Emotional Factors Vs Functionality, who’s the winner?

Personally I believe it’s a draw, neither of them can win. So people would ask who is the actual winner in a design process then, the answer is usability. According to Norman’s Emotional Design, the emotional factors can enhance the usability in a design process, but it could not replace it. No matter how attractive the design looks, if a user can’t follow the system or the system can’t provide the user with what he/she wants, it is still ‘rubbish’. The similar rule applies to the functionality side as well. A site/software can be extremely powerful that it can perform all sorts of complicated functions. However, if it’s not usable, no one can understand it or follow its process, then the system is again ‘rubbish’.

A well-designed product/site/software does not have to a very attractive design or a huge selection of functions. As long as it meets the basic requirements from users; it is easy to be understood and followed by users, then it is a good design. Both emotional factors and powerful functionality help in order to improve a good design to an excellent design.

Comparing Apple’s iPod with Creative’s Zen, obviously according to the market share, iPod is definitely the winner. Although Zen’s functionalities are much better than an iPod, iPod’s wheel design definitely helps to hide some shortcomings of the functionality.

Therefore, in my opinion, an excellent design requires some emotional factors, some functionality, but both of them have to serve usability and users’ requirement in the central.