Where is the fun in Design for Experience

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It is often said to be important to have fun when designing and developing, yet literature about the ‘Design for Experience’ does not include many theories of fun. The latest described theory of fun in development is the notion of Funology, which comes from the Human Centered Interaction (HCI).

This paper will explore – based on the methods and results from two authentic design projects;
(1) Kompan, ‘Story Makers’ and

(2) Welfare Tech Region, ‘The Sterilization project’

How funny emotions can become the funny side of ‘Design for Experience’ by being channelled through a framework with three ‘fun-factors’ in;
(1) the interaction between human and object

(2) the objects ability to give inspirations for storytelling, and

(3) the ability for the user to make use of his/hers imagination when interacting with the object.

The fun-factors, as seen in the fun-framework below, are the graphical expression of fun in ‘Design for Experience that categorize fun as a subjective experience and emotion of an interaction.

The result is a non Cartesian fun-framework that explains fun as three fun-factors.

The experience of fun, based on the interactions between human and object, is introducing the emotional and sensitive theories of fun.

Fun is the subjective experience of an emotional distraction and the outcome of interactions between narrative communications and creative imagination and cognitions of an object.

Within the factors lie the theories about interactions between human and object that according to Forlizzi and Battarbee (2004) is the occurrence of experience, an experience, or a co-experience.

The object in this context is not only a physical object but can also be another human, concept or a conscious thought.

The storytelling is the conjunction between cognitive and narrative occurrences, as stated by Forlizzi and Ford (2000) where the outcome is an experience as just described within interactions.