The Design of Everyday Things
A powerful primer on how and why some products satisfy customers while others frustrate them. Don Norman uses design principles and real-world examples to explain what makes things understandable or confusing. Essential reading for product designers, engineers, and anyone who creates things for others to use.
Key Ideas
Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible.
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Notable Quotes
Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible.
The same design principles that make something easy to learn also make it easy to use.
The basic principle of feedback: it must be immediate, informative, and appropriate.
Constraints are powerful tools for guiding behavior and preventing errors.
Affordances define what actions are possible. Signifiers communicate where the action should take place.
The major problem with most designs is that they don't take into account the needs of the people who will actually use them.
It is not enough that we build products that function. They must also be understandable and usable.
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