Short answer
Incorporate design strategies that leverage vastness, power, or complexity to create moments of awe, thereby enhancing the user's emotional experience.
- Field
- User-Centred Design
- Source
- Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (2020)
- Method
- Survey-based qualitative research
- Sample
- 150 reported awe experiences (participant number not specified)
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Deliberately designing for awe involves understanding its appraisal theory and implementing specific strategies that address the experiential value of encountering something perceived as vast or powerful. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2020 study published in Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. Using Survey-based qualitative research with 150 reported awe experiences (participant number not specified), researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Incorporate design strategies that leverage vastness, power, or complexity to create moments of awe, thereby enhancing the user's emotional experience.
Design Strategies to Evoke Awe in Product Interactions
Deliberately designing for awe involves understanding its appraisal theory and implementing specific strategies that address the experiential value of encountering something perceived as vast or powerful.
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction · 2020
Key Findings
- 01Awe is triggered by encountering something perceived as vast or powerful, leading to a diminished sense of self-importance.
- 02Six distinct design strategies can be identified and applied to intentionally evoke awe in users.
Application
Design takeaway
Incorporate design strategies that leverage vastness, power, or complexity to create moments of awe, thereby enhancing the user's emotional experience.
How to apply
When designing a new product or experience, consider how elements of scale, complexity, or perceived power can be integrated to create moments of awe for the user.
Project actions
- 01When exploring user emotions, consider how to evoke awe as a powerful positive response.
- 02Think about how scale, complexity, or novelty can be used in your design to create a sense of wonder.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Focuses on a less-explored emotional response (awe) in design.
- +Provides actionable design strategies derived from user experiences.
Limitations
Self-reported data can be subjective. The study doesn't specify the exact nature of the products or contexts where awe was experienced, making direct application challenging without further context.
Reliability & validity
Reliability may be moderate due to the subjective nature of self-reported awe. Validity is supported by the qualitative analysis of a significant number of user experiences, but could be strengthened by experimental validation of the proposed strategies.
Think critically
How might the pursuit of awe in design inadvertently lead to user overwhelm or a sense of insignificance if not carefully balanced with other user needs?
Design Principles
"Design for awe by presenting users with elements that evoke a sense of vastness, power, or complexity, leading to a profound emotional response."
Understanding the psychological triggers of awe allows designers to move beyond purely functional or aesthetic considerations and create products that offer profound emotional experiences. This can lead to more memorable and impactful user journeys, fostering deeper connections with the product and brand.
What This Means for Your Design
Designers can make products more amazing by using specific techniques that make people feel awe, like showing them something really big or complex.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the emotional impact of design and how to intentionally create specific user emotions like awe.
- 2.Use the identified design strategies as a framework for ideation or for analyzing existing designs.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research explores how design can intentionally evoke awe, a powerful emotion associated with encountering something vast or powerful. By analyzing user-reported awe experiences, six design strategies were identified that can be applied to product design to create profound emotional engagement, moving beyond mere functionality to foster deeper user connection.
Source
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction
Design for Breathtaking Experiences: An Exploration of Design Strategies to Evoke Awe in Human–Product Interactions
journal · 2020
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about design strategies to evoke awe in product interactions?
- Incorporate design strategies that leverage vastness, power, or complexity to create moments of awe, thereby enhancing the user's emotional experience. Evidence: Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (2020).
- Why does "Design Strategies to Evoke Awe in Product Interactions" matter for design?
- Understanding the psychological triggers of awe allows designers to move beyond purely functional or aesthetic considerations and create products that offer profound emotional experiences. This can lead to more memorable and impactful user journeys, fostering deeper connections with the product and brand.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Incorporate design strategies that leverage vastness, power, or complexity to create moments of awe, thereby enhancing the user's emotional experience.
- What were the main findings?
- Awe is triggered by encountering something perceived as vast or powerful, leading to a diminished sense of self-importance.. Six distinct design strategies can be identified and applied to intentionally evoke awe in users.
- What research method was used?
- Survey-based qualitative research with 150 reported awe experiences (participant number not specified).
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2020 journal from Multimodal Technologies and Interaction.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing a new product or experience, consider how elements of scale, complexity, or perceived power can be integrated to create moments of awe for the user.
- What are the limitations?
- The study relies on retrospective self-reporting of awe experiences, which may be subject to recall bias. The specific participant demographics and the breadth of product types considered are not detailed.