Getting Emotional With... Lorraine Justice

Lorraine Justice Ph. D., is currently head of the Design School at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr. Justice has served in higher education for the past seventeen years, teaching in the areas of industrial design and human computer interface design. She has published and presented her work worldwide on topics such as interface design. She assists educational institutions worldwide with curriculum development. Dr. Justice was responsible for organizing the First China-USA Industrial Design Conference in Beijing, and the First Doctoral Education in Design Conference in Ohio. Dr. Justice was recently made a Fellow of the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA). She has twice served on the Business Week/IDSA IDEA jury for best products and is a jurist for international paper competitions.

Currently, Lorraine is involved in the shared organization (between the Polytechnic University and the Design & Emotion Society) of the 6th International Conference on Design & Emotion in Hong Kong, October 6-9, 2008 . The International Conference on Design & Emotion is a forum where practitioners, researchers and industry meet and exchange knowledge and insights concerning the cross-disciplinary field of design and emotion. Lorraine will also give a key-note lecture at this exciting event.

Marco van Hout, ambassador of the Design & Emotion Society caught up with Lorraine and 'got emotional' with her:

Lorraine, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I really appreciate it!

Could you share a little bit about your background and how you became head of the Design School at Hong Kong Polytech University?

In 1989, I travelled through China as a young professor and came to love the people. I kept in touch with a few friends I’d made and always wanted to go back. So when a head hunter called when I was at Georgia Tech, I decided to “sell the American dream” literally, and move to Hong Kong…big house, two cars, swimming pool, stuff, gone!…it was cathartic to move. Also, I felt I’d accomplished what I could at Georgia Tech at the time, getting the Industrial Design Program nationally accredited and growing the Master’s program.

In an interview you did with NextD, you mentioned that you believe that “innovation can only come from marketing and engineering. It is the emotional side of product “lust” that makes people have to have an item, a desire or a need, but the designers can combine the aesthetics and usability concepts to achieve a fabulous product.” You clearly acknowledge the importance of ‘designing for emotion’ here. When did you gain this insight, and can you recall what triggered it?

Something happened that I thought I, as a designer, was immune to. I was seduced by a car! I am a very frugal person and very much into sustainability and ecological concerns and had been driving a small “stripped down” Toyota for many years but one day I happened to walk past a car dealership and saw a car of my dreams. Through its form, shape, color, etc. I fell in love with this car, crazy as it sounds. Then, I went in and sat in it and could not believe the ease of use, fit and luxury. All of my senses were stimulated, not to mention it was a convertible. It was one of my only “impulse buys”. I never regretted it. I kept that car for many years and sold it before leaving for China. Another woman who had admired this car for many years, would always stop me and ask to buy this car. So one day, in my driveway, I handed over the keys knowing it would go to a good home ☺.

According to you, what is a clear definition of ‘design for emotion’?

Design for emotion is when a product is created to fulfill an emotional need or desire. It can range from a much needed medical product to something as frivolous as some of the luxury products of today. Design for emotion recognizes the human side of us in a very concrete way. Our emotions arise from our feelings and our feelings arise from our beliefs and our beliefs arise from our culture. What could be more telling, yet abstract, about the things we own and feel emotionally charged with. The other side is that we have a lot of products we don’t like or feel very negligent or uninspired about, and to me that is the bigger problem.

Read the complete interview over at Design&Emotion.com >>>