Book Reading 1: The Design in Everyday Things

A very interesting read. In the first chapter of The Design in Everyday things by Donald Norman, we explore how humans interpret the use of devices. Throughout the chapter, stories of users confusion and frustration of "everyday things" are talked about. For instance, a person is "trapped" between 2 set of doors; the outer perimeter doors and the inner perimeter doors. This example shows a lack in a key component of good design which is visibility. Visibility has to do with the correct parts being shown and they must convey the correct message. Because the doors all looked the same, the user couldn't tell how to properly use the doors. Another key component to consider in good design is affordance. Affordance refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used. Moving on, the chapter then talks about conceptual model, which is how we perceive how something works. Constraints provide limitations when using a device such as the holes where only a persons fingers can fit into in a pair of scissors. Mappings are relationships between 2 things. In the case of the examples used in the first chapter, this would be controls and movements in the real world. Feedback is used to let the user know something has happened. This can give a sign that the desired function was used and successful. As devices become more and more complex, it becomes harder and harder to have a good design. While it's not impossible, it does pose some challenges. The controls have to be simple yet clear and understandable to an untrained person. To do this, all of the key components such as mapping, affordance, constraints, feedback, etc. must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, a confusing device could be manufactured, causing frustration among users who try to use it.