What do you need to focus?

I am reading "Emotional Design" by Donald A. Norman. Coincidentally, it's just after I decided last week to focus on just one website. Norman has some interesting notions about focus, which I didn't expect in a book about design.

I read Norman's book "The psychology of daily things" (1988) years ago and was very enthusiastic about it. In that book he appears to be a follower in "Form Follows Function" and "Less Is More". These are concepts promoted by the Bauhaus, which I am a huge fan of.

So at first, I was amazed that Norman seems to let go of these concepts in "Emotional Design" (2003). This is called progressive insight. :)

He explains that emotion is a much more important component in the experience of design than he first assumed.

And he gives a very interesting example of how that works in practice. (Which finally brings me to 'focus'!)

Creativity versus focus

An attractive design makes someone feel good. And when we feel good, we are better able to make a creative effort. Creativity is a chaotic process. We need creativity for problem solving, to think things through.

But after the creative process we need to concentrate on implementation. And for that we need focus and an environment that doesn't distract us, a low-impulse setting. An aspect that can arise in such an environment is tunnel vision.

That's why in the following stage, when the problem is really urgent, the environment should be the opposite of cosy, warm and pleasurable. The action level should be high then because the circumstances need that, as well as a high focus level.

As an example, Norman described the process in a control room:
1) A meeting where people fool around a bit and tell jokes before brainstorming.
2) The everyday tasks where the light is pleasant and the music soft in the background.
3) The state of alarm, with a howling siren, flashing lights on the panels and the room lights bright and harsh.

xxx

Hannie