Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things, is a very accomplished writer, researcher, professor, and consultant. He’s most famous, however, for giving his name to the Norman door–which are those horrible doors that either confuse you or give you the wrong idea as to whether to push or pull. (There’s one at my office building that gets me every time. I hate that door.) A Norman door is an example of how poor design creates delays and annoyances. It’s the same problem we encounter when trying to figure out how to use the shower in a hotel room, or a neighbor’s television remote control, or a large panel of switches with no indication of which lights they control, and so on. Why should household appliances be confusing?  

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With a depiction of a coffeepot for masochists on its bright yellow cover, The Design of Everyday Things is an essential book for students of design (and computer programmers). It is also a good book for the general reader because it lays out the principles of good design, that is, human-centered design: what works and what doesn’t. And when it comes to medical devices, airplanes, nuclear power plants, utility systems: the stakes are much, much higher than some minor confusion over doors and light switches, but the same principles apply.

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Don Norman has a dry wit, but he is not a brilliant prose stylist.  His language, however, is extremely precise, and he introduces and explains important and complicated concepts with great clarity. Terms and phrases (in the context of design) covered in this book include: discoverablity, affordances, signifiers, root case analysis, feedback, knowledge in the head, knowledge in the world, featuritis, resilience engineering, the Swiss cheese model, poka-yoke, forcing functions, usability…the list goes on. This vocabulary, and the specific meanings as expressed, gives us the tools to (or should I say “affords us the ability to”?) discuss and address the design process, types of errors, the pros and cons of standardization, how technologies create change, the competing demands of aesthetics, marketing, schedules, budgets, and so forth. There’s a lot to unpack here. And it is well worth your time to do so, as a human being living in the world using everyday things.  

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This one deserves a permanent place on your shelves. 

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HOW TO PURCHASE: Amazon

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BOOK: The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded Edition)

AUTHOR: Don Norman

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2013

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Book cover, The Design of Everyday Things, published by Basic Books