Passage: Design of Everyday Things

1. Select a brief passage from Chapter One of The Design of Everyday Things (Donald Norman) and post it on your blog. Explain why you thought it was interesting.

"As I pondered this problem, I decided it would make sense to compare the phone system with something that was equal or greater complexity but easier to use. So let us temporarily leave the difficult telephone system and take a look at my automobile... There are 112 controls inside the car. This isn't quite as bad as it sounds... Why is the automobile, with all its varied functions and numerous controls, so much easier to learn and to use than the telephone system, with its much smaller set of functions and controls?... There are good mappings, natural relationships, between the controls and the things controlled. Single controls have single functions" (Norman 21).

I find this passage very interesting because I believe that mapping is the most important component that Norman describes in his chapter. I believe that a good layout of controls is very vital in making a good design. I find it very intriguing that the car with 112 controls is much easier to use than the phone system with only fifteen controls. This is due to the great mapping of the car. To roll down the window you use the control on the door by the window. To change the radio station you would put a button on the stereo system. To turn the car right, simply move the wheel to the right. The good mapping of the car makes it a very good design.

2. Normans book was first published in 1988 and it still influences designers today. Why do you think this book continues to be influential 20 years later?

I think this book is still influential for one main and simple reason: All of the main components of design portrayed in the chapter still are very relevant in today's world. People still demand the component of visibility to understand their device the best they can. They also need good mapping to know how to actually use the different functions of their device. Feedback has always been very important because people demand instant gratification. Immediate feedback has always been and will always be very important in design.

3. Based on this chapter, what factors would you include on a checklist for evaluating the design of a product?

From this specific chapter I learned three main components of design: Visibility, Mapping and Feedback. After hearing Normans views on these three components, I find them three of the most important aspects of good design. I would include these three aspects in the checklist in some sort of form. I would make sure that mapping is very well covered and the product is very easy to use. Customers want their products to be user friendly and as a producer I would make sure my consumer gets what they want.