Digital Young

Maybe you will find this question a little bit stupid. But then, if you start to think about it, it might not appear like that. Objects around us touch us in an emotional way.

Again, Donald A. Norman writes a great book. That he talks about at: http://www.jnd.org/books.html#E&Dbook_notes.

As he puts it, objects are about loving or hating them. We don’t choose an object if we don’t like it. It is the natural way. Things have an emotional design; those that are attractive work better and make sense for us.

Collected things are emotional. Again, Norman gives the example of Carelman’s teapot. It is, by intent, impossible to use. But, do we use the collected things? How does the attachment to objects is constructed?

“I value my teapots not only for their function for brewing tea, but because they are sculptural work. I love standing in front of the window, comparing the contrasting shapes, watching the play of light on the varied surfaces.” (Norman, 2004:4). Yes, we do like objects because of their utility, functionality, but also (or mostly) for their design. Ask a friend or a colleague to tell you what’s his favorite object from his house and he will definitely say that object’s story.

As Norman says, “the story of teapots illustrates several components of product design: usability (or lack thereof), aesthetics, and practicality.” (Norman, 2004:4,5). And continues: “But what many people don’t realize is that there is also a strong emotional component to how products are designed and put to use.” And he argues that exactly this emotional component is the factor for an object’s success than its practical elements. Meaning if you want, the story behind the utility.

And I will finish with another quotation: “…three different aspects of design: visceral, behavioral and reflective. Visceral design concerns itself with appearances (…). Behavioral design has to do with pleasure and the effectiveness of use (…). Finally, reflective design considers the rationalization and intellectualization of a product. Can I tell a story about it?” (Norman, 2004:5).

So, which one are you? What do you like about an object? And why does that particular object, that you liked all your life, starts to annoy you one of a sudden? These are questions that can be asked when thinking about our grandma’s obsession with putting a lot of things in her room or her house, or when I think about our parents’ obsession with putting in the library gewgaws, like this:

And…

I think you have seen this kind of kids. Emo comes from emotional. Teens, with age between 12 and 18 years old, they have a specific urban appearance. Their black clothes, eccentric stylization of clothes and accessories, like piercing, chains, dark-make up, hair painted in aggressive colors, all these exterior marks are supplemented by an ideology towards life and society. The old idea that you don’t belong in this life, in this era, with these parents, get a specific subcultural form at these kids. Meaning, they have a very pessimistic life view, write sad poetry, with suicidal themes. That doesn’t mean that they really practice this.

Now, Romanian emos are not so different from the foreigners. So far, I did not find anything specific, but I am still looking.