Nowadays, people all around the world are dealing with the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, besides its severe medical consequences. The ones who have not been infected are mostly in lockdown at home and have faced the effects of being socially isolated, as well as staying indoors for long periods of time, and having to experience new work or study routines.
In such an environment where people interact with products more than with other people, it will be fair to assume that their relationship with products will change in terms of affiliation with them and their expectations from them. This brief has challenged students to think about new trends and the emerging user-product relationship, while encouraging them to create positive vibes and enhance the psychological well-being of users.
In this context, the students created a persona based on thorough user research and presented a narrative to describe the physical and emotional needs of the persona, drawing on Jordan’s (2000) Four Pleasure Approach, which consists of Physio-Pleasure, Socio-Pleasure, Psycho-Pleasure, and Ideo-Pleasure. This analysis led the students to decide on the type of electrical appliance that should be designed in accordance with the problem definition.
