Humanistic Design: A Perspective on Design for Emotion, Needs, and Well-Being 

Emotion is a central quality of human existence, and most of our behavior, motivation, and thought is enriched with, and influenced by emotions. Ignoring the emotional side of product experience would be like denying that these products are designed, bought, and used by humans. In his lecture, Desmet presents his ideas on how we can impose some structure on the limitless number of possible emotion-eliciting situations associated with product design. He addresses why and how products elicit emotions, and to what extent designers can influence or ‘design for’ these emotions. 

Desmet’s key proposition is that emotions are not as intangible as they may seem, especially if they are analyzed on the level of the underlying process. He introduces a model of product emotion that highlights some of the universalities in the process that elicits emotions. Additionally, he shares approaches for measuring emotions, and some insights in how the focus on emotion can be broadened (and deepened) by targeting fundamental needs and sustainable well-being. 

Pieter Desmet (PhD) is professor and chair of Design for Experience and head of the Human-Centered Design Department at Delft University in The Netherlands. His research aims to increase our understanding of why and how design evokes emotion, and how it can contribute to the well-being of individuals and communities. He supervises a research group that studies various aspects of user experience, and is director of the Delft Institute of Positive Design, an initiative to stimulate the development of knowledge that supports designers in their attempts to design for human flourishing. 

Pieter is partner of the research and design consultancy Emotion Studio and chairs the International Design & Emotion Society. He organised more than ten international academic conferences on the topic of design for experience and wellbeing in, for example, Hong Kong, Bogota, Chicago, and London. He published over 150 scientific (journal) papers, book chapters, and books on a variety of aspects of experience-driven design, reaching an audience of both scholars and practitioners. Besides his research, he contributes to local community projects, such as sensory wellness neighbourhood parks, and a cultural Rotterdam-based “House of Happiness.”  

Delft Institute of Positive Design

https://diopd.org/ 

Emotion Studio

https://emotion.studio 

TU Delft page

https://www.tudelft.nl/io/over-io/personen/desmet-pma