Putting the pleasure into products

Now that consumers expect everything they buy to be both functional and easy to use, designers need to think seriously about the pleasure their products bring to users. The artefacts and products with which we surround ourselves are potential sources of pleasure. They should be designed with a view to how they can provide pleasure to those who use and experience them. This requires a rich understanding of users, an approach to design that sees products not just as tools but as 'living objects'. Moving beyond usability, to take a holistic pleasure-based approach, can facilitate the creation of useful usable and pleasurable products that will delight the customer. The four pleasures discussed are physiological pleasure, social pleasure, psychological pleasure, and ideological pleasure.