Designing for the self: making products that help people become the person they desire to be

ABSTRACT

Product attachment theory describes how people learn to love certain possessions through a process of meaning making. It provides a rich and as yet untapped source of inspiration for driving the practice of experience design. However, there are currently no guidelines that describe how to apply this theory in design practice. Taking a research through design approach, I made many different products with the goal of helping people become the person they desire to be through their product interactions. Then, in order to better understand how the different design teams applied attachment theory, I created a set of design patterns that document the application of product attachment theory to the interaction design of each product. I clustered the patterns based on similarities across the different artifacts, and this produced six framing constructs, which work as specific perspectives designers can take when applying product attachment theory in an experience design project.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.m MISCELLANEOUS

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
attachment, designing for the self, experience design, loved objects, product attachment