Products and Emotions (Part I)

Sunday, January 27, 2008 15:45

Mineral Water Bottles

As a warm-up to this assignment, I guess I will just observe what Donald Norman himself used as an example for a visceral product - Perrier Spring Water – and compare that with two other mineral water bottles.

Perrier
A brand of bottled mineral water made from a spring in Vergeze, France.

Visceral

A green glass bottle with a metal cap. Looks more like wine or beer than just simply mineral water. An initial glance will leave one with a sleek and interesting kind of emotion that does make you want to pick it up and examine what it is.

Behavioral

Definitely not very practical for mineral water. Heavy to carry around and troublesome to dispose of. However, it does do its job of containing water, although the metal cap is not as easy to screw back as plastic ones. Further research also reveals that glass is used mainly to keep the taste of the spring water and to retain the 50 million bubbles in there.

Reflective

One on hand, it might give others the impression that you really enjoy your mineral water (assuming they know that it is mineral water). On the other hand, they might think you are really wasting a lot of money just for spring water.

Evian
Another French brand of mineral water from several sources near Evian-les-Bains, located near Lake Geneva.

Visceral

A very simple, functional and uninteresting design. Its size does make it slightly less standard than other bottles, but it offers no keepsake value whatsoever.

Behavioral

Does its job simply and perfectly. Light, small and easy to dispose, or even to reuse as a personal water bottle. Although considered pricier than other local brands, it is still less expensive as compared to Perrier and Ty Nant.

Reflective

Nothing to talk or even think about. It would not be difficult at all to find another one with the same bottle. In fact, it probably does not matter to people if they were holding an Evian bottle in their hands.

Ty Nant
A natural spring mineral water from Ceredigion, Wales. In English it means “House by the Stream”.

Visceral

Stylish, elegant and expensive. This bottle won the British Glass “First Glass” Award for Design Excellence. Might be mistaken for a wine bottle, but hey, why not! It just looks too expensive to consume and throw away.

Behavioral

Like Perrier, a glass bottle would be heavy to carry around and difficult to dispose of. But again, like Perrier, it does its simple job of containing water, and probably the bubbles that also come along in it.

Reflective

Take away the label and it can be mistaken as a flower vase or a wine bottle. If I am seen drinking this, then I would really have too much money to waste on mineral water, or I would be mineral water’s truest connoisseur.

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