ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces emotionally durable design and discusses its main sustainability benefits, limitations and unresolved issues, as well as its current and future research directions. Emotionally durable design has been developed to tackle the problem that some products are discarded even though they still are functioning properly. In these cases the problem lies mainly in the lack of emotional bond between the user and the product. In order to fill this gap, design researchers have started to explore the role of design in strengthening that bond in order to lengthen the product lifespan. In order to enhance product attachment, four product determinants can play a crucial role: self-expression, group affiliation, memories and pleasure. Over recent years, design researchers have proposed a set of emotionally durable design strategies, seeking to stimulate product attachment through the previously mentioned determinants. Emotionally durable design can effectively complement other design for sustainability approaches focused at the product level. There are, however, some limitations that must be taken into account, among which are the limited scope of application of this approach and the subjectivity of emotional attachment.
