Image Source: Generated by CoPilot
Stopping by your favorite independent coffee shop down the street to get a $6 latte instead of making a cup at home that’ll cost you less than a dollar, or spending hours selecting and then assembling an Ikea bookshelf in your new apartment. What do both things have in common? Neither is about the final end product; both are about the experience. According to Design is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton, designing and selling experiences eclipsed the manufacture of physical things. An experience stirs emotions and generates memories. During an experience, users create meanings and associations that become more important than the event itself. This is the experience economy. (Ellen Lupton).
The New Economic Shift Away from Products Towards Experiences
Image Source: HBR
In the 21st century, it is no longer debatable that we’ve entered the emerging experience economy. Understanding when and how to enter it is crucial for following the progression of economic value, enabling you to do two things successfully.
- Sell in a differentiated way.
- Sell a premium.
A HBR article by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore explains it perfectly: “No two people can have the same experience, because each experience derives from the interaction between the staged event (like a theatrical play) and the individual’s state of mind.”
One of my favorite examples to consider is the American Express Centurion Lounge in major airports. Amex is using the lounge as a stage, its credit card (your entry) as a prop, and its goal is to create a memorable moment for you. This example connects directly to Robert Plutchik’s theory of emotion.
Evoking Emotions Through Design: Why it Matters
Image Source: Interaction Design Foundation
Using Plutchik’s theory of emotion and wheel, you can think about the emotional impact of design as a starting point. The simplicity of this theory and wheel is what resonated with millions of people, as well as the 10 points of emotion. When you take it one step further beyond the eight primary emotions Plutchik identifies and the fact that they exist in varying degrees of intensity, the takeaway is that people are paying for experiences that make them feel something. Design is the catalyst of this shift. Taking it one step further, there’s something else you can introduce with design to deepen emotional engagement and brand loyalty. Intentional friction.
Inviting a Little Chaos: How Friction Helps Design
Image Source: Fast Company
As much as we are in the experience economy, we are also in the instant economy. One of the biggest problems with speed and instant gratification is this overemphasis on efficiency, which is creating homogenous transactional experiences with zero emotional depth. If you rush someone through an experience, there isn’t an opportunity for serendipitous thinking, interactions, or any memorable moments. Friction isn’t always bad! There are types of friction that add more value and create a connection. Fast Company published an article about this exact idea, citing one of my favorite behavioral science principles, the IKEA effect.
“This is a phenomenon where consumers place more value on an item, they’ve invested time and energy in creating, which is why you refuse to throw away that $30 bookshelf you spent four hours putting together for your first apartment. The experience of building IKEA furniture is a form of friction that fosters ownership and personal value, even if the intrinsic value of the item is low.”
The Experience Multiplier
Image Source: AIGA Eye on Design
We are in the middle of a massive shift. The experience economy is seeing more focus on a concept AIGA Eye on Design is calling “Design Feeling” instead of “Design Thinking.” There’s a new prioritization on emotional experience at the forefront of design, and empathy overall is one of the most marketable and desirable skills.
In this experience economy, design isn’t just for decoration. Design is an emotional engine that creates memories, feelings, and unforgettable experiences. What’s an experience you bought recently that made you feel something?
Works Cited
Yuan, Oscar. “Friction Can Make the Customer Experience More Human – Fast Company.” Fast Company, 31 Oct. 2025, http://www.fastcompany.com/91433077/friction-can-make-the-customer-experience-more-human.
Stinson, Liz. “The Empathy Economy Is Booming, but What Happens When Our Emotional Connections to Others Are Designed, Packaged, and Sold?” Eye on Design, 13 July 2022, eyeondesign.aiga.org/the-empathy-economy-is-booming-but-what-happens-when-our-emotional-connections-to-others-are-designed-packaged-and-sold/.
II, B. Joseph Pine, and James H. Gilmore. “Welcome to the Experience Economy.” Harvard Business Review, 1 July 1998, hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy.
“Putting Some Emotion into Your Design – Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions.” The Interaction Design Foundation, Interaction Design Foundation, 25 Sept. 2025, http://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/putting-some-emotion-into-your-design-plutchik-s-wheel-of-emotions.
Lupton, Ellen. Design Is Storytelling. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2021.
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