The notion of affective design emerged from the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) (Norman, 1986) and more specifically from the developing area of affective computing

Affective computing

Affective computing is the study and development of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human affects. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning computer sciences, psychology, and cognitive science...

 (Picard, 1997).

Aims

Affective computing aims to deliver affective interfaces (Reynolds, Picard, 2001) capable of eliciting certain emotional experiences from users (McCarthy, Wright, 2004). Similarly, affective design attempts to define the subjective emotional relationships between consumers

Consumer

Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...

 and products

Product (business)

In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...

 and to explore the affective properties that products intend to communicate through their physical attributes. It aims to deliver artefacts

Virtual artifact

A virtual artifact is an immaterial object that exists in the human mind or in a digital environment, for example the Internet, intranet, virtual reality, cyberspace, etc.-Background:...

 capable of eliciting maximum physio-psychological pleasure consumers may obtain through all of their senses.