Jennifer Bove, principal at Kicker Studio, writes about the ways interaction designers can make design more about people and less about technology--designing behaviors that are defined from the point of view of humans, and designed to elicit emotion, make products and services more enjoyable and easier to use. Bove writes about the subtle things that can reference human connection, whether it is the language presented in system messages, the logic behind system behaviors that reflects human thought and desire, or subtle cues and movement that feels organic
This is an excellent read that picks up the thread in Don Norman's Emotional Design, and Dave Malouf's recent writing about moving beyond function towards enjoyment.
http://creativity-online.com/?action=blog:article&newsId=136614§ionName=on_design