1. There are a couple of passages that I would like to post. The first passage can be found on pg. 91. Donald Norman writes: "The coaches are the leaders of a large, active team. Football players are among the largest, most muscular players in team sports. The headset had to reinforce this image: it had to be muscular itself to convey the image of a coach in charge of things." I thought that this quote was interesting because companies try to match their products to the style of certain group of people. Now that I think about it there are many types of people all with different personalities. For instance, in this environmentally aware age many companies are making reusable bags that are an eco-friendly alternative to the plastic bag. These products make the user feel better about themselves, just like the large headset makes the coach feel more in control. Also, people also buy hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius because they feel that they are doing less harm to the environment. I suspect their intentions are good natured because the Prius does more damage to the Earth than a Hummer. That's right, a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Prius.
Another passage that I thought was interesting was the quote made by Mort Spivas, the so called super salesman. "When you're wearing a thousand-dollar suit you project a different aura and then people treat you differently. You exude confidence and if you can feel confident, you'll act confident. Then Donald Norman adds: " If sales people believe that wearing an expensive suit makes them different, then it does make them different. For fashion, emotions are key. Stores that manipulate emotions are simply playing the game consumers have invited themselves into. Now, the fasion world may have inappropriately brainwashed the eager public into believing that the game counts, but that is the belief, nonetheless. " I thought that this passage was interesting because it displays the power a product can have on the user. For instance, riding in a convertible can only be described as one of the most fun things that a person can do. The experience is probably why people shell out more money to have this fun feature.
2. I think that the author could use a different term for "Visceral Design". Perhaps he could use Aesthetic design? I really don't know what the word visceral means so that would be the only word that I would change. The two other terms that the author uses fit well. Behavioral design describes how a product behaves and reflective design describes how a product reflects the user.
3. Different products definatley have different levels of visceral, behavioral and reflective designs. Products that are made more for function than form, such as lights and doors could be more behavioral then visceral. However, it really depends on what the consumer wants. If they just want a simple door such as the one for my dorm, they could purchase one just like it. However, if they want a door that has a bit more flair, they could get a glass door that has no hinges. I think that designers have to change the levels of design depending on the group of people they are aiming their product at. There are definatley products that are more form over function and vice versa. The author had a great example using the two different watches. There was the simple digital watch and the more fancier watch that used a difficult method to tell time. The more aesthetically pleasing watch was more harder to use however, it just looks cooler than the black, plain digital watch.