The Art of Seduction
On the way home this afternoon I heard a radio interview featuring Dr Raj Persaud who has written a book entitled "Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction - How to Catch and Keep Your Perfect Partner "
He talked of Casanova and his seductive adventures... the first being to attract and win an actress who cannot pronounce her R's. He writes a play for her that does not contain words with the letter R and so wins her attention. Dr Persaud points out that Casanova has identified and filled an unmet need and the offer of a play addresses her fundamental needs-
To be regarded as unique and being worth it (in this case writing a play for her).
He could have offered to pay for elocution lessons but that would have been to accuse her of being flawed and in need of improvement before he could regard her as 'interesting'.
In the same way products and service offers can insult you or seduce you, or ....
From uk - charlie: Picture link (all rights reserved).
can be incubators for the human spirit.
The message is clear... empathic solutions to people's unmet needs yield seductive products that the consumer will stay engaged with longer. Even simple products can be redesigned to present a new perspective...
The eva solo Aromagic carafes are a featured winner in Red Dot 2006. Here is an extract
For refined tastes
Trying to define the essence of "functionality" is not easy - both its efficacy and human perception are far too complex.
Finishing....
Aromagic carafes, too, is an interesting feature of intelligent functionality: it solves both the problem of constant dripping and the difficulties of pouring the right amount of oil or vinegar without having it end up on the table or even the table-cloth. Due to a kind of stop mechanism, the pouring spout pours cleanly and precisely. With their highly specific aesthetics, these carafes along with the matching dressing shaker, are the expression of a well thought-out and intelligent functionality - thus, in a figurative sense, they also represent the scenarios of "refined taste".
So putting all this together I wonder whether Apple and organisations like them (in the innovation sense) are in fact combining a sensitivity to the consumer's unmet needs, emerging technologies, supply chain possibilities and excellent communication to arrive at excellent products and services that enable winning, seductive even, experiences? ...and are they using an ensemble approach to creating those experiences?
The Apple Design Team (ensemble?) on a page from red dot design yearbook 2006/2007.
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