Emotional Design by Donald A. Norman Read Free Book Online

range of individual, cultural, and physical differences
among the people of the world, it is impossible for a single product to satisfy everyone. Some products are indeed marketed to everyone across the world, but they can succeed only if there are no real alternatives or if they do manage to reposition their appeal to different people through the adroit use of marketing and advertising. Hence, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola manage worldwide success, in part capitalizing on a universal liking for sweet beverages, in part through sophisticated, culture-specific advertising. Personal computers are successful throughout the world because their benefits overcome their (numerous) deficiencies, and because there really is no choice. But most products have to be sensitive to the differences among people.
    The only way to satisfy a wide variety of needs and preferences is to have a wide variety of products. Many product categories specialize, each catering to a different audience. Magazines are a good example. The world has tens of thousands of magazines (almost 20,000 in the United States alone). It is the rare magazine that tries to cater to everyone. Some magazines even flaunt their specialness, pointing out that they aren’t for everyone, just for the people who match a particular set of interests and style.
    Most product categories—home appliances, shop or gardening tools, furniture, stationery goods, automobiles—are manufactured and distributed differently across the world, with a wide variety of styles and form depending upon the needs and preferences of the market segment for whom they are targeted. Market segmentation is the marketing phrase used for this approach. Automobile companies bring out a variety of models, and different companies often emphasize different market segments. Some are for older, more sedate established people, some for the young and adventurous. Some are for those who truly need to go into the wilderness and travel through rivers and forests, up and down steep inclines, through mud, sand, and snow. Others are for those who like the reflective image of appearing to do such adventurous activities, but who will never actually do them.
    Another important dimension for a product is its appropriateness to setting. In some sense, this point applies to all of human behavior:
What is appropriate and indeed preferred in one setting may be most inappropriate and rejected in another. All of us have learned to modulate our language, speaking differently when in casual interaction with our friends than when in formal presentation at a serious business meeting, or with the parents of our friends, or with our professors. Clothes that are appropriate for late-night clubs are inappropriate in business. A product that is cute and snuggly, or that conveys a humorous, playful image, is probably not appropriate for the business setting. Similarly, an industrial-style design, appropriate for the factory floor, would not be for the home kitchen or living room.
    Computers sold to the home marketplace often are more powerful and have better sound systems than computers used in business. In fact, many business computers do not have some of the standard features of home machines, such as dial-out modems, sound systems, or DVD players. The reason is that these aspects of the machine are necessary for entertainment or game playing, activities not appropriate in the serious world of business. If a computer looks too attractive and playful, management may reject it. Some people feel that this hurt the sales of Apple’s Macintosh computer. The Macintosh is considered a home, education, or graphics machine, not appropriate for business workers. This is an image problem because in fact, computers are pretty much the same, whether made by Apple or some other manufacturer, whether running the Macintosh or the Windows operating system, but images and psychological perceptions determine what people will buy.
    The distinction