Design of Everyday Things

Title:
Design of Everyday Things: Full Blog

Reference:
Norman, Donald. The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic, 2002.

Summary:
Donald Norman's book focuses on the idea that a user needs to be able to use an design easily and efficiently.  Norman gives many examples of bad design based upon what characteristic he is speaking of in order to show ways not to design something.  The book progressively revolves around four ideas:

1. There needs to be a good conceptual model - The conceptual model must be easily distinguished to the user.  Based upon the way the object looks, what it is suppose to be, and the natural and cultural constraints on this object and similar objects, one should be able to perceive how to use the device according to this conceptual model.
2. There needs to be good visibility - In order for people to implicitly know how to use something, the ways in which the user interacts with the device - buttons, switches, knobs, handles, output - must be readily visible as to not confuse or hinder the user.
3. There needs to be good mapping - Good mapping is required in order that there is little to no ambiguity of how to use certain aspects of a device.  If there are few buttons but many functions denoted by different button combinations, it is often very confusing for the user.  Norman suggests that a one-to-one mapping should be present in order to alleviate these ailments.  He gives an example that the phone of the 1990s had terrible mapping because it was very ambiguous as to how in the world to achieve anything.  It was a grave deviation from the simpler days of rotary phones.
4. There needs to be good feedback - Feedback is important because it tells the user what is being done by the user.  Without good, timely feedback a user could be pressing a button over and over triggering many iterations of the action because he was unaware that the device was in the process of responding to him.

The book points out different ways that people perceive things.  A user will perceive a design in a much different way than a designer or experienced user.  We perceive things based upon past experiences and conditioning.  We also often perceive things in a completely different way than reality, for instance perspective drawing.  Novice drawers when looking at a cube in real life sometimes tend to draw a square rather than noticing the deviation from these parallels in the real cube.

Norman speaks of knowledge and how we retain information.  He goes through short term and long term memory.  The memory process necessitates outside factors to be involved in our learning and remembering.  This partly gives more reason to the need for visibility as well as meaningful signs that assist our remembrance of things.

Errors are a part of human nature due to many different factors.  Norman notes his perceived differences between slips and mistakes.  Because of human knowledge, constraints and aids are needed in order to reduce errors.  Errors also proceed from poor cooperation to the four major themes of the book listed above.

There is a gap between design and aesthetics.  Designers are always in a hurry to get new things out in the hopes that they magically become better, but that wavers from the tested process of evolution of design.  Generally, there is a balance and trade-offs between usability and aesthetics.

Everything builds upon the notion that design needs to have the user in mind.  The design should be easy for the user to use and understand.

Discussion:
This book made me think a bit harder of why things are made the way they are made.  Norman gives excellent - though maybe too extended - examples that stress the need for better design.

I feel that the book was a bit long-winded.  There at least three chapters that were pretty much the same (sometimes even using the same examples) and all chapters overlapped on the same basic principles.  I do appreciate the fact that the book did focus on just one idea, however it seems like it did an over-thorough job of beating that horse.