Emotional Design Psychology & Neuroscience (EDP)
Learn how to build emotionally-driven technology & campaigns
Classroom & Online Training
Join our students from beginners to pros in top companies:
Discover how to build emotionally intelligent websites, apps, content and campaigns based on psychology and neuroscience.
This class will transform your understanding of what emotions are, how they work and what shapes user decision-making and behavior.
The practical skills in this class focus on using emotional design strategies to fine-tuning your digital creative.
This workshop is for intermediate-to-advanced digital-media practitioners who are looking for deeper insight into the factors that shape user and consumer behavior.
We usually recommend taking DBC before this class, so check our course-selection advice on this course.
Skills and knowledge you’ll gain
By the end of this workshop, you’ll be able to:
Modules
Over 2 days, we’ll cover:
Day 1
- Intro to emotional design neuroscience
- The emotion-behavior model
- Sense perception & digital triggers
- How users understand their digital experience
- Cognitive schemas & intuitive design
- How emotions work
- Irrational decision making
- Targeting habits v.s. intentional behavior
- Mental energy & cognitive load
- Designing within cognitive limits
- Defining & classifying emotions
- Mapping the spectrum of user emotion
- Rapid tools for measuring emotional impact
- Designing for emotions that drive behavior
- Dopamine-targeted design strategies
- Stress-based design & management strategies
Day 2
- Designing for social emotions
- Establishing authenticity & sincerity
- Digital body language & facial expressions
- Attachment anxiety & retention
- Digital ownership & territory
- Avoiding moral, disgust & fear backfires
- Social hierarchy emotions
- Design for pride & shame
- Empowering & disempowering users
- Digital respect & disrespect
- Gratitude & flattery in design
- Fairness & injustice in design
- Engineering high & low-status products
- Sex, love & parenting emotions
- Reinforcement learning
- Engineering emotional intelligence
Classroom vs. online editions
We offer this course in both classroom and online editions.
It’s also available in team training too.
Here’s how our classroom and online editions work.
Classroom | Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 2 days | 10 hours of on-demand with 3-weeks LIVE-tutorials |
| Timing | 9:00–17:00 with 1 hour lunch and two 15 min breaks | Self-paced, but during the LIVE term, schedule 3-4 hours per week for video lessons and 1.5 hours for tutorials |
| Instructional hours | 13 hours, based on 6.5 hours of instruction per day | 4.5 hours of the live ABD tutorials help you apply the lessons from EDP |
| Logistics | The workshop runs 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (but please arrive by 8:50 as we start at 9:00 sharp). There is a 15-minute break in the morning, an hour for lunch, and another 15-minute break in the afternoon. We’ll provide all the training materials, so you’ll only need to bring a pen, some paper, and, if you’d like to participate in our live polling, bring a smartphone or tablet. | We’ll grant you immediate access to the videos as soon as you register, plus access to the waiting room for the upcoming LIVE tutorials. You’ll have access to the lessons, and then we’ll start the behavioral design process during the LIVE training term. |
Here’s what you get
Classroom training kit
- Training guide
- Reference manual
- Workbook
- Behavioral design templates
- Wireframe kit
Online training resources
- On-demand video lessons
- LIVE tutorial recordings
- Wireframe kit (mini)
- Behavioral design workbook
- Closed community
- Cheatsheets
Ensure this course is right for you
If you’re interested in gaining a deep understanding of emotions and how they shape user behavior, then this class is for you.
You can take this class alone or as the complement to DBC, as they draw on different approaches to behavior change and focus on different hands-on skills.
The goal of this course is to deepen your understanding of what shapes user behavior from within, rather than using external behavior change techniques, which is what we cover in DBC.
For this reason, we do not recommend this course for beginners or people who are interested in learning foundational digital psychology. These groups will benefit more by taking DBC first.
Certification
After completing all modules, covering 13 hours of instruction over 2 days in class, or 3 weeks online, you will receive a certificate of completion.
You’ll also have three attempts to write the optional test for an “Emotional Design Psychology Certificate (EDPC)”.
Learn about your certification options.
Who this course is for
This class is suitable for:
- Usability and UI/UX professionals
- Graphic designers and interactive designers
- Digital marketing and advertising specialists
- Content strategists and web writers
- Product marketing managers
- Digital project managers
- Health promotion specialists
- Conversion optimizers & researchers
- Entrepreneurs
Industries that will benefit
Our training attracts an eclectic blend of professionals from:
- Technology firms, cloud services
- Digital agencies, creative firms
- Non-profit organizations
- Government, health sector
- Retail businesses, consulting services
- Financial services, insurance
- Media, gaming, entertainment
- Telecommunications, infrastructure
- Small businesses, freelancers, students
- Academia, behavioral science, psychology
How students describe our training
I gained valuable insights that I can apply to landing pages currently in production. The context was very interesting, delivered in an easy to understand format and actionable.
Brian’s expertise has given me not only additional tools to make my client’s campaign more successful. It’s helped me make my agency stand out in the world.
We marketers cannot do our jobs successfully without psychology knowledge. Brian shares current research and examples that can be used in creating more impactful interactive messaging.
Meet your instructor
Brian Cugelman, PhD
With an extensive career running online projects and studies for industry, non-profit organizations, governments and the United Nations, Dr. Brian Cugelman has been working as an online behavior change specialist since 1997.
If you'd like to learn more, read Dr. Cugelman's bio or see what he has to say about the workshop in his own words.
Applied Behavioral Design (ABD)
FREE 9 week LIVE training with ALL online courses
To ensure you can apply everything covered in our training, we include Applied Behavioral Design (ABD) with all our training.
It's our coaching class where we’ll guide you step-by-step through the behavioral design process.
You'll learn how to translate psychological theories into digital products, as we go from planning to a final prototype.
For online training, it's a free 9 week LIVE coaching class. In the classroom, we weave ABD across the entire week.
How to use the online tutorials
ABD is for all students, in any course.
Tutorials 1-5 focus on applying psychological principles related to DBC.
Tutorials 6-8 focus on applying emotional design strategies related to EDP.
And finally, tutorial 9 is about using research to build high impact products.
Online students are welcome to join the full 9 weeks, or just the tutorials they prefer.
Get the most out of ABD
If you're joining us online, you'll get the most out of ABD, by starting on the video lessons first, then joining the next ABD term. In the classroom, we'll dive right in.
LIVE ABD Schedule (2022):
Join our next LIVE ABD term
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New self-paced ABD edition
(Summer 2022)
We're launching a self-paced edition of ABD in the summer of 2022.
Students who now enroll in any training package with ABD gain access to any LIVE ABD term, the new self-paced edition, and to recordings of prior LIVE terms.
We're starting consultations with students on the best format to provide open instructor time, feedback on students' projects, host interactive exercises, and cover new topics. We're also aiming to offer in-person support across ALL time zones.
There will also be new pricing. Self-paced classes will decrease in price, while LIVE in-person training will increase. HOWEVER, if you enroll now, you'll get all educational modes at our best tuition fee.
Have any questions? Reach out: team@alterspark.com.
Enroll in EDP Now
2022 Spring
Emotional Design Psychology (EDP)
- ABD schedule: 21 Apr - 16 June 2022
- ABD timing: Thursdays (13:00-14:15 EST)
- EDP Completion
- EDP Mastery (optional test)
2022 Fall
Emotional Design Psychology (EDP)
- ABD schedule: 6 Oct - 1 Dec 2022
- ABD timing: Thursdays (13:00-14:15 EST)
- EDP Completion
- EDP Mastery (optional test)
2023 Spring
Emotional Design Psychology (EDP)
- EDP Completion
- EDP Mastery (optional test)
- City: Toronto
- Venue: University of Toronto
- Dates: 20-21 Apr 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD
2023 Spring
Emotional Design Psychology (EDP)
- EDP Completion
- EDP Mastery (optional test)
- City: Vancouver
- Venue: Simon Fraser University
- Dates: 4-5 May 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD
2023 Spring
Emotional Design Psychology (EDP)
- EDP Completion
- EDP Mastery (optional test)
- City: San Jose
- Venue: ActionSpot
- Dates: 11-12 May 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD
2023 Spring
Emotional Design Psychology (EDP)
- EDP Completion
- EDP Mastery (optional test)
- City: Chicago
- Venue: DePaul University
- Dates: 18-19 May 2023
- Time: 9:00-17:00
- Instructor: Brian Cugelman, PhD
Considering Complete Training?
For a full learning experience, our Complete Training includes DBC and EDP plus LIVE tutorials.
The tuition fee is lower than both courses separately. You'll save $100 off online training and $150 off classroom training.
Plus, you’ll get an extra year of access, totaling 3 years.
Get 9 weeks of LIVE ABD tutorials
All online training includes 9 weeks of ABD tutorials. We hope you'll join us for the full 9 weeks.
However, if you just want to learn skills related to behavioral design or emotional design, here's when you should attend:
- Weeks 1-5: Behavioral design skills extending DBC lessons
- Weeks 6-8: Emotional design skills extending EDP lessons
- Week 9: Behavioral prototype testing
Visit the ABD page for tutorial scheduling info and to read about the skills you’ll develop.
Have questions?
Email: team@alterspark.com
Call: +1 (888) 977-2055
Online Enrollment
Our online training goes through Teachable. After enrolling, you’ll get instant access to the online classes and instructions for accessing the rest of our online training.
Classroom Enrollment
Our classroom enrollment goes through Eventbrite. After enrolling, you'll receive your ticket and all the logistics.
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
We’re so confident you’ll love our training that we offer a 100% money-back guarantee to anyone who attends our classroom or online training and wishes to withdraw. For details, read our guarantees.
Secure registration
All online payments are securely processed by PayPal and Stripe.
Join thousands who’ve completed our training
From beginners to pros in top companies
Guarantees and Terms
All training come with our Guarantees and Terms. Please read these before enrolling.
