The Thing and I:Understanding the Relationship Between User and Product IN Funology: from Usability to Enjoyment

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 (Monk Frohlich, 1999; Draper, 1999), joy (Glass, 1997), pleasure (Jordan, 2000), hedonic value (Hassenzahl, 2002a) or ludic value (Gaver Martin, 2000). 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" (Schmitt, 1999, p. 22). Experiential marketing assumes that customers take functional features, benefits, and product quality as a given.