I Read The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman and You Should Too
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman examines the relationship between products and their users, the psychology of design, and provides a simple framework on how to effectively design everyday things.
For many of us, the topics in this book will sound very familiar, as he covers the basic principles of modern industrial design. It’s often suggested reading for university design programs and a cult classic for good reason.
Before starting design school, I was on a reading binge. I began to look for books about design. I started a list and made my way through them, beginning with the most highly recommended book, The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman.
The Design of Everyday Things was originally published in 1988 as “The Psychology of Everyday Things” and made waves within the design industry.
The Author: Don Norman
Don Norman was the Vice-President of Apple and is the Co-Founder of the Nielsen Norman group. He is also the Founder and Director of the Design Lab at the University of California and has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Psychology. Some even call him the father of UX design (User Experience Design).
In short, he’s very qualified to write a book about design.
Summary
For those of you wondering if this book has any information that will interest you, here’s a short summary of each of the chapters
Chapter 1: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things
Psychopathology is the study of conditions, behaviors, and experiences that differ from the norm. This chapter describes what those conditions, behaviors, and experiences look like.
Some of the concepts he touches on are human-centered design, the complexity of modern design, the fundamental principles of interaction, discoverability, and good conceptual models.
Chapter 2: The Psychology of Everyday Actions
This chapter focuses on the Gulf of Execution and The Gulf of Evaluation. The Gulf of Execution is the amount of effort required for the user to execute their goal when interacting with a product. The Gulf of Evaluation is how easily the user can recognize that the action they performed was successful. Good design joins the two gulfs through the use of feedback and good conceptual models.
Another focus of this chapter is the three levels of processing that happen in the human brain.
Chapter 3: Knowledge in the Head and in the World
An important theme within this chapter is user-centered design. Norman focuses on how what we know (”knowledge in the head”) differs from very obvious design cues (”knowledge in the world”). Understanding how people think is essential to solving their problems.
Chapter 4: Knowing What to Do: Constraints, Discoverability, and feedback
Topics covered in this chapter are the advantages and disadvantages of standardization, the different types of constraints, and how their use can guide your user to a better experience with your product.
Chapter 5: Human Error? No, Bad Design
This is my favorite chapter because I hate being blamed for things! This chapter covers the different types of errors and why we need to embrace them.
As designers, we strive to create pleasurable experiences for others and are meant to assist with error, not scold.
Chapter 6: Design Thinking
This is where Norman dives into what human-centered and user-centered design are. It’s the chapter that outlines the framework for how success in design is achieved, by discovering the true problem at hand.
Chapter 7: Design in The World of Business
This final chapter stresses the importance of thinking of design as a whole if you want it to be successful. Good design is only successful if it’s purchased, because what’s the use of good design if there’s no one to use it?
What I Liked About It
The whole book is built around why design needs to focus more on how people behave and less on the technical, I agree with this and believe it’s important to keep in mind when designing anything.
The book was laid out very well and used diagrams and examples throughout. Each chapter had a solid concept and smaller concepts were weaved within the entire book. The tone of the book is quite academic, yet ardent at times. It’s packed with a lot of good information in a consumable format.
What I Didn’t Like About It
I wish the book kept on going! Luckily Don Norman has written several other books. One of my favorites is Emotional Design, which dives into the psychological and emotional effects that good or bad design has on us and why. If you’re interested in reading it, you can find it here:
Emotional Design by Don Norman
Should You Read The Design of Everyday Things?
YES! Overall I see this book as an exceptional read if you’re someone interested in design thinking, product design, or just curious about the psychology of objects. I would especially recommend this book to anyone entering the design industry and professionals who have yet to read it. I started this book before starting design school and it laid out a good foundation of basic principles to build upon.
Quotes From The Design of Everyday Things
“Two of the most important characteristics of good design are discoverability and understanding. Discoverability: Is it possible to even figure out what actions are possible and where and how to perform them? Understanding: What does it all mean? How is the product supposed to be used? What do all the different controls and settings mean?” (Chapter one, page 3)
“Design is concerned with how things work, how they are controlled, and the nature of the interaction between people and technology. When done well the results are brilliant, pleasurable products. When done badly, the products are unusable, leading to great frustration and irritation. Or they might be usable, but force us to behave the way the product wishes rather than as we wish.” (Chapter 1, page 5)
Because much of design is done by engineers who are experts in technology but limited in their understanding of people. “We are people ourselves,” they think, “so we understand people.” But in fact, we humans are amazingly complex. Those who have not studied human behavior often think it is pretty simple. Engineers, moreover, make the mistake of thinking that logical explanation is sufficient: “If only people would read the instructions,” they say, “everything would be all right.” (Chapter 1, page 7)
“Good design starts with an understanding of psychology and technology. Good design requires good communication, especially from machine to person, indicating what actions are possible, what is happening, and what is about to happen.” (Chapter 1, page 8)
“The Gulf of Evaluation reflects the amount of effort that the person must make to interpret the physical state of the device and to determine how well the expectations and intentions have been met. The gulf is small when the device provides information about its state in a form that is easy to get, is easy to interpret, and matches the way the person thinks about the system. What are the major design elements that help bridge the Gulf of Evaluation?” Feedback and a good conceptual model.” (Chapter 1, page 39)
“Once you realize that they don’t really want the drill you realize that perhaps they don’t really want the hole, either: they want to install their bookshelves. Why not develop methods that don’t require holes? Or perhaps, books that don’t require bookshelves. (Yes, I know: electronic books, e-books.)” (Chapter 2, page 45)
“One design firm, IDEO, has it as a creed: “Fail often, fail fast,” they say, for they know that each failure teaches them a lot about what to do right. Designers need to fail, as do researchers. I have long held the belief- and encouraged it in my students and employees- that failures are an essential part of exploration and creativity. If designers and researchers do not sometimes fail, it is a sign that they are not trying hard enough- they are not thinking the great creative thoughts that will provide breakthroughs in how we do things. It is possible to avoid failure, to always be safe. But that is also the route to a dull, uninteresting life.” (Chapter 2, page 64)
“Eliminate the term human error, instead, talk about communication and interaction: what we call an error is usually bad communication or interaction.” (Chapter 2, page 67)
“Why can’t the interaction between a person and a machine be thought of as collaboration?” (Chapter 2, page 67)
“The most effective way of helping people remember is to make it unnecessary.” (Chapter 3, page 101)
“Standardization is indeed the fundamental principle of desperation: when no other solution appears possible, simply design everything the same way, so people only have to learn once.” (Chapter 4, page 155)
“We can’t fix problems unless people admit they exist. When we blame people, it is then difficult to convince organizations to restructure the design to eliminate these problems. After all, if a person is at fault, replace the person. But seldom is this the case: usually the system, the procedures, and social pressures have led to the problems, and the problems won’t be fixed without addressing all of these factors.” (Chapter 5, page 167)
“A slip occurs when a person intends to do one action and ends up doing something else. With a slip, the action performed is not the same as the action that was intended.” (Chapter 5, page 171)
“We should deal with error by embracing it, by seeking to under. stand the causes and ensuring they do not happen again. We need to assist rather than punish or scold.” (Chapter 5, page 216)
“(Human-centered design (HCD) is the process of ensuring that people’s needs are met, that the resulting product is understandable and usable, that it accomplishes the desired tasks, and that the experience of use is positive and enjoyable. Effective design needs to satisfy a large number of constraints and concerns, including shape and form, cost and efficiency, reliability and effectiveness, understandability and usability, the pleasure of the appearance, the pride of ownership, and the joy of actual use. HCD is a procedure for addressing these requirements, but with an emphasis on two things: solving the right problem, and doing so in a way that meets human needs and capabilities.” (Chapter 6, page 219)
“Designers understand what people really need. Marketing understands what people actually buy.” (Chapter 6, page 225)
“Design is successful only if the final product is successful–if people buy it, use it, and enjoy it, thus spreading the word. A design that people do not purchase is a failed design, no matter how great the design team might consider it. Designers need to make things that satisfy people’s needs, in terms of function, in terms of being understandable and usable, and in terms of their ability to deliver emotional satisfaction, pride, and delight. In other words, the design must be thought of as a total experience.” (Chapter 7, page 293)
Where To Purchase The Design of Everyday Things
If you have yet to read The Design of Everyday Things you can purchase it from the link below:
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman