The Design of Everyday Things
by Donald A. Norman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Donald A. NormanEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09
ISBN: 0465067107
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Basic Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780465067107
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Design of Everyday Things
Book Review: Examines how common devices and your mind function
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not specifically a computer interface design book, but it is still invaluable for anyone who designs and develops computer software. This book looks at usability through the design of "everyday things" such as washing machines, telephones, doors, automobiles, calculators, light switches, and to some extent, computers. Rather than just dryly examining the operation of these devices and what is right and wrong with them, the author looks at the human brain and how it works to help get answers to why some devices fail to be usable by normal human beings. The author mentions that rote learning is the bane of modern living - take "ALT CTL DELETE" for example. This is why even learning your ABC's has turned into learning a tune, since people seek structure in learning. People who use computers or cook by rote could not be good at these tasks. When something goes wrong they have no frame of reference to judge their actions. Thus, designers should tap into the way that human memory works to come up with good designs. For example, the four controls on a stovetop are laid out in the same configuration as the burners they control, and people use them without thinking. If the configuration was laid out some other way, there would be 24 possible combinations of these four controls, and rote memory would come into play. This is an example of using natural mapping. Memory is also aided by understanding. It turns out that a particular auto allows the sunroof to be closed without the ignition through a strange sequencing of controls that make no sense and is thus hard to remember. Once you realize that this was not intended by the manufacturer but instead is an accident of design that engages the electrical system without the ignition and that all of the electric features work including the sunroof, you remember the sequence by understanding what is really being accomplished.
This book is full of observations and examples such as this, is fun to read, and most of all it gets you thinking about how you think. I highly recommend this book to anyone who must develop user interfaces so that they have more insight into what makes something easy and natural to use.
Summary of The Design of Everyday Things
First, businesses discovered quality as a key competitive edge; next came service. Now, Donald A. Norman, former Director of the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of California, reveals how smart design is the new competitive frontier. The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how--and why--some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.
Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans--from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools--must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design and the desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed.
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