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Five factors of meaningful design
A conceptual framework for “meaning” in product design.
As creators, we pride ourselves with products that people love. We help users get things done while enjoying the sleekest interfaces that technology has to offer. We enrich their lives with our content. We introduce them to new services and gain their loyalty through the trustworthy relationship that we build. As for our clients, we are partners in achieving their target sales and KPIs thus illustrating the value of a well-executed design.
In the past decades, good interaction between humans and computers has developed to include usability, satisfaction, and other positive emotions, among others. Our understanding of good interaction is still evolving. More recently, there is an ongoing discussion on how the design of technology and services impact the human experience of meaning. Mekler and Hornbaek summarizes the conversation on this topic and proposed a framework for the experience of meaning in interaction design.
Meaning in psychology research
To be sure, man’s search for meaning may arouse inner tension rather than inner equilibrium. However, precisely such tension is an indispensable prerequisite of mental health. There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one’s life. There is much wisdom in the words of Nietzsche: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ― Viktor Emil Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
The psychological aspects of meaning have a long history in existentialist and positive psychology. Frankl, Holocaust survivor and founder of logotheraphy, was among the first to emphasize man’s need for meaning — that finding value in life is essential even at times of suffering. Around the same time, Maslow argued that people want to lead meaningful lives by cultivating their talents…
