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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 620.82
EAN: 9780465067107
ISBN: 0465067107
Label: Basic Books
Manufacturer: Basic Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2002-09
Publisher: Basic Books
Release Date: September 17, 2002
Sales Rank: 554
Studio: Basic Books
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
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.
Amazon.com:
With the many recent advances in technology, it seems, there has followed a diminution of quality. Electronic books have several advantages over their print counterparts, for instance. But for the time being, they're hard to use and unattractive to boot. Computers, which are supposed to make our lives easier, are commonly sources of frustration and wasted time. Movies are wondrously chock-a-block with special effects--but someone forgot the story. And so on.
Donald Norman, a retired professor of cognitive science, is bothered to no end by the fact that grappling with unfriendly objects now takes up so many of our hours. Over the course of several books, of which The Psychology of Everyday Things was the first, he has railed against bad design. He scrutinizes a range of artifacts that are supposed to make our daily living a little easier, and he finds most of them wanting. Why, he asks, does a door need instructions that say 'push' or 'pull'? A well-designed object, he argues, is self-explanatory. But well-designed objects are increasingly rare, for the present culture places a higher value on aesthetics than utility, even with such items as cordless screwdrivers, dresser drawers, and kitchen cabinets. In their concern for creating 'art,' many designers don't seem to consider what people actually do with things. Such disregard, Norman suggests, leads to few objects being standardized: think of all the different kinds of unsynchronized clocks that lurk in microwave ovens, VCRs, coffee makers, and the like--and of all the different kinds of batteries needed to drive them. Why, he wonders, must we reset all those clocks whenever the power goes off? Some designer somewhere, he ventures, ought to develop a master clock that communicates with all other electric clocks in a home--one that, when reset, synchronizes its slave units.
You don't need to be especially interested in technological matters to enjoy Norman's arguments. The book's underlying question is aimed at a global audience: will the design of everyday things improve? If this entertaining and, yes, well-designed book changes even a few minds, perhaps it will. --Gregory McNamee
Customer Reviews Average Rating: 
Rating:  - It's OK - but how can this be the seminal book on usability...?
Having heard that this was the seminal work in usabiliy, my expectations were probably too high.
Some of the principles laid out are indeed excellent and well illustrated.
The structure of the book is - ironically - not crystal clear. As I am reading the book I find myself looking back at the table of contents to understand the structure.
The writing style is slightly entertaining at first and you sympathize with the author hanging out himself as a clumsy ... Read More
Rating:  - Vey fast delivery very prompt service
very nice delivery very fast response. One of the best sellers at amazon.
will do business any time with them.
Rating: - A Little Dated, but Still Insightful
Written by a Usability Guru, some of the examples are a little dated, but still valuable for today's usability issues. A good read and well written.
Rating: - Designing stuff is harder than it looks
Norman has created an entertaining and enlightening treatise on the psychology of everyday objects. Why do some things work so well while others completely baffle? What distinguishes successful utility from frustration? How does one research and develop successful products? Most importantly, how does one avoid wasting time developing products that are doomed to fail? Many everyday objects are examined for their utility and user-friendliness. Norman uses three basic concepts, Affordances, Constraints, ... Read More
Rating: - Great book for everyone who is involved in user-oriented design
Even though some people think this is not useful in practice, I strongly believe this is a must read for anyone who designs an artifact for users. A very amusing and thoughtful book. Can even be used as a required reading in many courses such as UI design.
The Design of Everyday Things |
