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The Design of Everyday Things (Paperback)
by Donald A. Norman
| Category:
Design, Graphic Arts, Industrial design, Web development |
| Market price: ¥ 178.00
MSL price:
¥ 158.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
MSL Pointer Review:
This book should be required reading for software developers and anyone who designs and builds products for human use.
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Author: Donald A. Norman
Publisher: Basic Books
Pub. in: September, 2002
ISBN: 0465067107
Pages: 272
Measurements: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA01335
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0465067107
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- MSL Picks -
Have you ever stood in front of a door, or a microwave, absolutely flummoxed, because the damned thing gave you no clue whatsoever how to open it. If so (even if not), you will enjoy this book. In clear, coruscating prose he exposes the miserable flaws in the design of everyday objects which conspire to make our lives less convenient, more miserable, and sometimes more dangerous.
The book is not just an exposé of the appalling laziness and hostility to consumers that is commonplace among designers( e.g. in the software industry, which is a story unto itself - see "The Lunatics are Running the Asylum") - it is also a clarion call to action. We need not live in a world where it appears that appliances conspire to make us feel like idiots. And when they do - when you can't figure out which button to push, or whether a door opens inward or outward - remember that you are not the one at fault. It is the lazy incompetent designer of the thing which is making you miserable who is deserving of scorn and ridicule.
Far too often, in a design world which favors form over function and usability, crimes against the user get rewarded with prizes and the acclaim of the design cognoscenti. People who presumably never have to struggle with the consequences of their own reckless disregard for the usability of the objects they design.
This book is an outraged and eloquent call for change. Though it was written several years ago, the central arguments hold up well, and the style is humorous and engaging.
(From quoting David Giltinan, USA)
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Donald A. Norman is co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, an executive consulting firm that helps companies produce human-centered products and services. He is also Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University and the author of Things That Make Us Smart, Memory and Attention, and The Invisible Computer.
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From Publisher
Donald Norman's best-selling plea for user-friendly design, with more than 175,000 copies sold to date, is now a Basic paperback.
First, businesses discovered quality as a key competitive edge; next came service. Now, Donald A. Norman, former Director of the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of California, reveals how smart design is the new competitive frontier. The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how-and why-some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.
Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans-from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools-must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. Softcover.
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| View all 5 comments |
Library Journal (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
Anybody who has ever complained that "they don't make things like they used to" will immediately connect with this book. Norman's thesis is that when designers fail to understand the processes by which devices work, they create unworkable technology. Director of the Institute for Cognitive Sciences at University of California, San Diego, the author examines the psychological processes needed in operating and comprehending devices. Examples include doors you don't know whether to push or pull and VCRs you can't figure out how to program. Written in a readable, anecdotal, sometimes breezy style, the book's scholarly sophistication is almost transparent. Gregg Sapp, Idaho State Univ. Lib., Pocatello
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. |
Tom Peters (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
A popular, entertaining, and insightful analysis of why some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them. "This book is a joy - fun and of the utmost importance. |
Inside Flap Copy, USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
A popular, entertaining, and insightful analysis of why some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.
B & W photographs and illustrations throughout. |
Jeffrey Sauro (MSL quote), USA
<2008-04-17 00:00>
This is one of the seminal works in the field of User Centered Design. Norman wrote this book well before the Windows operating system was as familiar as the Golden Arches--which only reinforces the idea that certain basic usability principles transcend all forms of objects--from glass doors to Windows Explorer.
Norman does a great job of describing why and how we successfully and unsuccessfully use everyday objects with relevant anecdotes. His stories are usually accompanied with lists of principles that explain good design and account for human behavior. For example, the fundamental principals of designing for people are to: Provide a good conceptual model, make controls visible and to constantly provide feedback to the user.
So how does one employ good user-centered design? Norman recapitulates his points at the end of the book by listing the seven UCD principles for transforming difficult tasks into easy ones:
1. Use both knowledge in the world and in the head
2. Simplify the structure of tasks
3. Make things visible
4. Get the mappings right
5. Exploit the powers of constraints-Natural & Artificial
6. Design for Error
7. When all else fails, standardize
It's mandatory reading for any usability software engineer but also an interesting and well written book for anyone who's ever pushed a "pull door" or scalded themselves in the shower (which is all of us).
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