“An Evaluation of the emotional design appeal of the fiat 500 using Normans framework”
Introduction
‘The emotional design appeal of the Fiat 500, how it changed a nation’ this statement frames what I plan to discuss and research into deeper depth.
This study is aimed to focus both on the emotions people have with cars and how the Fiat 500 brought out the inner affection people got when they owned a fiat 500 after World War 2. I will in this essay discuss how Italy’s industrial era was formed after the war and how one of the well most known cars came to be from its roots to what is symbolised for the Italian people and helped transform Italy out of a deep recession to one of the biggest industrial countries in that period.
Which begs the
…show more content…
The essay will be structured using Don Norman’s book ‘Emotional design -Why we love (or hate) everyday things’ using his framework, the 3 levels of design which are Visceral, Behavioural and Reflective in a chronological order from, the end of World War 2 to post Italy after the war to the present era where the fiat 500 is still in production.
Some key texts that will help me with this are, Arthur Berger(2010) “The objects of affection semiotics and consumer culture” to discover the signs and symbols that the fiat 500 through its ads was trying to convey to the customer. I will use Don Normans(2005) “Emotional Design” with the help of the Du Gay et al(1997) “Circuit of Culture” in the essay to help me understand the topic more in depth and breadth. As I well will use Trevor van Gorp and Edie Adams book(2012) “Design for Emotion” to explore how a product can affect you on different emotional levels, how our emotions dominant our decision making enhancing memories you form with an
…show more content…
In 1940 Italy was led by Benito Mussolini who was a man with big ambitions of his own and saw allying with Germany as a chance to achieve his goals. He ordered an attack on Greece but shortly after Italy needed the help of Germany to take over such a small country but this was no surprise as Italy had such old military technology and very little industry they went in under equipped. Soon after this blunder in 1943 the Italian people deposed Mussolini and signed a peace treaty with the Allies showing Italy as a weak country. (History.com, 2009)
Sicily had been taken over by its allies who made Italy then withdrew from the alliance with Germany and signed a peace treaty with the Allied countries. From 1943 to 1945, the Allies had a gruelling campaign to force the German troops out of Italy which caused huge social and culture problems and all whatever little industry there was in Italy been whipped out, leading to the Italian economy been all but destroyed. (History.com,
Italy was frustrated by the Treaty of Versailles. Italy believed that they contributed to the allied force victory of World war One was not fairly rewarded in the treaty. They felt that Britain, France and Russia got the best deal instead, three years following the end of the war were marked by economic and political instability. Massive unemployment and debts crippled the once effective government. Because of the economic and political instability a new ruler was able to come in. Italy was under the rule of of the ruthless and violent dictator Benito Mussolini. He rose to power in the wake of World War I as a leading proponent of Fascism. Fascism is a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial
“The World of Ducati”: Minoli wanted to develop a global brand “The World of Ducati” that could appeal to a broader spectrum of customers. Minoli’s initiative was “moving from the mechanical to entertainment”. Supply of product that is differentiated [Grant p 222]
Italy’s problems started with the fact that it didn’t have one main ruler, but two people and a concept, resulting in a different approach to the unification. Gulseppe Mazzini had a radical program focusing on a centralized democratic republic based on universal suffrage and the will of the people. Vincenzo Gioberti, who was a catholic priest called for a federation of existing states
To the common individual, a car is simply a means of transportation. However, from the social stand point, the automobile impacts people’s daily lives in a larger aspect. The modern automobile was inspired by a toy made for a Chinese emperor. The toy was not
Over the past sixty years, the American car scene has been dominated by two completely different vehicles and the entire communities that believe in them. Both designed, founded, and rooted in Detroit, Michigan, the Ford Mustang and the Corvette have continued to fuel the chase for the label of America’s true muscle car. The question over the years has been, why and how do consumers choose which to own, and which one is our “bald eagle”? Investigating deeper into the roots of each American superpower, it all began with introduction of something that would change the automotive industry forever. “Corvette: Dream Car Come True”, is an article that highlights the beginning of the car movement in the United States: the birth of Chevrolet’s Corvette. “Born in 1953 at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, the Corvette grew up on the raceway and has ruled the road ever since” (Seiden 14). The article also goes on to mention that “the Corvette is not for racers only. True car lovers own Corvette cars for everyday driving… and the highest performance standards have been built into every model” (Seiden 14). Early dominance of Corvettes on and off the racetrack, led other competitors such as Ford Motor Company wonder why and how the Corvette could be out-driven and out-sold. Directly opposing the release of the Corvette and its multipurpose ingenuity “Lee Iacocca, then general manager of Ford Motor Company, challenged his design team to create a car that could be driven ‘to
-Italy gave the most assistance of all foreign powers. Mussolini wanted to be involved for a number of reasons. First, involvement would be in line with his anti-communist/socialist/democratic outlook and his pro-fascist stance. Second, he wished to enhance his influence as the key power in the Mediterranean and thereby demonstrate Italy’s
The Invasion of Italy was planned in order to weaken the fascist regime. Winston Churchill, the prime minister of Britain at the time, had planned the invasion of Sicily with the help of President Roosevelt from the US. The Invasion of Italy had been a turning point for the allied powers because of the US and British armies strategic plans to invade, the fall of Mussolini, Italy joining the allied powers and the bringing in of Hitler on a two front war in order to weaken the axis powers leaving just Germany and Japan on the axis side.
The well-known writer and cognitive scientist/cofounder of the Nielsen Norman Group, Donald A. Norman, in his book, Emotional Design: “Why we love (or hate) everyday things”, he analyzes the design elements in products. Norman’s purpose is to show why products we use should not be hard to use but attractive and fun. He explains in tremendous detail how the design of an object affects a person emotionally. He argues that in order for an object to be more successful it must be more attractive to the users. Norman uses concrete evidence to back up his argument. He employs the use of imagery, diction and tone in order to convey to his readers the idea of emotional design.
Automobiles symbolize the good and bad, people often look at the make of the car.
On September 9, 1943, the American army invaded southern Italy. With this invasion, the Italian government officially announced its surrender to the Allies. On the same day, German forces poured into Italy with orders to disarm the Italian army. A few days later, German Special Forces rescued Benito Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy, and restored him to power. Most of the Italian Peninsula was now under German occupation. Some Italian forces were able to stage slight resistance, but many crumbled from lack of Allied support. The resulting chaos led the Italian army to dissolve within days. The German army had taken around 800,000 Italian prisoners, and Italy now joined the rest of Europe beneath the heel of Nazi oppression.
Italy was a poor nation. Although Italy was one of the victorious Allies in World War I, Italians believed that their country had been betrayed by the peace settlement of 1919 by being denied the territory and status it deserved. A recently created electoral system based on universal manhood suffrage had produced parliamentary chaos and ministerial instability. The lack of coherent political programs only heightened the general disapproval with government that accompanied the peace negotiations. People were beginning to doubt the parliamentary regime’s hold on the future. It was under those circumstances that the Fascist party, led by Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), entered politics in 1920 by attacking the large Socialist and Popular (Catholic) parties.
America’s modern society thrives on the need for personal vehicles. The desire to be an individual is evident in the choice of a car; it states personality and class, and it represents independence and freedom. However, if it was not for World War II, cars would not be what they are today.
Italy holds a long and rich history, starting from how it became one country during ancient times. For thousands of years, people have lived in Italy, relying on its vast amount of assets and resources. There was no established group of settlers to arrive first, because the chief pioneers entailed many different types of people who spoke different languages. Italy was at first preceded by several non-Italian cultures, including Greeks. The Greeks occupied southern Italy, including areas around Sicily. This remained a wealthy extent of land because of the tremendously fertile soil, which then caused the sprout of new cities and civilization. These Greek cities ultimately stood taken over by Roman control. As far as northern city-states, the Etruscans lived in areas influenced by Greek culture. The Etruscans stayed well-known engineers, builders, and traders. Italy was always back and forth in the control of foreign authorities, but finally landed in the power of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire took over at about 450 B.C., but eventually collapsed. The land that now stands as Italy was ruled by Julius Caesar. There were many civil wars before and after Julius Caesar’s death. The land was then restored by Octavian, Caesar’s son, who later passed his throne to his son Tiberius. Although ancient Italy had been taken over by diverse commands, it still held on to its vast culture and
In the early days of Mussolini’s regime (he came to power in 1922), Italian foreign policy seemed rather confused: Mussolini knew what he wanted, which was ‘to make Italy great, respected and feared.’ But he was not sure how to achieve this, apart from agitating for a revision of the 1919 peace settlement in Italy’s favour. At first he seemed to think an adventurous foreign policy was his best line of action, hence the Corfu Incident and the occupation of Fiume in 1923. By an agreement signed at Rapallo in 1920, Fiume was to be a ‘free city’, used jointly by Italy and Yugoslavia; after Italian troops moved in, Yugoslavia agreed that it should belong to Italy. After these early successes, Mussolini became
As a result of how Italy was created but not fully unified, the new Italian state suffered from a variety of weaknesses which the new liberal state was unable to tackle these. This made Italy susceptible to the appeal of fascism, and therefore aided Mussolini’s rise to power.