The Design Of Everyday Things

Ever struggled to open a door or figure out a remote control? Don Norman’s 'The Design of Everyday Things' delves into why these daily frustrations happen and how to fix them. Known for reshaping the way we think about design, Norman meticulously breaks down principles like affordances, signifiers, and human-centered design. With an extensive background in both cognitive science and usability, Norman demonstrates how design can be both intuitive and functional. Classic and impactful, this book equips readers to recognize design flaws and drive changes that make technology more user-friendly.

Key Ideas:

1. Design Should Accommodate Human Behavior: Don Norman emphasizes that effective design must reflect human behavior, not force users to conform to rigid structures. For instance, the catastrophic incident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant highlighted that the fault lay with a poorly designed system rather than operator error. Norman states, "We have to accept human behavior the way it is, not the way we would wish it to be." This principle underlines the importance of human-centered design, where products and systems are tailored to fit natural human actions and reactions.

2. Affordances and Signifiers Guide User Interaction: Norman introduces the concepts of affordances and signifiers to explain how design communicates usage to users. Affordances suggest possible actions, while signifiers indicate where actions should occur. For example, a door with a flat plate suggests pushing, while clear signage ensures users understand the action if the affordance is not apparent. Norman elaborates, "Affordances determine what actions are possible. Signifiers communicate where the action should take place." These tools are essential for intuitive design.

3. Feedback is Crucial for User Satisfaction: Feedback helps users understand the results of their actions, reducing anxiety and uncertainty. Norman illustrates this using examples like the filling hourglass on computers, which signifies ongoing processes. He asserts, "Feedback provides reassurance, even when it indicates a negative result." Effective feedback is timely, clear, and appropriately scaled, ensuring users feel informed and in control.

4. Human Error Often Stems from Poor Design: Norman argues that many so-called human errors are actually the result of bad design. He emphasizes that better system designs can prevent these errors, noting, "When people err, change the system so that type of error will be reduced or eliminated." This highlights the necessity for designers to anticipate potential errors and offer intuitive, error-tolerant designs.

5. The Role of Constraints in Guiding User Actions: Constraints play a critical role in guiding user behavior and preventing errors. Norman discusses how constraints, such as uniquely shaped battery compartments, ensure correct usage. He states, "Constraints are powerful clues, limiting the set of possible actions." By strategically implementing constraints, designers can nudge users toward the correct actions effortlessly.

6. Standardization Simplifies User Experience: Inconsistent designs can lead to usability issues, which can be mitigated through standardization. Norman highlights the confusing variety of faucet designs as an example. He advises, "If all else fails, standardize." Adhering to universal standards can reduce the learning curve and ensure users encounter familiar functionalities across different devices.

7. Iterative Design is Key to Refining Products: The iterative cycle of human-centered design, involving observation, idea generation, prototyping, and testing, is essential for creating user-friendly products. Norman describes how each cycle yields more insights, getting closer to the desired solution. He explains, "These four activities are iterated; that is, they are repeated over and over, with each cycle yielding more insights." This process ensures that designs evolve in alignment with real user needs.

Practical Tips:

1. Use Clear Signifiers: Incorporate visible indicators like labels or icons to guide users on how to interact with your product. For instance, use clear buttons in digital interfaces to indicate actions like 'submit' or 'cancel.'

2. Embrace Continuous User Feedback: Regularly seek and incorporate user feedback to refine your designs. Conduct user testing to observe interactions and identify areas for improvement.

3. Implement Multiple Layers of Safety: Design systems with multiple layers of defense to prevent errors. For example, use verification steps in digital forms to ensure data accuracy before submission.

4. Standardize Common Functions: Adopt universal standards for common functions to create a consistent user experience. Standardize control layouts and actions across similar devices to facilitate ease of use.

5. Design for Error Recovery: Provide mechanisms for users to easily undo actions and rectify mistakes. For instance, include 'undo' or 'revert' options in software to allow users to correct errors without hassle.

Key Quotes:

• The solution is human-centered design (HCD), an approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first, then designs to accommodate those needs, capabilities, and ways of behaving.

• We have to accept human behavior the way it is, not the way we would wish it to be.

• Affordances determine what actions are possible. Signifiers communicate where the action should take place.

• Great designers use their aesthetic sensibilities to drive these visceral responses.

• Feedback provides reassurance, even when it indicates a negative result.

• When people err, change the system so that type of error will be reduced or eliminated.

• The hardest part of producing a product is coordinating all the many, separate disciplines, each with different goals and priorities.

• Design is successful only if the final product is successful—if people buy it, use it, and enjoy it, thus spreading the word.

• Design wants to know what people really need and how they actually will use the product or service under consideration. Marketing wants to know what people will buy, which includes learning how they make their purchasing decisions.

• Many mistakes arise from the vagaries of human thought, often because people tend to rely upon remembered experiences rather than on more systematic analysis.

• If the system lets you make the error, it is badly designed. And if the system induces you to make the error, then it is really badly designed.

• Memory for arbitrary things can be classified as the simple remembering of things that have no underlying meaning or structure.

• Understanding the causes of error and design to minimize those causes.

• Human plus machine is more powerful than either human or machine alone.

• Standardize and you simplify lives: everyone learns the system only once.