Emotional Toolkit

“Photos and words (or phrases) are used for eliciting memories from the past. The backdrop might be blank, allowing the participant to define its structure. Or the backdrop may be predefined to elicit specific content.”

Elizabeth Sanders & Pieter Jan Strappers. Convivial Toolbox: Generative Research for the Front End of Design. Ch. 3: How It Works: Generative Tools and Techniques. 65-95.

Definition

An emotional toolkit aims to understand how people feel about a design and how a design fulfills emotional needs.

Context

Co-design

Procedure

Emotional toolkits can vary widely in composition. I recommend using the following questions to decide how to create an appropriate emotional toolkit.

• What are you trying to study?

• What materials can you use?

• Who are your target participants?

• How can those participants express themselves?

When using the toolkit in the field, make sure to provide instructions and be ready to help participants if they start to have trouble.

Use Case

I used an emotional toolkit as part of a user research project. My goal was to understand how people perceive and interact with everyday waste disposal bins.

I designed the emotional toolkit as a picture booklet including 12 photographs of waste disposal bins taken from around campus or from online stock images. Each page had a different waste bin design on it. I instructed participants to use emoji stickers to express their attitude toward the designs.

This ended up becoming one of my favorite design methods. For one, this was quick and fun to create. Secondly, the participants found this method to be simple, intuitive, and interesting. One participant said she didn’t have to think too hard. It also engaged people by making them consider how to improve waste bin design (something people don’t usually think about). This was a fun way to capture how people felt about different aspects of waste bin designs, and I certainly hope to use this method again in the future.

Data Analysis

A convenient aspect to this toolkit is that participants create data points as they complete the booklet. While the responses are captured directly on the page, it can be difficult to interpret what people mean. It’s important to ask for clarification. For instance, I asked one of my participants to explain why he used certain emojis for a penguin design. He said that he liked the penguin design because the feet were pedals to open the trash. He loves this concept because it’s a more sanitary option and is common in his home country.