Materials and Emotions: A Study on the Relations Between Materials and Emotions in Industrial Products

Materials are one of the aspects of a product that have increased in popularity over the last decade. Materials are now considered, not only for their functional role, but also as an inspirational source for designers, who can create new sensorial and expressive experiences and new formal solutions. In the field of design, new research aims to investigate the intangible aspects of materials. This research focuses on the emotional role of materials in user-product interaction. The outcomes include: a set of emotions evoked by materials an evaluation of the capacity of materials to evoke emotions, the role of the emotions evoked by materials and the relationship between emotions and materials in user experience. For a designer it is important to communicate certain emotions and feelings to users. Understanding the relationship between emotions, materials and the user could help designer make choices with different and better awareness.