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The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A.…
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The Design of Everyday Things (original 1988; edition 2002)

by Donald A. Norman

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5,410661,916 (4.04)30
Finally read the usability classic! I didn't take a lot of concrete lessons from this, but I've been up to my ears in usability texts for a while now, and some of this doesn't translate well to web design. Still, a great read and lives up to the hype. ( )
  raschneid | Mar 31, 2013 |
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This was written in a decade before authors learned how to write stimulating non-fiction. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
Very thorough and well formulated. Guy is an expert in his field, and he manages to keep it interesting despite some of the dry subject matter ( )
  martialalex92 | Dec 10, 2022 |
The Design of Everyday Things is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to design something usable. This book is famous for its descriptions of incomprehensible doors and wretchedly confusing light switches. Norman points out what could be done to make these seemingly simple things be truly simple. He does not pretend design is easy; he discusses in depth the competing factors such as usability, cost, aesthetics, and features that a designer has to handle. Although the book does not deal extensively with computer interfaces, the discussions are still relevant to those of us designing computer systems. Read it!
  eri_kars | Jul 10, 2022 |
Great stuff to think about for an engineer like me. Interdisciplinary discussions and surprisingly succinct upon reflection. It's not your fault, it's bad design! ( )
  ds_db | Apr 25, 2022 |
Stayed for a long time on my pile of shame but quite old already anyway. Good thing. Ages very well even if VCRs are not around anymore the basic principles are still important the same nowadays.
Read it and you will see door handles with different eyes! ( )
  iffland | Mar 19, 2022 |
Interesting, but be warned- there is some heavy going here- not a light read. ( )
  PattyLee | Dec 14, 2021 |
I read this for work reasons but this one was interesting and thought-provoking beyond that. ( )
  mari_reads | Oct 13, 2021 |
Very good very good

Edit: Three years later I am upgrading this to five stars because it has stuck with me and changed the way I see the world. If you haven't read any other books about design, you need to read this book. The only people who don't like it seem to be:

1. People who aren't curious about design to begin with.
2. People who are already experts in design and found this all very facile.

Since reading the book and then wandering around the world interacting with products it has become clear that at least some professional designers have no idea what they are doing, so maybe you think you are a 2 but actually you're wrong and need to read this book. ( )
  RebeccaBooks | Sep 16, 2021 |
After hearing about this one for well over a decade, I decided to give it a shot. If I had read this one when it came out, it might have hit much closer to the target. As it stands now, I's mostly a refresher of things already heard. Now -- I wouldn't be surprised if wherever I heard them from were originally from this book, as it is a design classic. ( )
  adamfortuna | May 28, 2021 |
This is nicely written but even though I read a new edition with updated examples, it felt a bit dated. Maybe the vocabulary used in the book should be updated as well. For something that reads as academic as this I'd have expected to see more explicit references to other work.

I recommend reading this if you want to start thinking more about design in everyday life. There are many memorable examples that illustrate various concepts, although if you're looking for specific insights you probably want to look elsewhere. ( )
  fegolac | Dec 26, 2020 |
Interesting but a bit repetitive and a bit too long. ( )
  Henrik_Warne | Dec 13, 2020 |
maybe if the book was designed better it wouldn't be so goddamn boring ( )
  ncharlt1 | Sep 28, 2020 |
I would recommend the book to everyone.

At times parts of chapters were a bit too chatty and distracting for me, but all in all it was quiet an insightful read.

Especially the details of human cognition and emotions, the importance of storytelling, the magic of affordances and signifiers, and the chapter about errors (and the differences between slips and mistakes) was capturing.

The shear amount of Don Norman’s experiences collected throughout the decades combined with his eloquent style of writing is nicely distilled in this book. ( )
  isellsoap | May 19, 2020 |
I enjoyed much of the book. Problems were: it reads like a textbook, more examples are needed, it is definitely pro business and pro engineering - two activities I am not fond of, and the author is just a little too positive about his pronouncements. I do think that there is more to operator error than just being tired, etc. I do think there are more important things than caving in to fashion just because someone has come up with a better design of ____. And, finally, I do think life is more than the acquisition of goods under a capitalistic system. I do enjoy looking at the design of an entity and figuring out what is wrong with it. Always have. On the other hand, I see no reason why, as the author suggests, I should have a solution if I have a criticism. Neanderthal thinking. Finished 05.04.2020 in Malta. ( )
  untraveller | Apr 5, 2020 |
Norman definitely has some great ideas about design and making everyday objects more functional and useful. That being said, the book was written in the mid-80s and is incredibly dated; Normal writes longingly of a day when he can carry around a portable electronic calendar that can send him alerts for meetings and even--gasp--connect with his phone! Normal is also perhaps a bit too focused on practicality. He describes with pride how he replaced a confusing array of light switches in his living room with a bulky box containing a map of the living room, with a switch located on each light fixture. Easier to tell which switch belongs to which light, yes. But also hideous beyond words.
( )
  miri12 | May 31, 2019 |
Definitely some interesting concepts to consider. The examples are frustratingly narrow though and due to its age, not altogether relatable.

There are some intriguingly prescient points such as the predictions around smartphones/mobile devices, but running counter to that there is a dismissal of hypertext and the mass availability of information which in hindsight appears short-sighted.

The later sections are somewhat repetitive which adds to the feel of this being a self-indulgent rant disguised as a UX classic. The author even begins to acknowledge this tendency in a discussion of design awards.

On a positive note there is much more to agree with than disagree with in the book. As an example, the concept of user actions being a series of approximations with the designers job being effectively to make a target big enough that it's hard to miss. Thought-provoking and useful when looking at iterative design improvements.

Perhaps I'll upgrade this to a 4 after some mulling... ( )
  Sam.Prince | May 7, 2019 |
After reading this I revamped how my light switches work at home. ( )
  scottkirkwood | Dec 4, 2018 |
DoeT isn't the world's best written book—Norman's style is too often kvetchy-casual, sounding more like a modern-day ranty blog post than a classic of academic design writing.

But that is only one way in which this book is ahead of its time. The observations and recommendations regarding usable design here hold to extremely well 25 years later; even though Norman's examples concern ancient phone systems and slide projectors, it all translates perfectly well to virtual touchscreen UIs of today. And when he makes predictions about the future, he's eerily prescient. Watch him describe smartphones, the World Wide Web, Nest thermostats, and Siri… in 1988. Not only does he correctly predict future technology, he's better aware of its problems than today's designers.

That alone excuses the book's stylistic shortcomings and proves its undeniable worth. ( )
  mrgan | Oct 30, 2017 |
Obviously dated, but thoughtful and pragmatic. The sections about computers will give you a giggle, but I imagine it was sound enough at the time. ( )
  Laurelyn | Oct 20, 2017 |
This book goes about as deep into the theory and practice of design as a layperson could want to go. Many of the examples are hopelessly outdated, resulting in the impression that the author is an incompetent old fogey who cannot use a telephone. I'm sure that he's actually very clever, because his diagrams and explanations of the philosophy of design are fantastically easy to understand and apply. The book contains a lot of great thoughts on user error (the examples of which had me laughing until I cried). It probably won an award ;) ( )
  R.E.Stearns | Aug 15, 2017 |
Good, smart points; too often people blame themselves for errors with devices when the designs are faulty - something even as "simple" as doors.

The lessons here are undortunately not well learned, 23 years later, perhaps even less so as products are rushed to market today. Another one for the toolbox. ( )
  Razinha | May 23, 2017 |
Useful for any architect or designer and interesting for anyone who has ever groped in the dark at home for a light switch and turned the wrong light on.
That so long has passed since the book was written and still the same mistakes are repeated on new products just emphasises the value and validity of the author's observations. ( )
  sefronius | Jan 31, 2017 |
Absolutely brilliant and easy to read. If you internalize the ideas in this book it has the potential to completely change the way you look at made things. Its fascinating to see the challenges that presented themselves almost 30 years ago and how some have changed and others haven't at all. It's also crazy how many modern devices and systems Norman predicted.

This is definitely not just for designers, but if you design things or purchase things that others need to use (say software or desks for a company), this should be required reading. ( )
  typo180 | Jan 2, 2017 |
The main question in my mind after listening to this audiobook is easily enough answered: How old IS this book, anyhow? In the introduction the author talks about how the book isn't dated. Well, it was originally published in 1988. One of the most talked-about pieces of technology discussed is the videocassette recorder. The VCR. The computers being discussed are about a step beyond the ones that could add three numbers together using a bank of systems that would fill a room. Some of the book is relevant no matter what, as the prologue or forward or introduction or whatever it was points out. But not all of it is.

Much of the point of this book is: "When people have trouble with something, it's not their fault. It's the fault of the design." And I don't buy it. Maybe it's because I have less faith in humanity than the author does, but – well, I've seen it (including, to be honest, in myself). I did not like the book [book:Wizard's First Rule], but something I love and always use is the explication of Wizard's First Rule: "People Are Idiots". Yes, it should be obvious whether a door needs to be pushed or pulled to get the thing open – but in most if not all of the cases I've seen it's not actively hidden. In my experience, people just don't read.

Example: I can't tell you how many emails I've sent, only to have to reiterate some or all of it almost immediately. I used to run an international online-based Secret Santa, and every year after the emails went out I braced myself for the slew of responses asking questions that were answered in the initial email. Because people don't read.

I've learned that when I ask two questions or provide two pieces of information in an email, the second one is going to go completely unnoticed. More than two? Forget it. Now, I've long ago learned that my tendency to wordiness won't fly in business emails – I've learned to pare it down. Still, people don't read.

Recent example: in reply to a question from one of my bosses, I wrote "I’ve attached [three pieces of documentation for a delivery]; it looks like there was no delivery ticket created." That was the first line of my email. One of them replied with "Do we have delivery ticket?" I sat and stared at it for a couple of minutes, and then just wrote back "There was no delivery ticket, as far as I can see". I just don't understand.

Example: I can't tell you how many people go up to the fax machine in the office and ask whether paperwork has to be face-up or face-down. (The owner of the company asks every time.) (Every. Time.) How do you work in offices as long as these people have without learning that there is a little graphic on the machine to answer just that important question. (I also can't tell you how many blank faxes I've received over the years, because people a) didn't read and b) didn't ask, and just faxed away. Upside down.) The design is just fine: the question is answered. I'm not sure how else it could be addressed; bright colors or flashing lights? Or big letters? Nah. It's fine. People are idiots.

So your car radio is difficult to use while driving? Here's a thought: Don't use it while driving. You might want to watch the road instead.

The author talks about an expensive hoity toity Italian washing machine – it was so badly designed that the owners were afraid to touch it. "Why did they buy it?" the author asks. Well, because it's an expensive hoity toity Italian machine – and they're stupid. They wanted conspicuous consumption, or got snowed by a salesman who saw their weakness. Plus they probably hire someone to do their laundry anyway, or at any rate seem to be able to afford to.

And the author complains about the problems inherent in lowering a projection screen in a lecture hall – but it sounds like the hall long predates slide projectors. The projector had to be installed in the place long after the fact, and in such a way (I would assume) so as not to do any mischief to the structure or artistry of the room. So – yeah, it's not perfect. It doesn't exist in perfect conditions. Work with it. Or hold your lectures somewhere else.

And the author complains about senseless instructions for those VCR's, and all I could think was, well, they're often translated badly from Japanese.

The author talks about a design feature – or not – in an Audi which allowed the sunroof to be closed without the ignition key in place, but only if an odd sequence of steps were taken. Why, he asks, was it such a peculiar combination of steps? Well, a) because it was accidental, and/or b) because a non-peculiar combination might result in an accidental opening of the sunroof when you really didn't want it open. (I say "you" because I'll never so much as sit in an Audi.)

Now, I do agree with the basic premise of the book. Of course an object should be designed so that it's not difficult to use. But … well, see, over the sink in my apartment there are three switches. When I had a tour of the place I was told that the one on the left controlled the light, the one in the middle controlled the garbage disposal, and the last one was for the dishwasher. When I moved in a little while later it took about five minutes' trial and error. Now I don't have to think about it. Figure it out yourself: you'll probably remember it longer. "Control/alt/delete" isn't an intuitive command for the computer – but the reason for that is pretty sensible: it's not something that can be done using one or two close-set keys … because it's not something you want to do accidentally. And once it's learned, it's easy enough to remember.

Okay, go back to the whole door thing. The author admits that he has problems with doors. And I get it – if there's no label on a door it can be hard to know whether you're supposed to push or pull or whatever. But – at least nowadays – I think every door I see in a public venue has a little sign. And … I'm sorry, I can't muster up a whole lot of sympathy for the person who pulls on a door that says "push", or vice versa – including me. Honestly, I have little patience with anyone who doesn't read the damn directions.

I also don't have a lot of patience for someone who goes out and buys a massively expensive Italian washing machine without making sure they understand how to use it. Yes, that can be blamed on the design; it can also be blamed on the salesman seeing dollar signs, and on the fact that any instruction manual is probably translated from the Italian – and on a level of carelessness and lack of preparedness by the buyer. I'm sorry – if you don't put in a certain level of research into a big purchase, you deserve what you end up with.

If I need, for example, to make a spreadsheet do something I don't know how to do, I don't write a letter to MicroSoft complaining about the poor design of Excel. I figure it out, or I look it up. I work with people who don't bother to try to solve any problem for themselves. If they don't know how to do something, they sit in their seats and yell like children for help – literally. It sounds like the author is in favor of this attitude – everything should be obvious, and if it's not you're entitled to squawk. It's learned helplessness.

My feeling on this is basically that if I can figure it out, or look it up, anyone can do it – and damn well should.

And read my damned email, jackass.

So, no – technology of any sort should not be intentionally or incidentally obscure. But also, and equally, people should be able to learn and follow the instructions that are present and hone their deductive instincts. It's an ability that will only ever make life easier. ( )
  Stewartry | Nov 2, 2016 |
Lectura imprescindible si te interesan temas como el diseño centrado en el usuario, usabilidad, etc.

La primera vez que lo leí fue durante la carrera de Psicología, cuando aún era "La Psicología de los objetos cotidianos". Pero esta reseña hace referencia a la edición electrónica del 2002: The Design of Everyday Things.

Algunos de los ejemplos, aunque el libro se ha actualizado un poco, siguen siendo anticuados (estamos hablando de cosas que hace 12 años eran habituales y que han quedado desfasadas). Pero aún así es útil para comprobar cómo las cosas más habituales y cotidianas de nuestro entorno están "mal" diseñadas y nos crean tantas frustraciones haciéndonos sentir torpes.

Tiene un interesante apartado de lecturas recomendadas.

Donald A. Norman es un must en estos temas. ( )
  Minimissplaced | Jul 21, 2016 |
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