The Design of Everyday Things Paperback – 9 Sept. 1998

by Donald Norman (Author)

4.7 1,546 ratings

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 lies in product design that ignore the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. A bestseller in the United States, this bible on the cognitive aspects of design contains examples of both good and bad design and simple rules that designers can use to improve the usability of objects as diverse as cars, computers, doors, and telephones.

Product description

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 --Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Business Week has named Don Norman as one of the world's most influential designers. He has been both a professor and an executive: he was Vice President of Advanced Technology at Apple; his company, the Nielsen Norman Group, helps companies produce human-centered products and services; he has been on the faculty at Harvard, the University of California, San Diego, Northwestern University, and KAIST, in South Korea. He is the author of many books, including The Design of Everyday Things, The Invisible Computer (MIT Press, 1998), Emotional Design, and The Design of Future Things.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ MIT Press; Reprint edition (9 Sept. 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 270 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262640376
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262640374
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.4 x 1.35 x 22.9 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,688,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 14,424 in Cognition & Cognitive Psychology
- 21,280 in Architecture (Books)
- 22,809 in Scientific Psychology & Psychiatry

Customer reviews:
4.7 1,546 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Donald A. Norman

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Don Norman takes special delight in the interaction of people and technology. "Develop the skill of observation," he says, "and especially pay attention to the obvious, for this is where you will discover many hidden insights. What seems to be obvious often is not."

Business Week has named him one of "the world's most influential designers," the influence from his books, essays, courses and students, lectures, and consulting.

He is a fellow of many organizations, including the American Association of Arts and Sciences. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineers and former lots of things, including VP at Apple Computer, President of a startup, and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman group. He has honorary degrees from the University of Padua (Italy), the Technical University Delft (the Netherlands), and the University of San Marino. He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin medal in Computer and Cognitive Science and the Sir Misha Black medal for contributions to Design Education.

He is known for his books "The Design of Everyday Things," "Emotional Design," "Living with Complexity," and "The Design of Future Things," but he is most proud of his students all over the world, who put into practice his human-centered design philosophy.

His latest book is Design for a Better World: meaningful, sustainable, humanity centered" which draws upon his rich history to address some of the most pressing problems facing the world today. The real issues are not technical, nor can they be solved simply by technology. The most difficult is human behavior, which is why design can play such an important role. Design is a way of thinking, of solving the core underlying issues, combining a knowledge of technology, all areas of human activity, and most important of all, human behavior.

He lives at www.jnd.org, where you can find chapters from his books and loads of essays.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

1,546 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

W. Reilly

Common Sense Design - all too uncommon

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2012

Verified Purchase

This is my first time reading this book. And I have to say I am really enjoying it. It is obviously based on the authors most loved interest. Norman shows that he is an ordinary person who gets frustrated with (bad) design in the same way we all do. But then he sets about trying to help us create guidelines for better or even great design. This book is not about clean lines and hidden details. It's about obvious usability and making life easier.

The book is technically old in the sense that he refers to old tech/computers/phone systems that were common for the time of writing. Which as we know Tech moves on kind of fast. But you have to stop yourself from saying "this is so out of date". Because really the principles are timeless. Good design will always be based on how well the design fits its purpose.

So if you have an interest in design and particularly the design of things you rely on everyday. Or if you will be responsible for the design of everyday things. This is the book to get your ideas and thinking focused on the user.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Elliotfinch

Great

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 April 2022

Verified Purchase

This is a really good, and inciteful book about the psychology of how we interact with things in our day to day.
If you're designing anything that will be used by a human (like most things), I think this book is a must read.
It has subtly changed the way I think when designing something.

I'm not really one for reading. But I have read this twice, and got the audio book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 May 2021

Verified Purchase

I bought this because I'm moving my teaching towards a design focus (I'm sick of seeing my workshop filled with dozens of identical projects!), and this book is fascinating. It's definitely going to take two reads to get the full message from it.

But, generally, if you find yourself getting frustrated by the made world around you - doors you can't find, taps that turn the wrong way - this is the book for you.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Maarten de Vries

I can understand why it's a "must read" for designers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2010

Verified Purchase

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, aircraft and nuclear power plants etc. If you're only mildly interested in these topics, then this book might be a bit "heavy" for you, but if you're really interested in them, it's a classic, that is on the mandatory reading list of many design schools. Personally, I originally wanted to be a car designer, so I really enjoyed it! In fact, from now on, I think I will remember this book, every time I encounter things that are designed very well, or very badly!

Basically, the book is an almost emotional plea for design, based on usability, as opposed to aesthetics (the statement "it probably won a design prize" is not a compliment in this book!) and cost (of materials, manufacturing etc). These factors are also important, but they matter more to the manufacturers and the (often corporate) customers of the product, than the ultimate user, and what's the *use* of a product that the user doesn't know how to use?

Designing for usability is probably more complex than you think, even for something as small and seemingly simple as a ballpoint pen. We could overcome this complexity if we could learn from our mistakes, but the multiple forces of a competitive market often prevent this process of evolutionary design. As a result, the same mistakes get made over and over again, and new ones are constantly added too, often on the back of new technologies, which are actually supposed to make our lives easier! Norman calls this "the paradox of technology".

To overcome this, Norman proposes "seven principles for transforming difficult tasks into simple ones":

1. "Use both knowledge in the world and knowledge in the head." The design of the object should help the user to form a good "conceptual model" or "mental map" of how it works, preferably without instruction labels (if it needs them, it's probably not designed very well) or the user manual, because most users don't read them anyway. A great example of an often misunderstood object is the thermostat. Many people don't understand that this is a simple on/off switch with a single speed. If they want to heat up a room asap, they turn the thermostat to the maximum temperature, but this doesn't make it go any faster. On the contrary, you risk overheating the room and having to cool it down again!
2. "Simplify the structure of tasks." Don't rely on the user to remember too many things at once, because our memory is limited.
3. "Make things visible: bridge the gulfs of Execution and Evaluation." Make it obvious which actions the user can/should take, and provide feedback when he/she has taken that action.
4. "Get the mappings right." The left switch is for the left light, the right switch is for the right one.
5. "Exploit the power of constraints, both natural and artificial." If you don't want people to insert the battery the wrong way, then make sure it doesn't fit that way. This is a physical constraint, but there are also semantic, cultural and logical ones.
6. "Design for error." Errors are not bad, they are normal! Design things in such a way that trivial errors are easily reversed ("undo") and serious errors are avoided in the first place.
7. "When all else fails, standardize." Think of the round clock-face, the QWERTY keyboard, turn a screw clockwise to tighten it etc.

The other thing I found really interesting was the relationship between usability and aesthetics. On one hand, something that looks very complicated probably isn't very easy to use, but on the other hand, "easy looking is not necessarily easy to use (...) We found that to make something easy to use, match the number of controls to the number of functions and organize the panels according to function. To make something look like it is easy, minimize the number of controls. How can these conflicting requirements be met simultaneously? Hide the controls not being used at the moment. By using a panel on which only the relevant controls are visible, you minimize the appearance of complexity. By having a separate control for each function, you minimize the complexity of use. It is possible to eat your cake and have it, too." This is one of the things Bang & Olufsen does very well, for example, and Normal actually uses an example of B&O in the book.

In summary, I can understand why this is a "must read" for designers, even though it was originally published back in 1988, because the seven principles are basically timeless. My only "buts" are:

1. I think the book could have been structured more clearly, which is of course ironic, considering it's a book about design and it actually includes a discussion about the structuring of writing material! I sometimes got a little bit "lost" in the text and I would have preferred to see the seven principles in the table of contents. A bit dull maybe, but very usable ;o)

2. I would love to see Norman apply his principles to some of the new technologies that have appeared and gone mainsteam between then and now. I've just found his follow-up book, called The Design of Future Things , but I'm not sure that's quite what I had in mind ;o)

Your comments are welcome!

24 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Excellent book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2022

Verified Purchase

A must read for any design student

Helpful

Peep_squeak

An Essential Design Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 March 2016

Verified Purchase

A design classic. The Design of Everyday Things will make you take the time to look at things you use without a second thought and understand the why and how of product design. As a designer I find myself applying rules and ideas from this book to my own work and going back to it time and time again.

If you're working in any area of design, whether it's web design, user experience, product, print or interior, this book will be a worthwhile investment. I'd also read it alongside other books like Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think.

Helpful

Daniel J. Staple

Nobody in design, engineering or development should miss this book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 May 2014

Verified Purchase

I highly recommend reading this to avoid daft and lasting mistakes - the book has a damning phrase "he probably won an award for that". It talks about how to design things that are actually usable and useful, how "aesthetic" design mistakes can ruin the way stuff works, or confuse users, and at worst be dangerous. Told with examples and anecdotes, this book should be a must read for anyone involved in any product design aspect - be it hardware design, software design, development and engineering.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

David

A brilliant summary of commonplace design

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2020

Verified Purchase

Took me two attempts to read but totally absorbed the second time. Great examples and very thought-provoking.

The only problem is that I’m noticing more bad design everywhere! At least I can now identify/explain why it’s failing.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

BHIMASEN ROUT

excellent

Reviewed in India on 28 August 2023

Verified Purchase

excellent

Diana Ferriz

Todo Ok

Reviewed in Spain on 29 March 2021

Verified Purchase

Muy buen libro

Translate review to English

Anna Kop

This book, along with a few other things piqued ...

Reviewed in Canada on 18 August 2017

Verified Purchase

This book, along with a few other things piqued my interest in the design field. It made me look at ordinary objects in a new way. It's been several years since I've read it, and I haven't looked back.

Denis

sehr interessantes Buch

Reviewed in Germany on 7 May 2019

Verified Purchase

Ich habe mir dieses Buch gekauft, weil es mir in einem Podcast empfohlen wurde. Design ist unglaublich wichtig und dieses Buch erklärt sehr gut warum und auch wie man das praktisch umsetzen kann. Auch für neue Technologien und Software ist gutes, bedienbares Design unabdingbar. Der Autor beschreibt seine Ideen mit einfachen Worten und man interessiert sich für das, was er als Nächstes beibringen möchte. Kann das Buch jedem weiterempfehlen, der sich für Design interessiert.

One person found this helpful

Translate review to English

Eric Konigsdorfer

Design from an engineer's mind perspective

Reviewed in Australia on 19 January 2023

Verified Purchase

Don Norman started his career an Electrical engineer, then went into Psychology, and finally something directly related to understanding effective design, he studied cognitive science. So, my point here is that Don is an engineer and a psychologist, but not a designer. Hence a lot of schematics and acronyms along the pages of this way too long and hard going book. Try explaining what Love is with a series of diagrams and acronyms, instead of using poetry, that is how this book goes by explaining effective design. BUT, do not get me wrong, this book is perfect to explain design to engineers and accountants... ie, people very far from instinctively understand what design is. It is good for people with a non-creative mind. But for design students and design professional, I do not think that this is the best book. It is still worth a read, but far from life changing. It is also way too long, with a lot of simple arguments repeated too many times, with way too long explanations, and demonstrations. This book could be written in a tenth of its size, and save paper. Still, most of the arguments proposed in this book are 100% valid, it is the way the information is analysed and delivered to you that is so painful, to me anyway. Some of my best friends are engineers, and let's face it; they are not normal people! (sic) Engineers and creatives live on different planets, and with that in mind, just be aware that this book is not tailored for the artistic/creative mind, but more toward the engineer that is about to design the control panel for a new washing machine, or a nuclear power plant. This is just my opinion, and I accept that I could be completely wrong.

See more reviews

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	AbeBooks Books, art & collectables	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities

Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products	Amazon Business Service for business customers

	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

Select your cookie preferences

Image Unavailable

The Design of Everyday Things Paperback – 9 Sept. 1998

Customers who viewed this item also viewed