Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love

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100 % booked
Intermediate
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5 Stars

In This Course, You'll

  • Get excited as you discover the secret to creating unforgettable products people love! Studies show that 95% of our purchasing decisions are emotional. Emotional design turns functionality into connection and products people want more of. Your favorite pen probably isn't the smoothest or fanciest, yet you chose it every time. Why? Because it's not just a pen. There's a connection, a feeling, and a story. That's what separates iconic products from mediocre ones. Emotional design uses timeless human-centered skills to create meaning, attachment, and trust, turning one-time users into lifelong advocates. These skills are paramount to turn AI from a tool into your new superpower, no matter how much the tech advances. You don't have to start from scratch. You'll build on your existing human skills like empathy, intuition, and storytelling.

  • Make yourself invaluable with design skills that tap directly into emotional decision-making. People naturally recommend and repeatedly use products that make them feel good. With your new emotional design skills, you'll effortlessly inspire action, build loyalty, and increase engagement, conversions, and retention. Whether you're a designer, marketer, or leader, this course gives you a timeless skill set to amplify your impact in any role.

  • Gain confidence and credibility as you master the hidden emotional triggers that make people fall in love with products. It's easier than you think, even if you're completely new to design. Use downloadable templates like the Hierarchy of User Experience (UX) Needs and the 5 Principles of Humanity-Centered Design to fast-track your learning. Directly apply Don Norman's three levels of emotional design—visceral, behavioral, and reflective—to create irresistible products. Leverage tools like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the Triune Brain model to design experiences that win hearts and minds every time. 

It's Easy to Fast-Track Your Career with the World's Best Experts

Master complex skills effortlessly with proven best practices and toolkits directly from the world's top design experts. Meet your expert for this course:

  • Alan Dix: Author of the bestselling book “Human-Computer Interaction” and Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University.

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Is This Course Right for You?

  • You want to land a job in design – or get a promotion.
  • You want to learn real-world design skills that are valuable in any job and any industry.
  • You want timeless human-centered skills AI cannot replace and turn AI into your superpower.
  • You're tired of wasting time on influencers and want to learn from real experts.
  • You want actual career outcomes, like increasing your salary potential and job opportunities.
Explore Course Content

Loved by People Around the World

View full testimonial from Maryna Revutska
Maryna Revutska
Maryna Revutska
Product Designer

Good length of each lesson, and open end questions helped me to remember the information really well. I love the videos with Alan Dix — he e...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Maryna Revutska for completing the "Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love" course
View full testimonial from Emma Lundgren
Emma Lundgren
Emma Lundgren
Experience Architect

I really liked this lesson. It makes it more obvious that we as designers have a far wider responsibility than just designing the interactio...

Certificate
View full testimonial from Steve Miller
Steve Miller
Steve Miller
UX Director / Strategist

I think it's a very good and comprehensive course overall. I like that it introduces the students to a number of good models to help us thin...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Steve Miller for completing the "Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love" course
View full testimonial from Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Senior Experience Designer

Although I was familiar with many of the concepts of the course from previous ones, this course helped me to understand them better and deep...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Pablo Carbonari for completing the "Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love" course

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Course Overview:

  • Each week, one lesson becomes available.
  • Study flexibly. Take as much time as you want.
  • 21h, 22m over 6 weeks (est.).

Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 1 hour, 44 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 0.1 An Introduction to Courses from IxDF (33 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 0.2 Get Help, Career Advice, and Job Opportunities (6 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 0.3 How to Get Your Course Certificate (20 mins)
  • Community-based learning and networking. 0.4 Grow Your Global Network and Build Your Brand (12 mins)

Lesson 1: What do we mean by 'Emotion'? An Introduction to Emotional Design

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 0 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.1 Welcome to Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love (18 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.2 Emotion (19 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.3 Emotion and Design (44 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 1.4 Negative Emotional Responses (19 mins)

Lesson 2: How Products Affect Us: Emotional Responses, Connections and Associations

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 2 hours, 59 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.1 Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.2 The Product-Emotion Cycle and Relationship Between People and Things (23 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.3 Positive Emotional Responses (50 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 2.4 Creating Emotional Connections (17 mins)

Lesson 3: Visceral, Behavioural and Reflective Design - Don Norman's Three Levels of Design

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 2 hours, 51 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.1 Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.2 Norman's Three Levels of Design (42 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.3 The Visceral Level of Emotional Design (49 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 3.4 The Behavioral Level of Emotional Design (28 mins)

Lesson 4: Affect and Design: Designing Positive Emotional Experiences

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 2 hours, 29 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.1 Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.2 How Emotions Impact Cognition (25 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.3 Affect and Design (47 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 4.4 Emotion and Design: Affect and Design (14 mins)

Lesson 5: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Helping Users "Self-Actualize"

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 17 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.1 Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 5.2 Why UX Now? (33 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.3 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (46 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 5.4 Physiological Needs: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (19 mins)

Lesson 6: The Triune Brain: Sorry, You Have to Please Three Brains, Not Just One

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 29 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.1 Welcome and Introduction (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.2 The Concept of the "Triune Brain" (12 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.3 Our Three Brains - The Reptilian Brain (18 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 6.4 Our Three Brains - The Emotional Brain (17 mins)

Lesson 7: Emotional Design: Applying the Knowledge

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 18 mins.

  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.1 Welcome and Introduction (6 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.2 The Reptilian Brain: Emotion and Design (22 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.3 The Paleomammalian Brain: Emotion and Design (20 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 7.4 The Neomammalian Brain: Emotion and Design (52 mins)

Lesson 8: IxDF Course Certificate and Course Wrap-up

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 13 mins.

  • In-depth video lesson with experts, animations and templates. 8.1 How to Add Your IxDF Certificate to LinkedIn (7 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.2 Help Us Help You: Course Evaluation (4 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.3 Six Steps to Your Career Success (3 mins)
  • Multimedia lesson: E.g. templates, animations, illustrations, graphs, and text. 8.4 Get Your IxDF Course Certificate (2 mins)

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  • Learn human-centric skills AI cannot replace and how to turn AI into your superpower.
  • Build your salary potential with industry-recognized certificates.
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Maryna Revutska
Maryna Revutska
Product Designer

Good length of each lesson, and open end questions helped me to remember the information really well. I love the videos with Alan Dix — he explains everything nicely!

Marlene P. Naicker
Marlene P. Naicker
Creative Strategist | Partner

The lessons are very thought provoking. Simple but complex - when you break them down.

Emma Lundgren
Emma Lundgren
Experience Architect

I really liked this lesson. It makes it more obvious that we as designers have a far wider responsibility than just designing the interactions. The experience of a product starts way before a customer uses it, and continues on for much longer after it has been put down. Cool!

Andrea Sabaté
Andrea Sabaté
UX Lead

Easy communication, natural behavior, real examples from his experience, masters the subject, and also some cuteness.

Soma Soral
Soma Soral
Product Manager

The delivery of material and including practical examples such as the case study.

Linnéa Källgård
Linnéa Källgård
UX Designer

Alan Dix is a great lecturer, and his courses are a joy to follow. He is knowledgeable and has a great way of conveying his passion and knowledge! The subject is very interesting and of high interest for anyone in the field of UX and digital design.

Steve Miller
Steve Miller
UX Director / Strategist

I think it's a very good and comprehensive course overall. I like that it introduces the students to a number of good models to help us think critically and design intentionally for emotional design. I especially appreciated the lessons that would help me convince a reluctant stakeholder who doesn't understand the importance of emotional design to take it more seriously. I think the most valuable aspect of the course in that regard is that "Decision making is driven by emotions" - dispelling the myth that we are completely rational creatures.

Bjorn Schraa
Bjorn Schraa

Because the instructor has knowledge and experience, he can communicate and substantiate this well. Awesome!

Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Senior Experience Designer

Although I was familiar with many of the concepts of the course from previous ones, this course helped me to understand them better and deeper. The structure, tone, and development of the topics really made this course enjoyable! Thanks, IxDF!