Assessment 1: 3

The article “Emotional Design in Multimedia: Does Gender and Academic Achievement Influence Learning Outcomes?” talks about how each gender responds to design emotionally, whether it be a positive, neutral or negative response. This was tested through academic achievement of each gender from their interactions for online study. This was done through the use of colours varying from warm yellow, orange, to grey, blue tones and even white or lacking colour rather. They also made use of differing fonts, shapes and layouts for the web pages. Another similar example of emotional design for online users – however slightly different – this next study doesn’t necessarily focus on positive or negative emotional responses specifically. The article by S. Pengnate, R. Sarathy (2016, p. 50) “An experimental investigation of the influence of website emotional design features on trust in unfamiliar online vendors” focused more on the everyday user, focusing on more broader audience unlike just gender comparisons. “Specifically, our focus is on users’ perceptions toward website design features, which include visual appeal and ease of use.” S. Pengnate, R. Sarathy (2016, p. 50) The emotional response focused on trust, familiarity and usability of a website. In the first example it is shown how emotional design can influence focus, and study results depending on your gender and therefore the emotional response to the website. The later example shows how good design and familiarity can evoke trust and an understanding of the intent of the website – therefore a more likely chance for sales. Both examples are different ways of using emotional design but very similar in that they both use design, colours, shapes, line, layout etc for online users. 

S. Pengnate, R. Sarathy. (2016) An experimental investigation of the influence of website emotional design features on trust in unfamiliar online vendor Computers in Human Behaviour, 8, 49-60. 

J. Amantha Kumar, B. Muniandy, W. Ahmad Jaafar Wan Yahaya. (2016) Emotional Design in Multimedia: Does Gender and Academic Achievement Influence Learning Outcomes? Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 4,(3), 37-50.