I got around to reading John Maeda’s thoughts on Emotion and how it affects people today and I have to say I found it very interesting how little designs can have huge effects on people’s minds. He spoke about how his mother dislikes greatly any objects that have a plain design to them. I believe that she said it makes them look “cheap”. Although there are some objects with plain designs on them such as the iPhone, I would hardly call something like that “cheap”. However, Maeda points out that we as humans design things in order to give them a more personal touch or a sense of style; something that makes them stand out from the rest. Designing things with emotion in mind can have a hugely positive effect on people. For example, the creation of a beautiful statue can insight many emotions in a person. A better example would be the construction of the Freedom towers. There are many lingering feeling after the tragedy of 9/11 and the creation of these new towers can make people feel like their hope and security is returned or it can serve as a memorial to the people who lost their lives. Something like this can cause people to relate and be attached to said objects in many ways. An object I’m attached to would be my very first and only basketball I received when I was 4. I was so happy when my dad got it for me since he knew I liked to emulate Micheal Jordan back when was still a player in the NBA. Although it was too big for me to really play with at that time, I grew up with it and I still have it with me to this day. When I look at it now, I can still remember all the times I played with it as a child quite vividly. Especially the times when my dad has beaten me on one on one’s.