The Design of Everyday Things (Norman, 2013)
Analysis
Main Ideas
Quotes/Summary
Reflections
Human Centered Design is the basis for good design
Discoverablity and understanding are the keys to best design practices
Designs must be made with the assumption of human errors
User experience ultimately determines the success of a design
Designers bridge the gap between execution and evaluation
"Two of the most important characteristics of good design are discoverability and understanding" (Norman, 2013 p.3)
"All artificial things are designed...some person or group of people had to decide upon the layout, operation, and mechanisms" (Norman, 2013 p.4)
"Designers need to focus their attention on the cases where things go wrong, not just on when things work as planned" (Norman, 2013 p. 9)
It is easy to overlook possible errors. That's why as designers we must move past our own beliefs and behaviors to consider what our users may be thinking. This is especially important when being culturally relevant. We must understand that western ideas are still secondary when our audience is diverse so we also have to look at possible error from their viewpoints as well.
"Design is concerned with how things work, how they are controlled, and the nature of the interaction between people and technology" (Norman, 2013 p.5)
"When I am doing a frequent act, one for which I am quite experienced and skilled, most of these stages are subconscious. When I am still learning how to do it, determining the plan, specifying the sequence, and interpreting the result are conscious." (Norman, 2013 p. 40)
This reminds me of the exercise "How to Tie a Shoe". At my age, I have done this so much that I can do it with my eyes closed. However, explaining it to someone who has never done it before is quite different! We will find that we will leave out important information because so much of it has become subconscious in nature.
If designer should anticipate errors, why are there still so many items that have flawed design?
Can we make "perfect" designs simply by ensuring that the design allows the human brain to make the connections between execution and evaluation?
Can we use the foundation of designing "everyday things" as the foundation for designing everything else also?
Since all artificial things require a designer of some sort, this information is beneficial for those individuals. Beyond instructional designers only, designers in all facets can utilize this information to create and develop products that are human centered.
Though the text says all artificial things require a design, I would say that this also includes living things. Think of how the human body is designed to perform. Most of us our bodies are performing under the worst circumstances (poor nutrition, low exercise habits, disease, and more), so there are even allowances for human error in this and the body still operates for a certain amount of time. We can also consider this in other living things. Their design is based on their functional purposes. Over time, they have gotten better or worse, based on outside interference. In essence, I now begin to look at each and every thing as a design that we can learn from.
Designing a device that can be used appropriately for its purpose comes down to anticipating the errors and confusion that may occur and using the tools of execution and evaluation.
Feedback has always been a vital component in evaluating the effectiveness of our design. This section highlights that it is that main function of using feedback as an evaluative strategy that should be part of every design foundation.
In order to maintain effective expectations and assumptions, we must think beyond our own mental borders. Because most human behavior is subconscious, we need to be intentional in considering possible human error and providing enough information for the user to make the right decisions.