Learning the Theory of Emotional Design by Application to Pandemic Face Masks

Abstract

Emotional design is a threshold concept in design education. A concept-based assessment exercise called a DESIGN C.U.E. (Conceptual Understanding Evaluation) was used to teach the Three Levels of Emotional Design framework in an introductory undergraduate course, with the purpose of answering the following research questions: Can students apply the theory of emotional design to the design of pandemic face masks? How do students incorporate emotional design into the design of pandemic face masks? Participants in the study were 128 students at a large Midwestern University in the College of Design. A review of the literature included background on pandemic face masks, pandemic face masks in the context of emotional design, design theory, design thinking and pedagogy. The study used a mixed methods approach with multiple data sources. The study was conducted asynchronously online during the Covid-19 pandemic when face masks were recommended as a protective device. Before completing the DESIGN C.U.E. exercise, students took part in a pandemic face mask experience survey, they were assigned a reading, a video and a lecture based on the 3 levels of emotional design. The exercise was designed to foster transfer learning through bridging that required students to demonstrate understanding of the emotional design theoretical framework. This included first an application to an existing pandemic face mask, followed by designing their own face masks through sketching rough prototypes and finally selecting one of their prototype designs to apply their conceptual understanding of emotional design. The Design C.U.E. was graded by course instructors and analyzed to determine learning outcomes using Bloom’s taxonomy as the assessment measurement tool. Of the 128 students given the assignment, 126 of them were able to understand and apply the 3 levels of emotional design to pandemic face masks using the DESIGN C.U.E. Such a concept-based assessment exercise was found to be useful in teaching design theory to undergraduate students. Findings of the study suggest that the learning outcomes of the DESIGN C.U.E. may be attributed to students’ knowledge, experience and interest in pandemic face masks which aided in learning emotional design. Additionally, the learning took place during the Covid-19 pandemic which offers further insights into the value of situated learning. This research advanced the understanding of the use of concept-based assessments in teaching design theory. How undergraduate students effectively learn about emotional design has been a neglected area of scholarly research.