In my previous blog posts, I talked about what emotional design is, why emotions influence our behaviour, and how emotional design shows up in everyday life.
But there is still one important question left:
How do designers actually know which emotions their design should create?
At first glance, it might seem like designers simply rely on intuition or personal taste. And intuition can be very helpful, especially with experience. But on its own, it’s not enough. Emotions are complex, and guessing them can easily lead to misunderstandings between designers and their audience.
While researching this topic, I realised that designing for emotions needs more than a good gut feeling. It requires research, reflection, and conscious decisions to create emotions intentionally rather than accidentally.
Emotions Live in People
A key idea in emotional design is that emotions do not come directly from the design itself. They come from how people understand and judge a design based on their own needs, values, and experiences. (Vgl. Desment 2002, S. 108-111)
This applies to many areas of design. Whether it’s a digital interface, a poster, a magazine layout, or a corporate identity. (Vgl. Pan et al. 2024, S. 2) Emotional reactions depend on how people relate to what they see and experience. (Vgl. Desmet 2002, S. 108-111)
Some people care about clarity and structure. Others value aesthetics, creativity, or trustworthiness. A design can only create positive emotions if it connects to what people care about. (Vgl. ebda.)
For example, a clear and structured layout may feel calming and professional to one person, while a bold and expressive poster may feel exciting and inspiring to another. The same design can therefore create very different emotions depending on the audience and the context. (Vgl. ebda.)
That’s why research is so important. By observing people, talking to them, and considering cultural and social contexts, designers can better understand expectations and emotional reactions. (Vgl. Triberti et al. 2017, S. 3-4)
Once designers understand their audience better, they can define emotional goals more clearly. (Vgl. Desmet 2002, S. 184) Instead of designing something that should feel “nice” or “modern”, they can focus on specific emotions such as trust, curiosity, excitement, or calmness.
However, when talking about emotional design, it is easy to assume that the goal is always to create positive emotions such as joy, comfort, or trust. But this is not always the case.
Not every design is meant to feel pleasant.
In certain contexts, negative emotions can be just as powerful and purposeful. (Vgl. Desmet 2002, S. 184) Warning posters, political graphics, or activist design often rely on discomfort, tension, or even fear to communicate urgency. These emotions can grab attention, provoke reflection, and motivate action more effectively than a friendly or neutral design ever could.
For example, a campaign about climate change might use dark colors, disturbing imagery, or harsh contrasts to make people feel uneasy. That uneasiness is intentional. It signals that something is wrong and that the issue should not be ignored.
In this sense, emotional design is not about making everything “nice” or “beautiful”. It is about choosing the right emotion for the right message and situation.
Design tools and frameworks can support this process. They help designers think about emotions in a structured way and make emotional intentions visible. This is especially helpful when working in teams or on larger projects, such as branding or editorial design. (Vgl. ebda., S. XIII-XVI)
What feels intuitive to a designer doesn’t always feel intuitive to the audience. So clear emotional goals help designers create more meaningful and intentional design outcomes.
A Personal Thought
So while working on this topic, I realised how closely emotional design is connected to empathy. It’s about understanding people and their perspectives, instead of designing only from one’s own point of view.
That’s why emotional design feels especially important to me as a design student. It encourages thoughtful decisions, responsibility, and awareness of how design affects people.
Literature
Desmet, P. (2002). Designing Emotions. Delft: University of Technology.
Norman, D. A. (2004). Emotional Design. Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books.
Pan, Z. et al. (2024). The application of graphic language personalized emotion in graphic design. Cambridge: Cell Press.
Triberti, S. et al. (2017). Developing Emotional Design. Emotions as Cognitive Processes and their Role in the Design of Interactive Technologies. Lausanne: Frontiers in Psychology.
