home / skills / derklinke / codex-config / emotional-design-norman

emotional-design-norman skill

safe

This skill helps you apply Norman's emotional design to critique, concept, and polish UX by balancing aesthetics with usability.

npx playbooks add skill derklinke/codex-config --skill emotional-design-norman

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (2)

SKILL.md

1.8 KB

---
name: emotional-design-norman
description: Apply Don Norman's Emotional Design framework (visceral, behavioral, reflective) for UX/UI critique, product concepting, and experience polish. Use when asked to make products feel delightful, engaging, meaningful, or to balance aesthetics with usability; or when emotional design / visceral / behavioral / reflective is mentioned.
---

# Emotional Design (Norman)

## Overview

Apply Norman's three-level emotional design model to set emotional goals, evaluate current experience, and propose changes that preserve usability while increasing meaning and delight. Read `references/emotional-design.md` for definitions, findings, and checklists.

## Workflow

1) Frame context

- Identify user, context of use, constraints, and desired emotion.
- If missing, infer from product category and ask 1-2 focused questions.

2) Map to three levels

- List current cues and gaps per level.
- Use `references/emotional-design.md` "Level cues" to avoid overlap.

3) Design interventions

- Propose changes per level with expected emotional effect.
- Keep behavioral usability intact; do not trade usability for surface appeal.

4) Align and prioritize

- Resolve conflicts between levels.
- Prioritize changes that reinforce multiple levels.

5) Validate

- Suggest lightweight tests: first-impression check (visceral), task success/effort (behavioral), recall/meaning interviews (reflective).

## Output format

- Provide a short summary, then organize by level:
  - Visceral: observation -> change -> expected emotion
  - Behavioral: observation -> change -> expected emotion
  - Reflective: observation -> change -> expected meaning

## References

- Read `references/emotional-design.md` when defining levels, choosing levers, or citing key findings.

Overview

This skill applies Don Norman's three-level Emotional Design model—visceral, behavioral, and reflective—to set emotional goals, evaluate product experiences, and recommend focused interventions that increase delight and meaning while preserving usability. It delivers concise critiques and prioritized design changes to make products feel more engaging, trustworthy, and memorable.

How this skill works

I first frame the user, context, constraints, and the desired emotional outcome. Then I map existing cues and gaps across the three levels, propose level-specific interventions with expected emotional effects, resolve conflicts and prioritize changes, and recommend lightweight validation methods for each level.

When to use it

Polishing a UI to increase first-impression appeal without breaking usability
Balancing aesthetics and functionality during product concepting
Making interactions more satisfying and less frustrating for target users
Design reviews where emotional goals (delight, trust, meaning) are important
Reworking brand moments to strengthen long-term product meaning

Best practices

Always start by clarifying the intended user, context, and target emotion
List concrete sensory and interaction cues for each Norman level to avoid overlap
Prioritize changes that reinforce multiple levels rather than one-off flourishes
Preserve or improve behavioral usability; never trade core task success for surface appeal
Validate with quick tests tied to each level: first-impression checks, task metrics, and recall interviews

Example use cases

Mobile onboarding: increase visceral appeal with micro-animations, simplify behavioral steps, and add reflective copy to convey product values
E-commerce checkout: reduce friction in behavioral flows, enhance visceral trust signals, and follow up with meaningful receipts that reinforce purchase decisions
SaaS dashboard: tune visual hierarchy for immediate clarity, optimize interaction feedback for efficiency, and add progress narratives to increase long-term engagement
Hardware product packaging: craft visceral unboxing aesthetics, ensure behavioral clarity in setup, and include reflective storytelling about craftsmanship

FAQ

Will this recommend purely cosmetic changes?

No. Recommendations always include behavioral safeguards and prioritize interventions that increase meaning without degrading core task success.

How do you validate emotional changes quickly?

Use level-specific lightweight tests: first-impression polling for visceral, task completion/time and error rates for behavioral, and short interviews or surveys for reflective meaning and recall.