Shaping Emotions: An Emotive Form Design Framework for Emotional Disconnect Identification and Creativity Enhancement

Abstract

The prime aim of this research is to formulate a framework for emotional disconnect identification and creativity enhancement during the product form ideation phase of the design process. Contemporary trends in design show consumer inclination towards objects which motivate them, improve their quality of life and spark emotions. Consequently, along with the functionality requirements, a product needs to serve consumers' emotional needs, and for that, the product must relate to them at their emotional level. Previous research suggests that the emotional element of design could be more crucial in deciding the success of the product than the functional aspect, as it affects consumers' decision-making in choosing a product. Thus, designers must possess the necessary knowledge and skills to deal with this design paradigm of product emotions. Moreover, designers should know whether their intended emotions are conveyed to the consumers. These issues are addressed in the current research with a systematic approach in a phase-wise manner that has resulted in proposing the Shaping Emotions Framework. The proposed framework has been experimented with and successfully demonstrated with a case of form ideation of Bluetooth Speakers.