Good design “flirts with the user,” says Dana Chisnell, an independent researcher and the author of the “Handbook of Usability Testing” said in a recent speech at Deutsch LA.

Last month Deutsch hosted an IxDA (Interaction Design Association) conference in our Los Angeles office. Over 40 user experience designers, information architects, and interaction professionals attended the event. After a brief introduction from Nuzi Barkatally, local leader of the IxDa, and Adam Sant, Director of User Experience at Deutsch, Chinsell took the stage.

Her talk, entitled “Deconstructing Delight: Pleasure, Flow, and Meaning” focused on designing experiences that drive engagement. Chinsell’s theory of delight is based on years of research in the fields of behavioral economics, hedonics, positive psychology, the importance of adult play, and emotional design. She studied works by Don Norman among others, and carefully deconstructed experiences designed by companies like Zappos.

Her full presentation, “Deconstructing Delight: Pleasure, Flow, and Meaning” is available on Slideshare.

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