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The Design of Everyday Things
 
 
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The Design of Everyday Things [Kindle Edition]

Don Norman (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews) |
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Hardcover £17.09   -- --
Paperback £7.66   -- --
Audio, CD, Audiobook £15.49   -- --

Product Description

Review

"Norman ... makes a strong case for the needlessness of badly conceived and badly designed everyday objects ... [T]his book may herald the beginning of a change in user habits and expectations, a change that manufacturers would be obliged to respond to. Button pushers of the world, unite." --Los Angeles Times

Review

"Norman... makes a strong case for the needlessness of badlyconceived and badly designed everyday objects... [T]his book mayherald the beginning of a change in user habits and expectations, achange that manufacturers would be obliged to respond to. Buttonpushers of the world, unite." Los Angeles Times
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Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 2740 KB
  • Print Length: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Basic Books (19 Sep 2002)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B003KVKYAM
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #87,171 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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More About the Author

Donald A. Norman
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
A classic. 14 Jun 1999
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Same book as the paperback "The Design of Everyday Things". Just as good a book under either title. (You'll find more reviews of it under the other title.)
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Very good, but dated 19 April 2006
By Haeg
Format:Paperback
It's an exceptional book, so why have I given it only 4 stars?

Certainly not the books fault, but this book does tend to get recommended to students as the definitive book for software interface design.

The book is quite dated, being just a renamed reprint of 1989 book "The Psychology of Everyday Things", identical content, except with a new foreword.

The insight into the flawed design of everyday objects is amazing, but could have been so much better if instead of just updating the foreword new chapters were added dealing with modern issues (computers, satellite tv, mobile phones, etc).

Reading this book will still make high tech designers better, but don't expect it to be as relevant to you as it was to your lecturer who read it 17 years ago.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Design made easy. 3 May 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
You read this book and then you think aha! - thats why I have trouble with my door/kettle/car. Norman manages to inform the reader with interesting examples, backed up by years of research.

One of the easiest ways to sell good design and usability is by showing people what happens if you don't invest enough time and resources. This book provides ample ammunition to any designers who are confronted with clients who require educating, as well as a design solution.

Why not 5 stars? - well, the book could be longer.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
very great book for every great designer
one of the best book on interaction design, embodied interaction affordance and inclusive design. you will find so interesting information
Published 3 months ago by Awad
Let's read it
If you are a designer in any field, you need to read it just to understand better how the world around you works.
Published 10 months ago by Mr. Benjamin Parisot
Open your mind to usability
The Design of Everyday Things is not a common book. It is a book about thinking how things are made, and more important, why they are made that way. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Kartones
I can understand why it's a "must read" for designers
This book is obviously about design and everyday things, like doors, taps and electr(on)ic equipment, but it's also about psychology and not so everyday things, like museums,... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Maarten de Vries
Not Very Insightful
I am a bit surprised that this has so good reviews. I read it and found it fairly unenjoyable, not very insightful and often I thought "anybody could have written this. Read more
Published 21 months ago by J
Keep it simple, stupid!
Actually, the basic principles outlined in this book can be applied to the design of software systems as well. Read more
Published 23 months ago by M.I.
The definitive usability classic
Not at all a how-to handbook, but a reading that should (and will) change your point of view when addressing engineering issues related with users. Read more
Published on 15 May 2010 by Joan Alex Ferre Obiol
fun and gives a perspective of things designed
one can have fun reading this book while gaining a perspective how the things in daily life should be written a manual and if one is comprehensive enough they could reflect these... Read more
Published on 8 April 2010 by K. Pehlvanolu
Interesting book about design language and usability
Mixture of popular account and technical detail sit oddly together. Some powerful insights about why some products/designs don't work, but not enough detailed analyst to be really... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by Jezza
A great book, but needs an update
Norman provides very insightful views on why many everyday things are so infuriating to use. His examples range from inscrutable button-filled remote controls to shower faucets... Read more
Published on 1 May 2009 by Neil
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Popular Highlights

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If an error is possible, someone will make it. The designer must assume that all possible errors will occur and design so as to minimize the chance of the error in the first place, or its effects once it gets made. Errors should be easy to detect, they should have minimal consequences, and, if possible, their effects should be reversible. &quote;
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visibility. The correct parts must be visible, and they must convey the correct message. &quote;
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Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating. &quote;
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