| The Design of Everyday Things | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Donald Norman |
| Original title | The Psychology of Everyday Things |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Design, Psychology, Business |
| Publication date | 1988 |
| Dewey Decimal | 620.8'2âdc20 |
The Design of Everyday Things is a best-selling[1] book by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman about the design of simple objects, and why some objects please their users while others frustrate them.
The book was published in 1988 with the title The Psychology of Everyday Things. Norman said his academic peers liked that title, but believed the new title better conveyed the content of the book and better attracted interested readers.[2]:ix It is often referred to by the initialisms POET and DOET.
Norman uses case studies to describe the psychology behind what he deems good and bad design, and proposes design principles. The book spans several disciplines including behavioral psychology, ergonomics, and design practice.
Contents |
In the book, Norman introduced the term affordance as it applied to design,[3]:282 adding a perceptual dimension to James J. Gibson's concept of the same name.[1] Examples of affordances are flat plates on doors meant to be pushed, small finger-size push-buttons, and long and rounded bars we intuitively use as handles. As Norman used the term, the plate or button affords pushing, while the bar or handle affords pulling.[3]:282â3[4]:9 Norman discussed door handles at length.[5][4]:10,87â92
He also popularized the term user-centered design, which he had previously referred to in User Centered System Design in 1986.[6] He used the term to describe design based on the needs of the user, leaving aside what he deemed secondary issues like aesthetics. User-centered design involves simplifying the structure of tasks, making things visible, getting the mapping right, exploiting the powers of constraint, designing for error, explaining affordances and seven stages of action.
Other topics of the book include:
After a group of industrial designers felt affronted after reading an early draft, Norman rewrote the book to make it more sympathetic to the profession.[1]