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The Thing and I: Understanding the Relationship Between User and Product

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Funology 2

Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

We currently witness a growing interest of the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community in user experience. It has become a catchphrase, calling for a holistic perspective and an enrichment of traditional quality models with non-utilitarian concepts, such as fun, joy, pleasure, hedonic value or ludic value. In the same vein, literature on experiential marketing stresses that a product should not longer be seen as simply delivering a bundle of functional features and benefits—it provides experiences. Customers want products that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts and stimulate their minds. Even though the HCI community seems to embrace the notion that functionality and usability is just not enough, we are far from having a coherent understanding of what user experience actually is.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Usage modes were inspired by Apter’s reversal theory (Apter 1989). In the present Chap. 1, however, use the term “action” instead of Apter’s term “activity” to avoid a potential confusion with “activity theory”.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Annette Amon, Kai-Christoph Hamborg, James Kalbach, Sara Ljungblad, Andrew Monk, Jürgen Sauer and Peter Wright for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this chapter, and Katrin Borcherding for bringing the importance of the distinction between potentials for pleasure/satisfaction and their actual realization to my attention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ubiquitous Design/Experience and Interaction, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany

    Marc Hassenzahl

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  1. Marc Hassenzahl
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Correspondence to Marc Hassenzahl .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Design, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

    Mark Blythe

  2. Department of Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom

    Andrew Monk

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Hassenzahl, M. (2018). The Thing and I: Understanding the Relationship Between User and Product. In: Blythe, M., Monk, A. (eds) Funology 2. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68213-6_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68213-6_19

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-68212-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-68213-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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