Book Review: The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman

Summary: The book "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman attempts to explain some of the problems that consumers, well just people in general, have with the products they use on an everyday or a not-so-everyday basis. The book describes (with the help of several real world stories) frustrations that people have with items they find around their home that are used everyday (Ex. Light switches, oven burner controls), items outside the home that are frequently used (Ex. their car), or items found at work (Ex. their work telephone, or computer). The book also describes frustrations with items that are found everywhere, like doors. After initially describing a lot of the issues that people have with these items (along with some hilarious or disastrous consequences), the book attempts to break down the mental functions that most normal human beings use to interact with these items, like memory, visual signals, or auditory signals. The book also goes into detail some of the behaviors, external or internal, that contribute to certain design decisions, whether it be good or bad. The author describes the difficulties that are encountered by designers, whether it be from figures of authority, third party interests, or flaws with the design process that are initiated, perhaps unknowingly, by the designer themselves.

Shaun's Opinion: While I thought this book was a tad lengthy, and perhaps a bit too wordy, it does a great job of pointing out the "obvious" factors that influence human interaction with products and the thoughts that may be occuring in the designers of the products themselves. The author frequently mentions considerations that must be taken during design that would seem obvious to most people, but over time some of these considerations have been lost to other outside influences, such as cost or aesthetics. Some of the stories in this article were pretty funny, such as the man with a degree in engineering who can't operate his own laundry machines. There were also a few that were eye opening, such as the many descriptions of the airline accidents that occured due to poor design. The author, to his credit, is very thorough and exhaustive of all the issues surrounding product design, but it also comes at a price. I felt like the author was being far too wordy for simple issues that he was trying to convey, or that he would frequently refer to other design flaws while explaining another, and that it was distracting. There is a lot of information that he covers, and it seems a bit chaotic at times during the book.