Producing Consumer Enduring Happiness in the Emerging Participatory CultureMolly Wang

DESIGN FOR HAPPINESS

Design should make people happy. Good design makes people’s happiness last longer.

Design should make people happy, not just produce momentary pleasure but enduring happiness. Today, we have more choices of products and services, but this does not seem to result in making people happier. Especially as we are move toward a participatory culture, people are empowered to actively participate in many aspects of their lives. As consumers, their role is shifting from passive consumers to active co-creators of products and services they consume.

VALUE CO-CREATION

WEBDIY

CUSTOMIZATIONHANDS-ON

MASS CUSTOMIZATIONCROWED SOURCING PEER PRODUCTION

TUBEYOUFACEBOOK

CROWED SOURCINGWIKI

2.0EXPERIENCEECONOMY

WIKI To maintain our relevancy and create better products and services that help consumers become happier, designers need to focus on providing designs that facilitate consumer participation. When people physically, emotionally, and mentally participate in various value creation activities, they devote their time and use their skills and strengths in creating forms that benefit not just themselves, but also others. This is how people today find meaning in life, how they are fulfilled, and how they achieve happiness. The following pages will introduce a set of design principle as a design tool for inspiring new products, services, and strategies that facilitate a participatory environment to produce enduring consumer happiness.

Happy Design Principle is a design tool

that emphasizes six different types of

happiness that result from consumer

participation activities. By enabling

consumers to actively engage in value

creation activities of a product or service

that they eventually consume, they

achieve different types of happiness

through the participatory consumption

experience.

The fundamental component of the Happy

Design Principle are the six archetypes.

The six archetypes represent six

participatory behavior patterns which lead

to achieving enduring happiness. Based on

the six archetypes, complimentary design

principles and design cases are provided to

give a completed map for design

implementation.

HAPPYDESIGNPRINCIPLE

In�uential Generous

Conn

ecte

dD

istinctive

Pleasurable Productive

Six Happy Archetypes

Santa Claus

Orphan

Warrior

Superstar

CraftsmanHedonist

High purpose,Influential

Love to give, share and teach

Kindness

Loving and to be loved,

teamwork, being together

Eye catcher, Being recognized,

Originality, Self-expression

Skilful, Ability, Control and freedom,

Chasing sensual pleasure

Happy Design

Six Happy Design Categories

WARRIOR I am a warrior with faith and always show great vigor and courage. I fight for what is right and beneficial to my family, friends and all humanity. I believe my contribution matters even if I am just one out of thousands of warriors. I know I am part of something significant, and my peers show me respect. The more people I can serve, the happier I could be. ”

“

Design Category: Influential

Focus Happy Archetype: Warrior

Mode of Consumer Participation: Mental

Design Goal: Allow people to feel that their actions, decisions, or contributions matter

How: Enable people to participate in collective actions that benefit large groups of people

Advocate virtue, right actions, and social responsibility through products or services which align with the company’s mission. (People today have raised their expectations for brands. They tend to purchase products from brands that are actively making the world a better place, even if in small ways. They believe they can help shape a better world through their purchasing decisions.

Example b.) BURT'S BEES is a natural personal care product company that helped develop The Natural Standard for Personal Care Products and always follows the highest possible standards for packaging sustainability.

Example a.) IKEA is a furniture company focusing on “democratic design,” which promotes the design philosophy that design must not be elitist; rather it must be affordable for everyone.

Enable people to transform their small ideas and efforts into causes that benefit others

Example a.) Quirky is a product development company that provides the easiest way for people to bring their creative ideas to life. Everyone who has a product idea can summit sketches or design briefs to Quirky, and the company helps evaluate, refine, produce and sell the products worldwide.

INFLUENTIAL

Design Category: Influential

Focus Happy Archetype: Warrior

Mode of Consumer Participation: Mental

Design Goal: Allow people to feel that their actions, decisions, or contributions matter

How: Enable people to participate in collective actions that benefit large groups of people

SUPERSTAR

I am an eye-catching super star. I have distinctive taste and talent. I always desire to express my unique qualities. When people show admiration or envy, I feel happy.”“

Design Category: Distinctive

Focus Happy Archetype: Super Star

Mode of Consumer Participation: Mental/ Emotional

Design Goal: Allow people to feel that they are unique individuals

How: Create opportunities for people to show their distinctive qualities (personality, taste, skills, etc.)

Provide products or services that enable people to use their distinctive qualities in creating forms which reflect their unique personality, attitude, or taste and also help them tell an impressive story.

Cars and fashion items are products that can be carried around or shown off easily. If products cannot be carried around physically, set up an online gallery or community’s space to provide creators exposure opportunities. Help people show case their hard work and creativity!

Tips

Example b.) Neighborhoodies provides customized products including clothes, T-shirts, bags, and hats. The service not only allows people to wear what they design but show what they can design.

Example a.) Local Motors is a car automobile company that provides studio space, tools, and professional assistance to car enthusiasts and helps them build their dream cars.

DISTINCTIVE

DISTINCTIVE

SANTA CLAUS

I am Santa Claus who loves sharing, helping, and giving. When people show their need and when I have the ability, I am willing to share my knowledge, skills, efforts, and material possessions with others. The moment I see that helping others is returned by a smile, I am happy.

“

GENEROUS

Design Category: Generous

Focus Happy Archetype: Santa Claus

Mode of Consumer Participation: Mental/ Emotional

Design Goal: Allow people to feel that they are capable of helping others

How: Empower people to practice kindness even on a small scale

Provides products or services that facilitate helping, giving, and sharing activities.

Provides feedback channels that allow people to see the positive feedback from their action. Tips

Example b.) Kenana Knitters is a toy company formed with the aim of helping rural women in Kenya and finding some much needed income by utilizing their spinning and knitting skills. The Kenana group buys homespun wool produced locally in Kenya, then knits it into beautiful animals, children’s hats, and many other items. The Kenana group builds a channel for consumers to directly help rural women in Kenya.

Example a.) Stacked Wines, a wine company, has created the perfect way to share a wine bottle with friends. The wine bottle is actually comprised of four individually sealed wine containers stacked on top of each other.

ORPHAN I am an orphan who strives for affection. I enjoy chatting with people and tell people how I feel and what I think as well as hearing other people’s thoughts and inspirations. I like teamwork because the energy that groups or community create is more than the sum of adding up the individual effort. When I am in a community, I always find a perfect space for myself to play, learn, and contribute. Being together and acting as a unit makes me feel confident and happy.”

“

CONNECTED

Design Category: Connected

Focus Happy Archetype: Orphan

Mode of Consumer Participation: Emotional

Design Goal: Allow people to feel that they are emotionally connected

How: Empower people to actively build emotional bonds with others

Provides designs or serves that enable social interaction, collaboration, or teamwork activities. Example a.) Savannah Slow Ride provides a fifteen person bicycle excursion which allows a big group of people to take you through beautiful historic downtown in an eco-friendly way.

Example a.) A concept design, inTouch, which is designed by industrial designer Shan Lin, is an interactive video messaging cube designed to help students overseas stay connected to their families back at home. The cube is inspired directly by video messaging applications but aims to be more interactive so as to build a more intimate connection between chatters.

Create design features that promote deep communication between individuals

Provide environments that encourage people who have the same interests, speak the same language, or share the same lifestyle to come together to play and learn. Example a.) Lego Mindstorm is a line of programmable robotics/construction toys. Users not only can enjoy the process of constructing robots at home, but they are encouraged to re-write the programming for their robots and upload them on Lego Community for peer to play at their will. The Lego company also hosts annual festival and invite all Lego fans to work on the same theme and challenge each.

CRAFTSMAN I am a skilful craftsman. I love practicing my skills and conquering obstacles that appear within the refinement process. The action of doing and making is enjoyable. Being a witness to a process where every action, step by step, gradually turns into a tangible fine work is highly enjoyable. I smile every time I see my own accomplishments.”

“

PRODUCTIVE

Design Category: Productive

Focus Happy Archetype: Craftsman

Mode of Consumer Participation: Emotional/Physical

Design Goal: Make people feel that they are taking control

How: Empower people to undertake productive tasks that require skills and strengths to

accomplishing clear goals

Provide designs or services that facilitate hands-on experiences

Example a.) Panasonic SD-BM101is a home-based bread machine which allows people to make bread at home.

Example a.) AeroGardens allows people to grow lush and beautiful gardens all year round in a dirt-free and easy way.

Example a.)The Makedo FreePlay KIT is a connector system that enables materials including cardboard, plastic and fabric to easily join together to form new objects or structures.

Provide designs that empower people to produce everyday things that they used to reply on professionals to make for them

Offer multi-level tasks as options in design to fit various levels of skills Give people simple and easy guildlines to increase work flowProvide assistants to inspire, educate, or help people accomplish their goals

Tips

PRODUCTIVE

HEDONIST

I am a Hedonist. I appreciate beauty and high quality. My life principle is a pursuit of pleasure.”“

PLEASURABLE

Design Category: Pleasurable

Focus Happy Archetype: Hedonist

Mode of Consumer Participation: Physical

Design Goal: Make people feel bodily pleasurable

How: Stimulate positive emotion by providing multi-sensual pleasure (Sensual pleasure is an

essential and fundamental quality that designs should deliver. A pleasurable design could effectively

produce in a user positive emotion that could evoke the very first motivation of consumer participatory

behavior or reinforce a positive experience during the participatory activities. )

Produce multi-sensual pleasure in every touch point of a participatory experience

Example a.) Cape May Café at Disney's Beach Club Resort offers all-you-care-to-eat buffets at breakfast and dinner in a lively, beach-themed restaurant. The food, display, interiors, and entertainment are designed to enrich the dining experience and help users to create a memorable family time.

PLEASURABLE

Wthe Happy Design Principle framework, it might be helpful to consider all six happy design categories when approaching the issue of how to produce enduring happiness and build deeper connection with consumers. It is likely that the benefits associated with a single design cover the entire range of different types of happiness. However, there is no suggestion that all design should provide all six types of happiness. A better approach would be starting by applying one of the six happy categories as a primary focus which align with the main purpose of design or brand value, and then supplementing with other categories as secondary value as needed. The following section will use a case scenario to demonstrate how the principles are applied.

FOSSIL + HAPPY DESIGN

This chapter is the Fossil, Inc case senario witch shows the

implementation of Happy Design Principle. The Fossil brand

is known for its vintage-inspired aesthetic and eclectic

assortment of lifestyles and accessories. The vision of

Fossil is a commitment of “fostering creativity” and

“delivering the best in design.” The following pages will use

a concept design to demonstrate how the Happy Design

Principle is applied in inspiring new designs and marketing

strategies while aligning with Fossil’s commitment and

strengthen its unique position in the global marketplace.

MY FOSSIL LOOK

MYFOSSILLOOK

Fashion accessories are always used to help people create an appealing look while showing off a

unique personality and lifestyle. “My Fossil Look” is a concept app design that is created around the

consumer’s desire to show off their life attitude and fashion sense. To this end, My Fossil Look

focuses on the design category “Distinctive” from “Happy Design” to help consumers show off their

creativity, a sense of fashion, and the lifestyle they are embracing. The design will also be supple-

mented with the other five Happy Design categories to enrich the whole Fossil consumer experi-

ence. The specific objectives for each Happy Design category are listed below:

D: Provide an efficient platform that allows Fossil fans to show off their creativity and sense of fashion which are inspired by the Fossil brand.

C: Provide a social environment for all participants in the projects to gather and discuss their experiences.

P: Engage Fossil fans in fashion/vintage/ lifestyle related tasks and provide tools to help them to achieve their goals.

I: Transform Fossil fans’ work into a large scale, collective, and long term Fossil project.

G: Provide efficient channels for users to share and give their creative ideas to others

P: Provide supper sensual pleasure that helps establish a playful environment to facilitate creative thinking

Distinctive

Connected

Productive

In�uential

Generous

Pleasurable

Show Your Style, Show Your Look!

My Fossil Look is a marketing app that allows users to create their fashion look book by using the Fossil brand as an inspiration. The Fossil brand has been playing a role as a lead to embrace a vintage- inspired aesthetic through delivering great products and establish a lifestyle through blogging. It is time for Fossil fans to learn to create their own look! Everyone can create a personal account no matter if he or she is a Fossil consumer. Once the account is registered, they can start to fill the wardrobe with Fossil products and things that inspire them. Next, they can simply drag objects from wardrobe to the look book area to create their own look book and publish it! Simple art tool aid is also provided to help users give more character to their look book page. Furthermore, users can also upload their own pictures of how Fossil products inspire them in everyday life. For example, they can show how they DIY Fossil shoes, mix and match Fossil watches with other jewelry, or wear Fossil products in a totally creative way! Every week, the Fossil team announces the best look book page as “The Look of the Week” on Fossil’s official website to celebrate Fossil fans’ hard work and creativity. My Fossil Look is also designed to build a sense of community around the Fossil brand by facilitating dialogue between Fossil and Fossil fans. Fossil announces new subjects for a new

.

look book, so of course every look book owner can propose ideas as well. Participants not only can brainstorm the subject together, they can subscribe each others’ look book, “like” it through Facebook, and give comments. The app can be connected to their Facebook account, so every time they publish a new page on their look book, it will show on their Facebook status.

Rather than being a passive consumer, My Fossil Look allows Fossil fans to actively engage in creating their own Fossil experience. Through the app, users actively create valuable forms that are inspirited by the Fossil brand rather than just passively receiving and admiring products and messages from Fossil. On the other hand, Fossil smoothly shifts its role from a centre value creator to a educator and orchestrator to facilitate a fashion feast that allows thousands of participants to join and create their own experience and memory. Fossil fans now become the super star rather than a screaming fan under the stage.

LucySubscribers: 15Subscriptions: 5

HANDBAG

MYFOSSILLOOK

Maddox Drawstring

75

Done Browse

There are a total of 8 types of objects that users can collect in their wardrobe including Fossil products such as watches, handbags, accessories, shoes, jewelry, clothes, and “Fossil Finds” objects as well as things they like such as Fossil articles, adoring artist on Etsy, books and music on Amazon. The wardrobe is a miniature of their lifestyle.

The Fossil Key is the reward of their effort. How do users win the key? Every time their look book is published, subscribed to by others, or chosen by Fossil as “the look of the week,” they win keys. And what do the Fossil keys do? They can be traded for bigger wardrobe, advanced art aid tools, or Fossil coupons to purchase the real products to fill their real life wardrobe!

Ying-Yi(Molly) Wang, MFA CandidateMolly is a design researcher and product desginer. She is

specialized in generating consumer insights via qualitative

research and translating research data into product, service

and business opportunities.

About the Author

iammollywang@gmail.com

http://designermollywang.weebly.com