Jesse Crenshaw While software user experience is often the focus of discussions surrounding gadgets, hardware design also plays a crucial role. Mobile device features such as screen size, weight, material, and shape can all influence a consumer’s choice when they’re buying a new device.
In this article, we will explore the various psychological factors in mobile hardware design and how they affect consumers’ purchasing decisions.
Emotional Comfort of Ergonomics
Ergonomics – or the way a device fits in a user’s hand – is one of the primary drivers of mobile hardware design. Research has shown that there is often an emotional connection between the consumers’ choice and a certain design or shape. Still, many consumers don’t realize this connection exists or, even when they do, often can’t explain the reasons behind it.
For instance, some consumers can have an unconscious preference for phones with curved designs as such devices feel easier to grasp and hold – but people won’t always be able to acknowledge it. This sense of comfort can be quite powerful and influence a consumer’s purchasing decision even if price, tech specifications, and other factors are almost the same.
Unreasonable Logic of Cognitive Bias
Cognitive bias is another psychological factor that can affect consumers and their choices. Consumers may prefer a device with more features, even if these features aren’t something they’re planning to use in the future. The idea of paying for a gadget with more possibilities simply feels more reasonable.
Many people also tend to be fond of devices with visually appealing or peculiar design elements that usually don’t affect the functionality or performance of a device in any way. A device with, say, a smooth, metallic frame may seem more robust, powerful, and worth the investment than a device in a plastic frame, even if the tech specifications of the two devices are extremely similar.
Mainstream Mentality and FOMO
Social influence affects almost all purchasing decisions, making consumers gravitate toward devices that are popular or fashionable. Consumers often buy gadgets based on the recommendations, opinions, and tastes of the people they look up to, respect, and love: friends, family, social media influencers, celebrities, and even fictional characters. Would Tony Stark owning a Lumia smartphone have been a brand-saving boost that Nokia and Microsoft both needed so much? We’ll never know but the chances of ‘yes’ are rather high.
Self-Presentation and Social Status
To differentiate their products and appeal to specific audiences, device manufacturers use color and texture to create devices that will strike a chord with the right consumer group. Some smartphones – decked out in bright colors and funky patterns – catch the eye of younger buyers. Other devices – with sleek yet minimalistic designs – are a frequent choice of business professionals.
Some tech brands have also earned a certain social context. The products of Apple, for example, are easily associated with class and success. Consumers who value status or luxury are drawn to Apple’s devices despite the fact that it’s now possible to get the same experience by purchasing a device of a different brand at a lower price.
Summing Up
Design and shape of mobile devices can become a ‘make it or break it’ in a purchasing decision. Today’s consumers are looking for gadgets that not only function properly, but also look great, feel comfortable to hold, and get the approval of the people whose opinions matter to them.
Device manufacturers now need to find a delicate balance between design elements and practical considerations of device size, weight, and functionality to create hardware that will factor in various psychological aspects of consumer behavior. Understanding the connection between mobile hardware design and consumer decision-making is key to creating devices that will stand out in a crowded market and appeal to the right audience.
