Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love

Suited For: All to Intermediate
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In This Course, You'll

  • Get excited to move past what just works well and looks good as you learn to design products and experiences people love. Every morning your alarm goes off, you shuffle to the kitchen, and you start your daily ritual. Still half-asleep, you boil the kettle, scoop the coffee, and add the milk. And out of every mug you own, you reach for the same one. Every single time. We all have things we choose over and over, sometimes without knowing why. It feels like instinct, but that pull comes from emotional design: It's not just what a product does, but how it makes you feel each time you use it. It's why some things earn a place in our lives while others, even when they're just as functional, get forgotten in a drawer. In this course, design legend and author of the bestselling book "Human-Computer Interaction," Professor Alan Dix, shows you how to use psychology to design for emotion, so that the feelings your product evokes are intentional, not accidental.

  • Make yourself invaluable when you can turn products and experiences that are functional into ones that make people actually feel. In this course you'll learn why people fall in love with some things and abandon others, using Don Norman's three levels of design to make sense of why people respond the way they do. You'll understand the cognitive and affective systems running in every user's head, so you can shape how your work feels before anyone consciously thinks about it. Through Maslow's hierarchy and MacLean's three brains, you'll ground what you build in the instincts, emotions, and reasoning every user carries with them. And with real examples from brands like Apple and Swatch, you'll see how your design choices can earn that connection. AI has made it possible to build more products faster and cheaper than ever, and users are now flooded with endless options. Your timeless, human-centered design skills are what let you look past the screen to the human on the other side, so the people who use what you build feel understood.

  • Gain confidence and credibility because when you design for emotion, you build things that genuinely serve people, earn their trust, and keep them coming back. Emotion is often treated as the soft, unprovable part of design, but according to Gallup, behavioral economists estimate that up to 70% of consumer decisions are driven by emotion rather than logic. In this course, you'll learn to make the business case for emotional design and trade "it just feels better" for a clear explanation of what's working, why it matters, and what you can do about it. You'll also see why a beautiful design isn't just nice to look at: Research shows people perceive attractive things as more usable, even when their actual experience suggests otherwise. And with downloadable templates like the 5 Principles of Humanity-Centered Design, you'll apply your skills immediately.

Learn From Industry Leaders

Master complex skills with proven best practices and toolkits directly from industry leaders. Meet your expert for this course:

  • Alan Dix: Author of the bestselling book “Human-Computer Interaction” and Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University.

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Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

Industry giants trust our courses to train their teams, and prestigious universities integrate our content into their curricula. Add your certificates to your LinkedIn profile, résumé, and job applications.

Our clients: IBM, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, NASA, Adobe, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, LinkedIn
Course Certificate Example

Is This Course Right for You?

  • You want an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.
  • You want real-world design skills that translate directly into professional practice.
  • You want to earn industry-recognized credentials.
  • Your time is too valuable for scattered free content with no structure.
  • You want learning that leads to better roles and stronger earning potential over time.
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Loved by People Around the World

View full testimonial from Maryna Revutska
Maryna Revutska
Maryna Revutska
Product Designer

Good length of each lesson, and open end questions helped me to remember the information really well. I love the videos with Alan Dix — he e...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Maryna Revutska for completing the "Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love" course
View full testimonial from Emma Lundgren
Emma Lundgren
Emma Lundgren
Experience Architect

I really liked this lesson. It makes it more obvious that we as designers have a far wider responsibility than just designing the interactio...

Certificate
View full testimonial from Steve Miller
Steve Miller
Steve Miller
UX Director / Strategist

I think it's a very good and comprehensive course overall. I like that it introduces the students to a number of good models to help us thin...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Steve Miller for completing the "Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love" course
View full testimonial from Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Product Design Lead

Although I was familiar with many of the concepts of the course from previous ones, this course helped me to understand them better and deep...

IxDF Course Certificate awarded to Pablo Carbonari for completing the "Emotional Design — How to Make Products People Will Love" course

How It Works

  1. Build High-Impact AI and Design Skills

    Industry leaders from companies like Adobe, Google, and NASA teach you real-world skills grounded in industry practice and research.

  2. Combine AI and Timeless Design Skills

    Learn both AI and the human-centered design skills that AI can't replace.

  3. Earn Industry-Recognized Certificates

    Add IxDF Course Certificates to your LinkedIn profile and résumé to show you've completed an evidence-based curriculum taught by industry leaders.

  4. Turn Your Skills Into Career Opportunities

    Use your new skills to take on higher-value work, qualify for promotions or find a role that fits you better.

  5. Build a Network That Supports Your Career

    Connect with designers in 496 cities across 107 countries. Learn together, get mentored, and build relationships that open doors.

Course Overview

  • Each week, one lesson becomes available.
  • Study flexibly. Take as much time as you want.
  • 21.25 hours / 85 lesson items in 9 lessons.

Lesson 1: What do we mean by 'Emotion'? An Introduction to Emotional Design

Available once you start the course. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours.

Lesson 2: How Products Affect Us: Emotional Responses, Connections and Associations

Available once you start the course. Estimated time to complete: 2 hours, 59 mins.

Lesson 5: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Helping Users "Self-Actualize"

Available anytime after Oct 16th, 2026. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 17 mins.

Lesson 6: The Triune Brain: Sorry, You Have to Please Three Brains, Not Just One

Available anytime after Oct 23rd, 2026. Estimated time to complete: 3 hours, 29 mins.

What's Inside IxDF Membership?

  • High-impact design and AI skills

  • Learn from 209 industry leaders

  • 42 evidence-based courses

  • 161 one-hour Master Classes

  • Industry-recognized certificates

  • $2,189 worth of toolkits

  • 11,409 active design jobs

  • 10 structured career programs

  • Global community in 496 cities

  • $6,649 worth of premium tools

  • 276 ready-made templates

  • and much more

Start Today

Risk-free: 14-day money-back guarantee

Suited For: All to Intermediate
G2 Logo 5 Stars Google Logo 5 Stars
Closes in
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23
14
40
64 % booked

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Maryna Revutska
Maryna Revutska
Product Designer

Good length of each lesson, and open end questions helped me to remember the information really well. I love the videos with Alan Dix — he explains everything nicely!

Marlene P. Naicker
Marlene P. Naicker
Creative Strategist | Partner

The lessons are very thought provoking. Simple but complex - when you break them down.

Emma Lundgren
Emma Lundgren
Experience Architect

I really liked this lesson. It makes it more obvious that we as designers have a far wider responsibility than just designing the interactions. The experience of a product starts way before a customer uses it, and continues on for much longer after it has been put down. Cool!

Andrea Sabaté
Andrea Sabaté
UX Lead

Easy communication, natural behavior, real examples from his experience, masters the subject, and also some cuteness.

Soma Soral
Soma Soral
Product Manager

The delivery of material and including practical examples such as the case study.

Linnéa Källgård
Linnéa Källgård
UX Designer

Alan Dix is a great lecturer, and his courses are a joy to follow. He is knowledgeable and has a great way of conveying his passion and knowledge! The subject is very interesting and of high interest for anyone in the field of UX and digital design.

Steve Miller
Steve Miller
UX Director / Strategist

I think it's a very good and comprehensive course overall. I like that it introduces the students to a number of good models to help us think critically and design intentionally for emotional design. I especially appreciated the lessons that would help me convince a reluctant stakeholder who doesn't understand the importance of emotional design to take it more seriously. I think the most valuable aspect of the course in that regard is that "Decision making is driven by emotions" - dispelling the myth that we are completely rational creatures.

Bjorn Schraa
Bjorn Schraa

Because the instructor has knowledge and experience, he can communicate and substantiate this well. Awesome!

Pablo Carbonari
Pablo Carbonari
Product Design Lead

Although I was familiar with many of the concepts of the course from previous ones, this course helped me to understand them better and deeper. The structure, tone, and development of the topics really made this course enjoyable! Thanks, IxDF!