Assignment 2: Four Pleasure Analysis

Elizabeth White is a 39 years old American woman. She is well-kept and physically fit for her age. She is married to a husband who is quite capable and, therefore, does not have to work. Since the couple do not have children or the plans to have any kids in the future, Elizabeth often has to find things to do when her husband is working. For this, she has many friends to spend the day with - shopping, gossiping at coffee shops, and attending parties.

Elizabeth's relatively undemanding lifestyle has caused her to constantly compare herself to other females around her. She is also starting to become more and more worried about her age. As such, she has a habit of buying expensive clothing and accessories to compensate for her insecurity. When with her friends, Elizabeth does not let down her guards and is often trying to impress them. 

Elizabeth's Four Pleasure Framework

Physio-pleasure:

• likes to stay physically fit and attractive for her age (Need)
• wears expensive and beautiful clothing + accessories (Need)
  
• uses perfumes when going out (Appreciation Pleasure)

Socio-pleasure:

• keeps in touch with her friends all the time (Need)
• likes to appear as if she is the centre of attention (Appreciation Pleasure)
• impresses her friends (Appreciation Pleasure)

Psycho-pleasure:

• needs to be constantly re-assured with praises from others (Need)
• likes suspense movies and fast music (Appreciation Pleasure)

Ideo-pleasure:

• she does not have her own principals, she follows trends and what is represented by the mass media
• it is very important to her that others agree with her views (Need)
• is pro-America but doesn't know much about the rest of the world
• believes she is a role-model in society (Appreciation Pleasure)

Table 1. Four-pleasure Analysis of Elizabeth

Physio	Socio	Psycho	Ideo
staying fit and healthy	keeping in touch	sense of security	likes to be agreed with
beauty	center of attention	entertainment	pro-America
smelling good	belonging to a group		role-model

Hand Phone Design for Elizabeth:

A suitable hand phone design for Elizabeth would satisfy her needs and appreciation from all four pleasures (Physio, Socio, Psycho, and Ideo). 

Specifications of the hand phone's appearance:

• larger in size so she can show it off in the public, and also gives her a sense of security
• uses many colours, but carefully matched
• should have a large logo showing which company made the phone to satisfy her appreciation of belonging to a group
• phone should be part of a reputable series, and on the higher end (i.e. Nokia N-series)
• should be a slider phone, as this design is currently the trendiest
• customizable faceplates

Specifications of the hand phone's features:

• many features such as games, web, movie & mp3 player, and thousands of ring tones, so she can be entertained by it and show it off
• phone reception should be excellent because being able to communicate all the time is important for her
• GPS because she travels a lot
• be able to take high quality pictures with her friends
• battery life should be exceptionally long

Other Specifications:

• designed and made in America
• uses a certain % of recyclable material to make her feel like she's a role-model

Assignment 1: Products and Emotions

The product I have chosen to compare is pen. The pen is a simple item that has more than one function than writing. One may own many different types of pens for different reasons. One may purchase a pen that is physically unique and appealing for the purpose of collection; these types of pens have visceral designs. For a pen that is meant to write a lot, one will be looking for comfort and smooth writing as main criteria for selection; these pens have behavioural designs. Finally, one may use a pen to represent his or her personality, character, and class; these pens have reflective designs.

Visceral Pen Design:

This pen, if you see it at a store, will probably stand out to you before other pens because of its unique outlook. Although this may not been a good pen for practical purposes (bad ergonomic design), you may still buy it on impulse (and maybe regret it later). This type of pen employs colourful designs to appeal to consumers.

Behavioural Pen Design:

 

The pen above is a fairly common type of BIC pen. It has a rubber grip for increased comfort. The pen also employs a spring design to make the pen retractable to eliminate the need for a cap, as caps could be easily misplaced. This type of pen may not appeal immediately to the consumer in a store, but it is the type of pen people think of for the practical purpose of writing. For example, you may buy this pen if you need to take a lot of notes in class.

Reflective Pen Design:

 

This is a fountain pen with chrome finish. The cost of this pen is $150 USD. To put it plainly, it is the type of pen that a CEO of a company will use. This pen makes the user feel like he or she has high class and status. The average person may also carry a fountain pen for special occasions such as job interviews or formal business meetings.

Assignment 0: Bad Design

The bad design I researched today was poorly designed door handles (Ref: http://www.baddesigns.com/doors.html). Poorly designed door handles leave the user confused as to whether to push or pull in order to open the door. This particular story describes how two people were trapped between two doors because of this confusion. The experience caused the two some nervousness of being trapped. In the end, they learned one handle was for pulling and the other was for pushing, although they looked exactly same. This inconsistency is part of the bad design.

I can relate to what the two felt when they couldn't open the doors, as I have also experienced poorly designed handles myself. I have learned that vertical handles that look like "pull" handles are also commonly used for "push" handles. In general, I think if a door looks like it could be opened in either direction, then it should be designed that way.