The Psychology of Everyday Things

The Psychology of Everyday Things
Author: Donald A. Norman
Publsiher: Unknown
Total Pages: 257
Release: 1988
Genre: Human engineering
ISBN: 0385267746

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Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure our which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The book presents examples aplenty, among them, the VCR, computer, and office telephone, all models of how not to design for people. But good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. But the designer must care. The author is a world-famous psychologist and pioneer in the application of cognitive science. His aim is to raise the consciousness of both consumers and designers to the delights of products that are easy to use and understand.

The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things
Author: Don Norman
Publsiher: Constellation
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780465050659

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Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious—even liberating—book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time. In this entertaining and insightful analysis, cognitive scientist Don Norman hails excellence of design as the most important key to regaining the competitive edge in influencing consumer behavior. Now fully expanded and updated, with a new introduction by the author, The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how—and why—some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

Emotional Design

Emotional Design
Author: Don Norman
Publsiher: Basic Books
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2007-03-20
Genre: Design
ISBN: 9780465004171

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Why attractive things work better and other crucial insights into human-centered design Emotions are inseparable from how we humans think, choose, and act. In Emotional Design, cognitive scientist Don Norman shows how the principles of human psychology apply to the invention and design of new technologies and products. In The Design of Everyday Things, Norman made the definitive case for human-centered design, showing that good design demanded that the user's must take precedence over a designer's aesthetic if anything, from light switches to airplanes, was going to work as the user needed. In this book, he takes his thinking several steps farther, showing that successful design must incorporate not just what users need, but must address our minds by attending to our visceral reactions, to our behavioral choices, and to the stories we want the things in our lives to tell others about ourselves. Good human-centered design isn't just about making effective tools that are straightforward to use; it's about making affective tools that mesh well with our emotions and help us express our identities and support our social lives. From roller coasters to robots, sports cars to smart phones, attractive things work better. Whether designer or consumer, user or inventor, this book is the definitive guide to making Norman's insights work for you.

How Artifacts Afford

How Artifacts Afford
Author: Jenny L. Davis
Publsiher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2020-08-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780262044110

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A conceptual update of affordance theory that introduces the mechanisms and conditions framework, providing a vocabulary and critical perspective. Technological affordances mediate between the features of a technology and the outcomes of engagement with that technology. The concept of affordances, which migrated from psychology to design with Donald Norman's influential 1988 book, The Design of Everyday Things, offers a useful analytical tool in technology studies—but, Jenny Davis argues in How Artifacts Afford, it is in need of a conceptual update. Davis provides just such an update, introducing the mechanisms and conditions framework, which offers both a vocabulary and necessary critical perspective for affordance analyses. The mechanisms and conditions framework shifts the question from what objects afford to how objects afford, for whom, and under what circumstances. Davis shows that through this framework, analyses can account for the power and politics of technological artifacts. She situates the framework within a critical approach that views technology as materialized action. She explains how request, demand, encourage, discourage, refuse, and allow are mechanisms of affordance, and shows how these mechanisms take shape through variable conditions—perception, dexterity, and cultural and institutional legitimacy. Putting the framework into action, Davis identifies existing methodological approaches that complement it, including critical technocultural discourse analysis (CTDA), app feature analysis, and adversarial design. In today's rapidly changing sociotechnical landscape, the stakes of affordance analyses are high. Davis's mechanisms and conditions framework offers a timely theoretical reboot, providing tools for the crucial tasks of both analysis and design.

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
Author: Susan Weinschenk
Publsiher: Pearson Education
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2011-04-14
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780132658607

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We design to elicit responses from people. We want them to buy something, read more, or take action of some kind. Designing without understanding what makes people act the way they do is like exploring a new city without a map: results will be haphazard, confusing, and inefficient. This book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs. With it you’ll be able to design more intuitive and engaging work for print, websites, applications, and products that matches the way people think, work, and play. Learn to increase the effectiveness, conversion rates, and usability of your own design projects by finding the answers to questions such as: What grabs and holds attention on a page or screen? What makes memories stick? What is more important, peripheral or central vision? How can you predict the types of errors that people will make? What is the limit to someone’s social circle? How do you motivate people to continue on to (the next step? What line length for text is best? Are some fonts better than others? These are just a few of the questions that the book answers in its deep-dive exploration of what makes people tick.

Living with Complexity

Living with Complexity
Author: Donald A. Norman
Publsiher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2016-02-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780262528948

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Why we don't really want simplicity, and how we can learn to live with complexity. If only today's technology were simpler! It's the universal lament, but it's wrong. In this provocative and informative book, Don Norman writes that the complexity of our technology must mirror the complexity and richness of our lives. It's not complexity that's the problem, it's bad design. Bad design complicates things unnecessarily and confuses us. Good design can tame complexity. Norman gives us a crash course in the virtues of complexity. Designers have to produce things that tame complexity. But we too have to do our part: we have to take the time to learn the structure and practice the skills. This is how we mastered reading and writing, driving a car, and playing sports, and this is how we can master our complex tools. Complexity is good. Simplicity is misleading. The good life is complex, rich, and rewarding—but only if it is understandable, sensible, and meaningful.

Turn Signals are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles

Turn Signals are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles
Author: Don Norman
Publsiher: Diversion Books
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2014-12-02
Genre: Design
ISBN: 9781626815360

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By the author of THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS. For decades, Don Norman has spoken the language of gadgets, explaining how the things we see every day are made and made better. In this smart, sharp, fun exploration of design, Norman pulls back the curtain on the things we make to make our lives easier. From water faucets and airplane cockpits to the concept of "real time" and the future of memory, this wide-ranging tour through technology provides a new understanding of how the gadgets that surround us affect our lives. Donald A. Norman explores the plight of humans living in a world ruled by a technology that seems to exist for its own sake, oblivious to the needs of the people who create it. TURN SIGNALS is an intelligent, whimsical, curmudgeonly look at our love/hate relationship with machines, as well as a persuasive call for the humanization of modern design.

Designing for Humans

Designing for Humans
Author: Jan Noyes
Publsiher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2002-09-26
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781134588107

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Nature aside, the world in which we live should be designed for us, from everyday products like scissors and chairs to complex systems in avionics, medicine and nuclear power applications. Now more than ever, technological advances continue to increase the range and complexity of tasks that people have to perform. As a discipline, human factors psychology (ergonomics) therefore has an increasingly important role to play in ensuring that the human user's physical characteristics, cognitive abilities and social needs are taken into account in the development, implementation and operation of products and systems. In this book, Jan Noyes provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of human-machine interaction and the design of environments at work. Focusing on topics relevant to user-centred design, she includes coverage of the capabilities and limitations of humans, human-machine interactions, work environments, and organizational issues. Health and safety issues underpin a large amount of work on the human factors of design, and these are addressed fully throughout the book. Each chapter includes case studies that demonstrate the real-world relevance of the points being made and concludes with a list of key points. Although aimed primarily at advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in organizational and occupational psychology, this book will also be of relevance to students on engineering, computing and applied psychology/human factors programmes.