Imagine you are a busy, very requested investor, and receive that:

That’s a business plan for an elegant gift packing service. It was designed by my office mate Ticiana and her group at college.

I bet you can guess what of these shavers and toothbrushes belong to me or my wife just by observing their size, color, and appearance.

Don Norman says in his famous book Emotional Design (p. 69):

[...] Visceral design is all about immediate emotional impact. It has to feel good, look good. Sensuality and sexuality play roles. This is a major role of “point of presence” displays in stores, in brochures, in advertisements, and in other enticements that emphasize appearance. These may be a store’s only chance of getting the customer, for many a product is purchased on looks alone. Similarly, otherwise highly rated products may be turned down if they do not appeal to the aesthetic sense of the potential buyer.

Commuters access to the bus platform at Afogados metro station in Recife. Photo taken by Gilvan.

Taken by Gustavo while doing ethnography in Recife.

Close to Arsenal square, some minutes ago.

People under the building’s coverage waiting for the bus, trying to protect from the rain. Today in Santa Rita neighbourhood.

It’s just started to rain and she had to act quickly!

The umbrella should’ve been an invisible interface, since good usability is designed not to be something intentionally noticed as the user try to accomplish his goal. In this case, her goal was to protect herself from the rain, not to simply open the umbrella itself (the task).

But then she became ‘aware’ of the umbrella interface just because it didn’t work fine. (Poor usability, on the other hand, is always perceived by the user).

Most of the cups in the Informatics Center’s kitchen are labeled with the usernames of their owners. It’s not rare for the students there to refer to one another using their usernames.

‘Carlos’ worst broth’.

Computer Science students (probably in trouble) deciding whether they should show up for some exam. Taken at the Informatics Center, UFPE.

Beer and sauce bottles in a restaurant table. Taken in Garanhuns, Pernambuco, during the Winter Festival.

‘Area reserved for smokers and pets’.