IB Design Technology 7.5 Beyond Usability—designing for Pleasure and Emotion Questionbank

A children’s hospital is introducing a small, hand-held “Brave Buddy” device that is given to patients aged 6–12 when they arrive for a blood test.

The device has three buttons ("Start", "Squeeze", "Help"), a soft silicone outer shell, a gentle pulse light, and a short audio guide that says the child’s chosen name. It also includes a removable “story card” chosen by the child (space explorer, football hero, animal rescuer) that changes the tone of the audio and the light pattern.

A nurse can set the device to one of three modes: calm (slow breathing prompt), courage (countdown + praise), or recovery (congratulations + choice of sticker).

Figure 1: Concept of the “Brave Buddy” experience

(a) List two intended emotional outcomes of the “Brave Buddy” experience.

(b) Outline how two levels of emotional design could be used in this product–service experience.

(c) Outline two design guidance actions the team should follow to avoid unintentionally negative emotions in the clinic setting.

(d) Explain how the team could use findings from user testing to refine the “Brave Buddy” design.

Hearth & Harbor is a small company designing a bedside lamp intended for young adults moving into their first apartment. The team wants the product to feel comforting and personal while still being easy to use in the dark.

(a) Outline one way the designer could create an emotional connection between the user and this lamp.

(b) Outline how design guidance could be used to help users operate the lamp correctly on first use in a dark room.

(c) Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using principles of emotional design to guide the lamp’s development.

A consumer chooses to purchase a smartphone made from recycled ocean plastics because it reflects their commitment to environmental conservation. According to Jordan’s Four Pleasure Framework, which type of pleasure is the consumer primarily seeking?

(a) List two features of the CalmBorrow kiosk that are intended to create an emotional connection with the user.

(c) Outline one design guidance rule that would help ensure the kiosk’s “celebratory” feedback remains appropriate for a public library setting.

(d) Explain how the library team could use design guidance to ensure the emotional intent of “Borrow Joy” is delivered consistently for different users and contexts (e.g., busy periods, accessibility needs, errors).

A public library is launching a self-service kiosk called CalmBorrow to help visitors check out books and reserve study rooms. The library has received feedback that some visitors (especially first-time users and people who feel anxious about “doing it wrong”) avoid the kiosks and queue for staff help instead.

The design team prototypes a new kiosk experience with:

• a welcome screen that uses warm, conversational microcopy (e.g., “You’re in the right place—let’s get your books checked out.”)
• soft ambient animations and a subtle “breathing” progress indicator while the system loads
• optional “privacy mode” that hides titles and personal details on-screen
• a small celebratory interaction after a successful checkout (e.g., a gentle chime and “All set—enjoy your reading!”)

Figure 1: Prototype welcome screen for CalmBorrow

Figure 2: Prototype confirmation screen for CalmBorrow

(b) Outline how the design team could apply principles of emotional design to reduce user anxiety during the checkout process.

(d) Explain how the design team could evaluate and refine CalmBorrow’s emotional impact using design guidance, while still supporting task completion.

Socio-pleasure

Ideo-pleasure

Physio-pleasure

Psycho-pleasure