Define Desirability

We are all eager to gain a deeper understanding of what desirability means. What is it exactly that makes an experience or product irresistible? We know that quality and premium are part of the recipe, but in exactly what way? Show what your definition of Desirability is and share it at: Tumblr: DefineDesirability.tumblr.com (If submitting isn’t working properly please don’t hesitate to contact the admin Charlie.) Twitter: #DD2013 Pinterest Objects of Desire This is a Philips Design initiative, we are doing research to get a better understanding of desirability, and we need your help, so please help spread the word. Charlie is the moderator of this forum. PS: This TUMBLR does not like dirty language and sexually tinted input. So keep that to yourself.

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Quartz: The brain processes cool in terms of its impact on our social identity. Cool is more about the social life of products than their functional properties. It can fetch a premium (Apple is a good example), but it doesn’t have to be expensive—finding a retro shirt in a thrift shop can also be cool. Specifically, we found that it impacts a part of the brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex. This is where our social identity and our social calculator is located. Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/how-capitalism-created-cool/390429/#ixzz3Xr3eq6bE

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I sometimes get the question what the difference is between Usability and User Experience (UX). One may think that User Experience doesn’t necessarily imply that something is usable (whether it’s good or bad, it’s still an experience), and hence Usability is superior to User Experience. However, the emerging trend is to refer to User Experience as the wider perspective and Usability as being part of User Experience, as illustrated below.

By this definition Usability is a subset of the overall User Experience. Usability answers the question, “Can the user accomplish their goal?” with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction about the results (as per the ISO 9241-11 definition of usability). User Experience also answers the question, “Did the user have as delightful an experience as possible doing so?”. User Experience takes far more effort to do well, but the results have far better impact.

A commonly used example of great User Experience is the Apple iPhone where Apple has spent efforts in all of the areas above and succeeded in doing so. The early iPhones did not include latest technologies (far from it) but was a success nevertheless due to being a great User Experience as per definition above. As the NeoSpot slogan states;IT’s all about the User Experience, not about the technology itself.

The new version of ISO 13407, the International Standard for Human Centred Design (which will be called ISO 9241-210 to bring it into line with other usability standards), will also use the term “user experience” according tothis link.

There’s a lot of debate on this topic out there. Here’s a few links for those interested:

The Battle Between Usability and User-Experience

The Difference Between Usability and User Experience

Usability vs. user experience

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Tea-set by Ross Lovegrove. #desirability #beauty #irresistible #drama #blackness

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3D printed golden ear-rings by Ross Lovegrove. #desire #irresistible #beauty #parametricdesign

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Coolness is a mesure for desirability

“Secrets...are the very root of cool.” ― William Gibson, Spook country

This interesting quote was pointed out to me by Peter van Rhoon, chief editor and creative director of Code Magazine. William Gibson is one of my all-time favorite authors, and it's true in many of his stories, the mix of marketing, secrets/riddles to be solved and coolness play a very big role. So if you want to design a brand experience embracing desirability / coolness you would need to design-in some secret codes or perhaps some unsolved mysteries that trigger curiosity and attract people to engage (again)

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‘When you look deep into what can be classed as an object of desire it evokes emotional connection.  Usually something in design that radiates simplicity, clean lines, cool and functional, but it is always subjective and personal.'

'This is a personal project that I started after seeing Fixie bikes in Shanghai, however I could not find something that met with my expectations so I decided to build my own.  I have a connection with this bike because I have given time and personal design specifications into building something bespoke that fully meets my desires for; form, feel, function, quality and cost.’

By Richard Williams

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Happy New Year from everybody at Define Desirability! We all wish you lots of joy & happiness for 2013!

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Book: Objects of desire

Objects of desire showcases the ultimate artisanal, speciality and bespoke objects that elicit desire and those strong emotions that one would never expect an inanimate object to produce. Culled from around the globe, the selection of these luxurious objects might sometimes be surprising, but most always the ones that are lusted after and adored for their unique design and painstaking craftsmanship based on the highest degree of human focus and ingenuity. These precious objects possess a kind of beauty that establishes intimate emotional connections that are based on traditions of artistry and integrity, free of any traces of showiness and the overt vulgarity of the “better with bling” era. Serving as tangible reflections of personal histories and expressions of good taste, these desired pieces enter lives to become tomorrow’s heirlooms. To own one of these desirable items may be a little costly, but the surrender is so sweet.

By Charlie, moderator of this crowd sourced blog.

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Christmas wish list: item #2

Cheap, easy & look-a-like fashion. That's what this is. This shirt from H&M+ costs €29,95 and it would satisfy my 'fashion' hunger for a little while. It's a quickie for fashion lovers who just want something new and affordable. The shirt is made out of 100% pure polyester, machine wash 40˚ and is so sustainable that it's not biodegradable for over a thousand years to come.

But that's not the function of this shirt. The shirt isn't desirable in a way that I would cherish it for twenty years or that my daughter will steal it when she is sixteen. No this shirt is desirable because it's a cheap shot of heroine made from poor quality.

By Charlie, moderator of this crowd sourced blog.

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Sex and Drugs

We desire what we expect to be satisfying or arousing. More is generally better for satisfaction, but for arousal, you want different. The most desirable experiences give you what you expect, but in an unexpected manner; in the way that good music is both melodic and surprising.

Desirability is about expectations, and expectation is about memory, but our memory of subjective experience is skewed. Experimental subjects were asked to place their hand in painfully cold water for 30s. Then they were asked to place their other hand in painfully cold water for 1 minute, during the last 15 seconds of which the water was warmed to a comfortable temperature. In the first experience, subjects had their hand in painfully cold water for 30s; in the second, for a 45s. When asked which experience they preferred to repeat, they chose the second. This and other experiments have shown that our choices are determined by our memories (as opposed to actual in the moment experiences) and that our subjective memory of an experience is determined by i) the intensity of the single most positive or negative moment, and ii) the positive or negative quality of the end of the experience. Duration of experience is not significant.

So what does this mean for designers? 1. Design for memory. 2. Design to ensure one strong positive moment in the experience. 3. Pay careful attention to the end of the experience with the product.

 By Maurice McGinley

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The craftsmanship of Louis Vuitton

A beautiful video series of how the craftsmen of Louis Vuitton strive to achieve perfection in their products. Click on the picture above to watch the videos at Louis Vuitton.

By Andrew Walker  

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Bentley - manufacturing for desirability

A documentary about the inner workings of the factory building new Bentley flagship model. Perfection in every phase and in every detail.

By Andrew Walker

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Extremely well made ( uniquely more qualitative than others ) can make product more desirable because they make me understand very clearly the value I am getting. When I hold one in my hand, I am instantly confronted with the amount of work and efforts done on it by their manufacturers. From conception ( cleverly engineered/designed ) all the way to the making of it ( and maybe because I know that nothing comes for free ), I recognize the insane amount of passion put into these products … Once I take in account the process it is made of, I can look for it, but there is NO Default … ! Those products are proof points of companies that master ( or work with ) their art. They become fine art pieces and that makes them highly desirable for me. 

The most illustrative one would be the Leica shown in the film above. In case you would like to see more films of extremely well made products, please take a look at: Chanel's Little black jacket, The art of watch making & Macbook Pro.

By Edouard Gebski

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Samsung about Desirability

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Christmas wish list: item #1

Co-Design posted on the 8th of November an item on very well thought through strategy of a start-up, that is really engaged with making desirable and high quality products.

The craftsmanship and quality I see in the images really trigger me to put their wallet on my wish list for Christmas.

By Jurrien Brouwer

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Pinboards about Objects of Desire

By accident I stumbled over a Pinboard on Pinterest called "Objects of Desire". It triggered my curiosity; Objects of Desire is not one of those standard boards (i.e. like My Style) so I checked, there are 360 of them. Something that can help us get a richer and better informed opinion about what people find desirable. 

Interestingly enough when you dig a bit deeper into what's actually on the boards, you find out Objects of Desire is something very subjective and emotional, there is not a One-Size-fits-all. It's not like they have all pinned iPhones and Gucci bags etc (stereotypical coolness that would generate social recognition) The collections that have been pinned seem to represent a broad spectrum of taste and seem to be very much a reflection of personal interest, lifestyle and values.

In the coming period we will be looking closer at some of the boards, their pinners, trying to dissect what the imagery represents.

By Hanne Caspersen

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What ‘desirability’ really is…?

It is easy to get confused between ‘desirability’ and ‘desire’.

Dictionary defines both as noun and interestingly, desire is not a verb!

Guess it makes sense because you cannot physically action a desire, it is a feeling!

Desirability is an evoked emotion and in my opinion, it is has elements of 'extreme aspiration', compelled by a degree of 'un-attainability' and heightened by 'physical qualities of attraction'!

And this emotion (or sensation!) happens and is strongest at the point just before 'getting it' (that desirable object, experience etc.).This sensation can be as short as a few seconds to as long as a lifetime!

To a child, desirability is a plate of candy-cup cakes! Soft, sweet, chocolaty topped with colourful bits of candy… especially when mom forbids!

When I was a design student, my ‘object-of-desire’ is a Halliburton Zero Case.

It was a ‘design classic’, a classic design of form-follows-function with the use of space-age aluminum, construction and details appropriate for its intended purpose of protecting its content even at extreme high-impact and durability.

Not that I have anything of extreme high value to carry but the thought of owning such a purpose-built carrying case pushed my ‘desirability’ button!

It cost a lot of money (to me!) but I had to have one and I eventually did get one at a discount…4 years after I set my eyes on it.

Strangely, its ‘desirability’ factor has gone down quite a bit and it is now replaced by ‘love’, I love using it…

Maybe when desirability is attained, love follows…

By Cheaw Hwei Low