Jason Fried makes a great point in his latest post Look and Feel and Feel.
Designers often talk about the look and feel of a product, an app, an object, etc. These are good concepts to be talking about, but how the thing feels isn’t really the important feel. The important feel is how it makes you feel.
Jason makes the point that Instagram makes him happy whereas Twitter makes him feel anxious, unhappy and uncomfortable.
I can see his point and agree. Twitter is more of a rage-outlet whereas Instagram is much more personal and “warm” even though I’m not only following friends but also celebrities, people I don’t know and even brands. They all make me feel warm and nice (@thefatjewish occasionally being the exception I guess).
Facebook just makes me feel exhausted.
“It’s not the buttons, it’s not the animations, it’s not the interface or visual design. It’s not the colors, it’s not the font, it’s not the transitions. It’s how using the apps make me feel before, during, and after”