Design Quote by Donald A. Norman
“Everything has a personality: everything sends an emotional signal. Even where this was not the intention of the designer, the people who view the website infer personalities and experience emotions. Bad websites have horrible personalities and instill horrid emotional states in their users, usually unwittingly. We need to design things-products, websites, services-to convey whatever personality and emotions are desired.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Design of Everyday Things, 2013
Designs convey personalities and emotions; poor design creates negative feelings, so intentional emotional design is needed.
In simple terms: Design shapes emotional experience.
Key Takeaway
Design with intentional personality.
Themes
design
emotion
user experience
Mood
analytical
empathetic
Type
design
psychology
When to use this quote
- website redesign
- app interfaces
- branding
- customer service
Key Concepts
Affective design
human‑centered design
Questions to Reflect On
- How does your product’s personality affect users?
- What emotions do you want to evoke?
A Different Perspective
Designers may lack insight into users’ emotional responses.
![“Hypertext makes a virtue out of lack of organization, allowing ideas and thoughts to be juxtaposed at will. [...] The advent of hypertext is apt to make writing much more difficult, not easier. Good writing, that is.” quote by Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/662/donald-a-norman-6862_advent_hypertext-makes-a-virtue-out-of-lack-of_51804.jpg)
