Emotions… The base of our life. Not the rational facts but what you feel and believe matter most in the end…

Memories

What do we remember best? Well, the moments that had the most impact for us. The moments that ment something to ourselves. You can only remember two ways: by repetition (on what most educational systems are based) and by emotion. The last is certainly more powerfull. So if you design something with a message, do you want to leave something worth remembering or something mediocre?

Overyelling

The most used method on delivering today is to overyell the other messages. But you see more and more commercials that create a sense of a feeling. A feeling of warmth or freedom you supposed to feel with a certain fast food restaurant or car. What do those commercials do with the authenticity of those feelings?

Every item sold yells for attention. Everything wants to be sold. This creates design that has to be made to stand out between the rest. What does this for current design? Is it all about getting attention. Can there be designs that are invisible and make your life easier and feel better while you not know it? This seems something only very expensive design objects can do…

The best way to convey the feeling is when they are really authentic. Word of mouth is still the best method of getting the message accross. Somebody that tells something about a ‘product’ that they like or dislike. People tell emotions in the best way, not videos or objects. But you can translate some of those authentic feelings if you are a good designer. Remain honest and don’t force emotions onto your product. Believe in the intelligence and the interpretation of the user. If you are honest you have nothing to fear.

Character

What gives something designed authenticity? Character. You need something unique, something off. Fashion models are nice to look at as something perfect but ultimately people want something unique as their partner. Something with character, somebody they feel comfortable with, somebody they can learn from by their strange little characteristics, somebody that can be new and refreshing every day. It is mandatory that the object/product has deeper layers, more content than the outer layers to remain interesting.

So you need a deeper vision, a deeper meaning besides the main use. If you design by that single vision the deeper layers will come by themselves. Vision gives character!!!

Vision

A vision should go beyond your product. It should talk to the kind of people you want to reach. Vision could go any direction: simplicity, versatility, nostalgia, progressive, conservative, alternative, mainstream, futuristic, social etc. Visions seem to be focussed on enrichment of life. This can be on all kinds of areas like on emotional, knowledge, cultural, wisdom, financial, physical or spiritual levels.

Once your product is designed by a vision people can bind themselves to it. People can love or hate it. It goes beyond the forgotten and ultimately left behind mediocrity. Let your product, how small or big it is, inspire people on the subconscious!

Image by Nigele van Dennis? The filename suggests it… It came from an anonymous collection site.

Related:

• Designing in pictures
• My vision: us movement