Just what every geek wants to hear! :)
When I found out that it’s ok to buy something because I think it’s cool, I was relieved. I like buying things that are cool (even if they are a little more expensive :-). Turns out that “cool” is good for your brain. How cool is that?
When I use the term “cool”, I’m really talking about aesthetics. What is aesthetically pleasing obviously varies from person to person, but there are certain things that seem to be more aesthetically pleasing than others. How about the Apple iPod? The iPod is the runaway best seller in MP3 players, even though the iPod was late to market compared to other MP3 players, and it’s generally more expensive than similar models. So why is it the best selling MP3 player out there? Need I say it — it’s cool. It looks good. It feels good.
So how is cool good for you? Donald Norman discusses this idea at length in his book Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. When something is aesthetically pleasing, it makes you feel good. And when you feel good you are more creative. You think outside the box. You have new ideas about how to use things. “Feeling good” about something is an emotion, and that emotion has a huge impact on us as consumers and users.
Scientists used to think that emotion got in the way of thinking; that it impeded our ability to make good decisions. However, we’ve learned that, in fact, emotion is actually
…excerpt from: headrush.typepad.com…