A strategy to support Experience Design process: the principle of Accordance

Abstract

Experience Design gained a lot of attention from both academic and professional research. The state of the art covers the theoretical notions of User Experience and provides designer with step-by-step methodologies. Another great amount of references addresses some specific moments of the design process. While being specific and extensive on these topics, literature lacks in explaining how to move from the abstract level of Experience to the pragmatic choice of product features. Designers who intentionally aim at creating products able to elicit specific meaningful experiences can benefit from the introduction of a methodological tool that supports them through the Experience-driven design process. The final goal of the tool is to help designers in visualising and deconstructing the Experience they wish to recreate in the product, into a set of sensory features. The article introduces a 'working principle', a strategy to fulfil the Experience Design process, considering some fundamental scientific resources. On these bases, we will present a first draft of the tool and narrate the results of a pilot validation study with designers. The paper ends with an exploration of future developments and possible directions of research in the Experience Design domain.