look to keep them well informed (Witthower, 2008). Witthower in his book has described an iPod as a blobject. This word is a mixture of ‘blobby’ and ‘object’ Design plays a very important role as people would not want to pay much for a product that is a fashion symbol yet very ‘ugly.’ iPod is designed very well, and I would highlight this because the design is one thing that appeals to everyone, even the ones with the most awful taste. I did a research on iPod touch and discovered that it’s fully made of aluminum; the same material apple uses to make Mac Book. I would talk about how light it is yet strong enough to take a few nicks without being damaged. I would stress on its durability as surveys show us that iPods are strongly built to last longer. I personally love the colors apple uses on its products so I would definitely mention how good color and design combination works with iPod. The most common ones come in black, white, green, yellow, and red. I would conduct surveys and personality tests to guide people to purchase the iPod that suits their personality the most (Witthower, 2008). Image of a product is very important especially in corporate business. iPod is now a household name, but this image was not easy to build. We often hear people say that apple products are worth every penny paid. Does iPod fall into that category? Does it provide full satisfaction in terms of money spent on it? I will look to answer these questions in my study. iPod has a very strong market and for a fact people adore this product from apple. It is in fact the most sold music equipment in terms of sales. This is mainly because iPod has functions that no competitor has been able to provide. Other than the 40,000 plus songs that one can store, iPod is also a fashion symbol. The red, green, black, white iPod hanging from the pocket is part of fashion in today’s world. Users proudly show off their iPods while walking down the street or hanging out in cars. A few generations ago it was a must thing to have (Witthower, 2008). All these factors have made iPod a successful product, and I will look to mention all these things while compiling a book. One cannot ignore any aspect when considering how sensitive people’s choices are (Witthower, 2008). 3. In the marketing world, there always lies a thick wall between the actual truth and the truth been presented. In the advertisement making in particular, the company magnifies the benefits and distinct features of their product. The negative side of the product is never been shown just because the primary concern of almost every company is to augment the sales rate and not customer loyalty. In her book, “Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Face Book, Twitter & Other Social Media”, Evans (2010) has mainly discussed about incorporating social media for business recognition and enlargement (Evans, 2010). The book merely focuses on the description of social media and attributes that a company achieves by connecting to its customers via media. The focus on fair marketing and understanding the feelings of customers mostly remained untouched in the book. The book do highlights the point that success for any company or business is a fruit of the customer trust which they build with their services (Evans, 2010). However, the fact that many times the trust is build on false grounds and by intelligently lying or cheating on the customers. The use of social media for getting connected with company’s customers and making friendly relations does not guarantees that employees are sharing the correct information with the customers. Often the fake information gets hype due to made-up blogs and tweets, and that again creates a false impression of the company’s product or services which is way far from reality (Evans, 2010). Many personal experiences have made me realize that what presented in brand marketing and advertisements is only half true. Promises made by the company before the purchase of their product are never completely fulfilled and manipulated such that there remain no grounds for arguments. Many times I do feel surrounded by immoral sales people who consider me a target and not a human with emotions. Credit cards companies in particular have trained personnel who are trained to manipulate the truth or simply lie. When selling their schemes they seldom mention the hidden taxes and bank charges that will be deducted from the account on acquiring their services. The phrases like “you are our valued customer”, “we deserve to be trusted” and “we care for you” all just appealing, but are made-up in most cases and they have learned how to deliver it in the most presentable way. Another trend that has been started to beat the competition is the direct comparison of the product the sales person wants to sell and the one the customer currently has. The lack of knowledge of customers broadens room for the sales person to misguide them and presenting even the minute flaws in other products and the minute benefits in their products, and hiding all other detail that can risk losing the interest of the customer. This trend can also be seen in the cellular network companies, which manipulate information just to present a good image of the company and their product. It shows that customers are considered just as stairs to climb the wall of revenue growth and their true benefits and interests are rarely taken into serious consideration (Evans, 2010). Reference List Evans, L. (2010). Social Media (Strategies for engaging in Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media). Que Publishing. Evans, L. (2010). Social Media Marketing: Strategies for Engaging in Face Book. New York: Que Publishing. Norman, D. (2004). Emotional Design. New York: Basic Books. Witthower, D. (2008). iPod and Philosophy. Illinois: Carus Publishing Company. Read More