Michelle C. Hilscher

HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVES ON THE DESIGN OF EXPERIENCE

Publisher Summary Design objects can be understood to serve a function and to embody an internal structure that is potentially expressive. Cognitive approaches to design focus on relations between function and structure, whereas holistic perspectives examine relations between function and expression as mediated by structure. This chapter discusses holistic perspectives on the design experience. The theoretical position expressed in it, and the findings obtained from the study presented in it on being moved by design objects, do not conflict with the Vision in Product design approach (first proposed by Hekkert and van Dijk). Although there are certain differences, it gives equal weight to the instrumental and expressive facets of design objects or products in a complementary relationship. Furthermore, designers are motivated by a practical problem, which is to create a tool that does a task efficiently. But this idea must be embodied in a material object. Part of the material is given over to realizing the mechanics of the tool, but the rest is available to provide experiences of sensations (visual, auditory, tactile, odorous) and of form (i.e., geometric shapes). This begins the interplay between two ways of apprehending the emerging form, informational and aesthetic. From the viewpoint of having a unified experience of the product, a design object will be successful to the extent that the tool function and the experience are mutually reinforcing. A successful design experience is one in which the function as such disappears into its sensory qualities and spatial form as the tool is engaged. This lends it a feeling of unity and the way one experiences it, is in a kind of metaphor. The form implies the function and the function is thankful for it. It is so much easier for people to personify objects that are moving when the metaphor quietly invites a personal connection.

The Perception of Virtual Residential Spaces

This experiment examined how “warm” and “cool” video walkthroughs stimulated narratives. “Warm spaces” had red color schemes, whereas “cool” spaces were sparse with blue color schemes. In Part 1, 48 participants rated four “warm” and four “cool” walkthroughs on scales related to essential qualities of a home. “Warm” walkthroughs were more familiar, relaxing, and evoked more episodic memories compared with “cool” spaces. In Part 2, participants wrote story outlines set in two “warm” and two “cool” walkthroughs from “first” (Self) or “third-person” (Other) perspectives and rated their story-writing experiences. It was easier to write stories and more episodic memories were evoked in the Self condition. Stories were seen as less resolved when written from the Self perspective and set in “warm” spaces. The story outlines were qualitatively analyzed and frequency of the categories was determined. The evocative qualities and episodic memories evoked by the spaces were projected into the narratives.

Responding to Self-Consciousness: An Examination of Everyday and Dream Episodes

Eighty-nine students from the University of Toronto completed a 20-item self-consciousness questionnaire. They also provided a written account of a self-conscious (e.g., embarrassing) episode from everyday life as well as a self-conscious episode from a dream. Factor analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed 6 factors, with public and private self-consciousness emerging as the dominant factors. The everyday and dream episodes were examined qualitatively and 8 categories were derived the frequency of which could be numerically assessed in each protocol and factor analyzed. For the everyday life episodes, 5 factors revealed concerns of undergraduates related to academic performance versus physical appearance, social anxiety, and athletic performance, as well as 2 coping strategies. Three factors emerged from the dream episodes with the first revealing how students imagined coping with negative bodily arousal in order to assert themselves in academic situations. The second factor showed how students imagined withdrawing from social situations so as to avoid negative emotions associated with self-consciousness related to appearance. Meaningful correlations were found relating factors from the everyday episodes with the self-consciousness questionnaire as well as the dream episodes. These findings demonstrate complementary relations between quantitative and qualitative (i.e., narrative-based) assessments of self-consciousness.