The Netherlands is a prosperous country and we have a lot of choice in products. The disadvantage of this prosperity is our moral commitment to make something of our life, to live life the fullest. This moral commitment lays a pressure on people. Everybody around us is striving for perfection. To gain this perfection we want to make the right choices. In my blog article of 1 march you could have read that we disappoint ourselves when making choices.
The amount of awareness a user has of his needs and the way he wants to fulfill these needs are important to make the choice easier. Therefore he creates a certain freedom. But how does a user knows what he wants? This is a lifelong quest.
I used the needs scheme of professor Manfred Maxneef to find out my needs. But not only your own needs are a motivation to make a choice, an external reward can influence your choices as well.
The amount of awareness a user has of his needs and the way he wants to fulfill these needs are important to make the choice easier. Therefore he creates a certain freedom. But how does a user knows what he wants? This is a lifelong quest.
I used the needs scheme of professor Manfred Maxneef to find out my needs. But not only your own needs are a motivation to make a choice, an external reward can influence your choices as well.
An example:
I am in search for something to keep my legs warm while I walk outside holding up my bag. Obviously the product must be environment friendly and/or fair-trade, which limits your choices in the first place (but remember; less choice isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Ok, let’s move on; A blanket isn’t useful, it will fall off as I have to hold my bag. A skirt is cold between my legs. My choice is a pair of trousers. But then there are new options. Do I want to have a strong, soft, thick or thin material? This depends on the activity I am going to do and which season it is at that moment. Does it need to be neat or sporty? Extrovert or introvert? Which colour do I want? These choices have to do with the social/cultural point of view; how do others think of me? How do I want to come across? Then I need to know if the pair of trousers is available in my size and if the price fits my budget. After making all these choices I have found the best option for my situation at that moment.
Unfortunately a lot of purchases are based on impulses from companies which want to sell their products. When we are in a store we are encouraged to buy stuff we did not intent to buy when we were at home.
Design for the Real world – Victor Papanek
I am in search for something to keep my legs warm while I walk outside holding up my bag. Obviously the product must be environment friendly and/or fair-trade, which limits your choices in the first place (but remember; less choice isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Ok, let’s move on; A blanket isn’t useful, it will fall off as I have to hold my bag. A skirt is cold between my legs. My choice is a pair of trousers. But then there are new options. Do I want to have a strong, soft, thick or thin material? This depends on the activity I am going to do and which season it is at that moment. Does it need to be neat or sporty? Extrovert or introvert? Which colour do I want? These choices have to do with the social/cultural point of view; how do others think of me? How do I want to come across? Then I need to know if the pair of trousers is available in my size and if the price fits my budget. After making all these choices I have found the best option for my situation at that moment.
Unfortunately a lot of purchases are based on impulses from companies which want to sell their products. When we are in a store we are encouraged to buy stuff we did not intent to buy when we were at home.
Design for the Real world – Victor Papanek
In the book Waarom we kopen wat we kopen (why we buy what we buy) writer Paco Underhill says “Sixty percent of the purchases we do are based on an impulse which is sent by dopamine. Dopamine is a neurochemical substance which is linked to endorphin. Dopamine gives us a pleasant feeling, the substance has something to do with our expectations pattern. As soon as we experience something pleasant or we prepare ourselves for a nice experience the nucleus accumbens is activated. This is the part in a brain where dopamine receptors are located. Dopamine is very powerful, our brain already activates it as soon as we think of something pleasant. The event doesn’t even have to take place.”
I can imagine; when someone is shopping he receives many impulses (nice music, beautiful colours, delicious smells and soft fabrics) which he experiences as pleasant. As a result he associates these pleasant experiences with the products he sees at that moment. He wants to prolong this experience and feels this is possible with those products, which makes it more likely he will buy the products.
And right at that moment the user needs to think; why do I have the feeling I need to buy this? Which need do I feel I have to fulfill? Would I be able to fulfill this need with these products? Or is there another way of fulfilling this need without becoming the owner of these products?
It is important that you as a user understand you seek for a functionality which can be fulfilled with a product, but you do not have to be the owner of a product. Think of it as having a subscription to a product. The factory stays the owner of the raw materials, we as a user have the functionality. Working with subscriptions makes it possible to replace products for newer models, where the older models can be sold again or taken apart and recycled. There are also products which we want to own because we feel an emotional connection with them. A good example are jewellery, they have to be repaired as much as possible but even for these products a way of upcycling must be designed.
Thinking and shopping with all this in mind does not mean you need to consume less and feel guilty about consuming; you need to consume with awareness, which probably results in consuming less but, with more meaning than before.
I can imagine; when someone is shopping he receives many impulses (nice music, beautiful colours, delicious smells and soft fabrics) which he experiences as pleasant. As a result he associates these pleasant experiences with the products he sees at that moment. He wants to prolong this experience and feels this is possible with those products, which makes it more likely he will buy the products.
And right at that moment the user needs to think; why do I have the feeling I need to buy this? Which need do I feel I have to fulfill? Would I be able to fulfill this need with these products? Or is there another way of fulfilling this need without becoming the owner of these products?
It is important that you as a user understand you seek for a functionality which can be fulfilled with a product, but you do not have to be the owner of a product. Think of it as having a subscription to a product. The factory stays the owner of the raw materials, we as a user have the functionality. Working with subscriptions makes it possible to replace products for newer models, where the older models can be sold again or taken apart and recycled. There are also products which we want to own because we feel an emotional connection with them. A good example are jewellery, they have to be repaired as much as possible but even for these products a way of upcycling must be designed.
Thinking and shopping with all this in mind does not mean you need to consume less and feel guilty about consuming; you need to consume with awareness, which probably results in consuming less but, with more meaning than before.
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