{"id":7049,"date":"2006-10-13T11:17:36","date_gmt":"2006-10-13T11:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/10\/13\/norman-the-desi\/"},"modified":"2006-10-13T11:17:36","modified_gmt":"2006-10-13T11:17:36","slug":"norman-the-desi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/10\/13\/norman-the-desi\/","title":{"rendered":"Norman, The Design of Everyday Things<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: <\/span> 4<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>\n

Norman,
\n Donald. The Design of Everyday Things<\/i>. New York: Basic Books,
\n 2002. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Norman lays a groundwork for design considerations related to ordinary,
\neveryday objects. His examples include touch-tone telephones, analog
\nclocks and digital watches, VCRs (confusing!), doors, switches, remote controls,
\nstove-top burners, microwaves, water faucet handles, and keyboards. Rich with
\nillustrations and examples, The Design of Everyday Things<\/i> proceeds
\nprimarily on lament and critique: so much is bad with design. Norman sets
\nout to explain why. He draws on formalist conventions, however, usually
\npreferring the simple and plain to the ornate and complex: utility before
\nbeauty, put yet another way. <\/p>\n

This is a revision (toward popularization) of The Psychology of Everyday
\nThings<\/i> (1988), a project motivated by questions about ordinary human error,
\nits causes, its remedies (compared with I.A. Richards’ def’n of rhetoric as the
\nstudy of misunderstanding and its resolve, this could be a rhetoric of everyday
\nthings, I suppose). Norman approaches design problems from the standpoint of
\ncognitive psychology<\/b>. That is, he tries to understand the convergence
\nof things-as-used<\/b>, things-as-designed<\/b>, and the many variables that
\ncreate problems<\/b> (constraints, on one hand, and errors, slips, and
\nmistakes, on the other hand). <\/p>\n

The first two-thirds of the book is what I would describe (in fairness, at a
\nvery general level) as utopian (design is perfectible) and formalist ("good"
\ndesign follows reductive principles). But the final third of the book
\nopens more explicitly to design as a complex process<\/b> of the evolution of
\nthings within systems. In other words, the extent to which things are made by
\nusers whose knowledge, memories, contexts, needs, and such vary considerably,
\nfailsafe design is something of a crapshoot. Certain examples also position
\ndesign as a scapegoat for user ineptitude. <\/p>\n

What could I write about related to this? <\/p>\n

    \n
  • Norman emphasizes visibility<\/b>. Briefly he mentions sound
    \n (auditory feedback) for visibility. An odd turn. Why not odor? (As
    \n in the scented additives in propane, for example).<\/li>\n
  • Environmental feedback<\/b> (104). Norman describes the two-in-one
    \n light switch that also controls the low-noise ventilation system. He was
    \n at a friend’s house but couldn’t tell whether the fan was working. The
    \n question of environmental feedback might look at whether the air was in fact
    \n noticeably drier, given that he’d showered there a number of times.<\/li>\n
  • Design in complex systems (142): rarely are re-designs of seemingly
    \n discrete objects all that discrete (standalone). Other constraints,
    \n including physical evolution (21), cost, and findability (215) interfere.<\/li>\n
  • **Models of human thought: schema-frame<\/b> and connectionist<\/b>
    \n (115). Also wide<\/b> and deep structures<\/b> (119).<\/li>\n
  • Norman’s idea of knowledge in the world<\/b> jibes with Bazerman on
    \n discursively structured activities<\/b>. What Bazerman calls
    \n "agenda-setting" overlaps with what Norman sees as the structuring functions
    \n of designed things (both symbolically and materially) as users develop
    \n knowledge about how to use them. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Finally, the book is organized by a number of lists. Each item
    \ntypically accompanies a brief section explaining what it means and how it
    \napplies to design.<\/p>\n

    Knowing what to do: constraints<\/b> and mappings<\/b> are key, as are
    \nvisibility<\/b> and feedback<\/b> (99).
    \nSeven stages of action (48): forming the goal, forming the intention, specifying
    \nan action, executing the action, perceiving the state of the world, interpreting
    \nthe state of the world, evaluating the outcome.
    \nKnowledge in the head and in the world (55): Information is in the world; Great
    \nprecision is not required; Natural constraints are present; Cultural constraints
    \nare present.
    \nClassification of everyday constraints (84): physical, semantic, cultural,
    \nlogical<\/b>.
    \nCategories for slips (107): capture errors, description errors, data-driven
    \nerrors, associate activation errors, loss-of-activation errors, and mode errors.<\/p>\n

    Seven design principles (188):<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Use both knowledge in the world and knowledge in the head.<\/li>\n
    2. Simplify the structure of tasks.<\/li>\n
    3. Make things visible: bridge gulfs of Execution and Evaluation.<\/li>\n
    4. Get the mappings right.<\/li>\n
    5. Exploit the power of constraints, both natural and artificial.<\/li>\n
    6. Design for error.<\/li>\n
    7. When all else fails, standardize.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Key terms: "visibility" (4), "natural design" (4), "mapping" (5, 23),
      \n"psychology of materials" (9), "psychology of causality" (9), "conceptual
      \nmodels" (12), "mental models" (17), "system image" (17), "naive or folk
      \nunderstandings" (36), "learned helplessness" (42), "taught helplessness" (42),
      \nprocedural and declarative knowledge (57), "natural mappings" (75), "forcing
      \nfunction" (132), "physical anthropometry" (161), "creeping featurism" (172),
      \n"modularization" (174)<\/p>\n

      "POET [The Psychology of Everyday Things<\/i>] is an outgrowth of my
      \nrepeated frustrations<\/b> with the operation of everyday things and my growing
      \nknowledge of how to apply experimental psychology<\/b> and cognitive
      \nscience<\/b>" (x).<\/p>\n

      "Other clues [in addition to conceptual models] to how things work come from
      \ntheir visible structure<\/b>–in particular from affordances<\/b>,
      \nconstraints<\/b>, and mapping<\/b>" (12).<\/p>\n

      "We have now encountered the fundamental principles of designing for people:
      \n(1) provide a good conceptual model<\/b> and (2) make things visible<\/b>"
      \n(13).<\/p>\n

      "Mental models<\/b>, our conceptual models of the way objects work, events
      \ntake place, or people behave, result from our tendency to form explanations of
      \nthings. These models are essential in helping us understand our experiences,
      \npredict the outcomes of our actions, and handle unexpected occurrences. We base
      \nour models on whatever knowledge we have<\/b>, real or imaginary, naive or
      \nsophisticated" (38). <\/p>\n

      "Affordances<\/b> can signal how an object can be moved, what it will
      \nsupport, and whether anything will fit into its crevices, over it, or under it"
      \n(82).<\/p>\n

      "What are not everyday activities<\/b>? Those with wide and deep
      \nstructures, the ones that require considerable planning and thought, deliberate
      \ntrial and error: trying first this approach, then that–backtracking" (124).<\/p>\n

      "For understanding mistakes<\/b>, social structure<\/b> is every bit as
      \nessential as physical structure<\/b>" (129).<\/p>\n

      "The designer shouldn’t think of a simple dichotomy between errors<\/b> and
      \ncorrective behavior<\/b>; rather, the entire interaction should be treated as
      \na cooperative endeavor<\/b> between person and machine, one in which
      \nmisconceptions can arise on either side" (140). <\/p>\n

      "In their work, designers<\/b> often become expert with the device<\/i><\/b>
      \nthey are designing. Users<\/b> are often expert at the task<\/i><\/b> they
      \nare trying to perform with the device" (156).<\/p>\n

      "Creeping featurism<\/b> is the tendency to add to the number of features
      \nthat a device can do, often extending the number beyond all reason" (173).<\/p>\n

      "Imagine that this book was in hypertext<\/b>. How would it work? Well,
      \nI’ve used several devices that relate to hypertext: one is the footnote<\/b>,
      \nanother is parenthetical comments<\/b>, and yet another is contrasting
      \ntext"<\/b> (212). <\/p>\n

      \n
      Related sources:<\/dt>\n
      Alexander, C. The Timeless Way of Building<\/i>. New York: Oxford UP,
      \n 1979.<\/dd>\n
      Gibson, J.J. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception<\/i>. Boston:
      \n Houghton Miflin, 1979.<\/dd>\n
      Simon, Herbert. The Sciences of the Artificial<\/i>. Cambridge, Mass.:
      \n MIT Press, 1981.<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \u23f3 Approximate reading time: <\/span> 4<\/span> mins<\/span><\/span>Norman, Donald. The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books, 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[175],"tags":[699,1038,1314,355,935,1315,424,1316,385,1317,1318,1319,445,330,383,150,187,1320,566,1321,1322],"class_list":["post-7049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-toolsinuse","tag-action","tag-affordance","tag-causality","tag-complexity","tag-computers","tag-constraint","tag-design","tag-designer","tag-error","tag-feedback","tag-goals","tag-gulfs","tag-knowledge","tag-maps","tag-memory","tag-structure","tag-technology","tag-thing","tag-usability","tag-user","tag-visibility"],"yoast_head":"\nNorman, The Design of Everyday Things - Earth Wide Moth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/10\/13\/norman-the-desi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Norman, The Design of Everyday Things - Earth Wide Moth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u23f3 Approximate reading time: 4 minsNorman, Donald. 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This morning an email arrived with a link for PTA listserv subscribers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/category\/design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7050,"url":"https:\/\/www.earthwidemoth.com\/blog\/2006\/10\/14\/vygotsky-mind-i\/","url_meta":{"origin":7049,"position":3},"title":"Vygotsky, Mind in Society","author":"Derek Mueller","date":"October 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Vygotsky, Lev. Mind in Society. 1978. Cole et al., eds. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2006. Mind in Society is an edited collection of Vygotsky's papers on the dialectical entanglement of sign and tool toward more complex psychological processes. Dialectics figure prominently in Vygotsky's inductive methods. 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