Vahlen eBooks· 2016
The Design of Everyday Things
- 6,416citations
- 2016year
Short summary
Product design, not user error, causes frustration with everyday objects; good design leverages visibility, natural mappings, and constraints to guide users effortlessly.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- User frustration with products is a design flaw, not a user failing.
- Good design principles include visibility, natural mappings, and constraints.
- Effective design guides users effortlessly to the correct action.
- Usable design is crucial for competitive advantage and consumer satisfaction.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious—even liberating—book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. In this entertaining and insightful analysis, cognitive scientist Don Norman hails excellence of design as the most important key to regaining the competitive edge in influencing consumer behavior. Now fully expanded and updated, with a new introduction by the author, The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how—and why—some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Vahlen eBooks, 2016 · DOI ↗
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Field: Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided DesignComputer Science