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(Module 1.1) Everyday Things

The document discusses the book "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman. It examines how poor design can negatively impact human behavior through everyday objects. The book covers user-centered design principles and applying them to common everyday objects and actions. It discusses six key concepts for good design: affordances, constraints, conceptual models, mappings, visibility, and feedback. These concepts distinguish well-designed objects from poorly-designed ones. Good design involves understanding how people interact with objects by making controls and systems easy to understand intuitively.

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Joshua Blacer
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60 views33 pages

(Module 1.1) Everyday Things

The document discusses the book "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman. It examines how poor design can negatively impact human behavior through everyday objects. The book covers user-centered design principles and applying them to common everyday objects and actions. It discusses six key concepts for good design: affordances, constraints, conceptual models, mappings, visibility, and feedback. These concepts distinguish well-designed objects from poorly-designed ones. Good design involves understanding how people interact with objects by making controls and systems easy to understand intuitively.

Uploaded by

Joshua Blacer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Design of

Everyday Things
MARY GRACE B. BOLOS, DIT
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, CNSC ICS
Design
usually considered in the context of applied arts,
engineering, architecture, and other creative endeavors, is
used both as a noun and a verb. As a verb, "to design" refers
to the process of originating and developing a plan for a
product, structure, system, or component. As a noun, "a
design" is used for either the final (solution) plan (e.g.
proposal, drawing, model, description) or the result of
implementing that plan (e.g. object produced, result of the
process). More recently, processes (in general) have also
been treated as products of design, giving new meaning to
the term "process design".
Design Cont.
Designing normally requires a designer to consider the
aesthetic, functional, and many other aspects of an object or a
process, which usually requires considerable research, thought,
modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design.
Design elements and principles are the basic visual toolbox of
design tactics in every visual design discipline. The elements
form the basic vocabulary of visual design, while the principles
constitute the broader structural aspects of the composition.
The elements of design consist of line, texture, shape, tone and
colour.
Most compositions are created by using combinations of
elements and principles.
Design of Everyday Things
It examines the effect of poor
design and equipment failure on
human behavior
It covers user-centered design, on
everyday things and on everyday
actions
Look around you...

Start by looking at Interfaces for


Doors, Windows
Stove
Projectors
DVD players
What’s wrong with this
picture?
Donald A. Norman
Cognitive psychologist Concerned with good
University of California San design
Diego Fitting things to
www.jnd.org people, not the other
The Psychology of Everyday way around
Things Formulated principles
Things that Make Us Smart of good design
The Invisible Computer www.jnd.org
Six concepts
Bases for analysis of Affordances
design
Constraints
Distinguishes good
Conceptual models
design from bad
Mappings
Visibility
Feedback
Affordances
Perceived properties of an artifact
Provides strong clues for possible usage
Knobs are for turning
Slots are for inserting things into
Provide a good conceptual model and make
things visible
Constraints
Physical
Semantic
Cultural
Logical
Physical constraints
Constrain possible operations
Examples
different keys fit different locks
design of manhole covers - they are round so
that they don’t fall into the hole
Semantic constraints
Rely on the meaning of a situation to control
actions
Cultural constraints
Accepted cultural conventions that control
actions
Logical constraints
Relationship between spatial or functional layout
of components and the things they affect
Conceptual model
Mental models of a Problem with my water
system heater controls
Allow users to Which knob does what?
understand the system,
predict effects, and
interpret results
Heater controls
Upper knob to intensity of
the heating unit
Lower knob to control water
pressure
10 = lowest pressure
1 = highest pressure
This says COLD
This says TEMP
Mappings
Relationships between controls and their effects
on a system
Visibility
Design makes the Getting trapped between
conceptual model glass doors
apparent to users
Hinge was not obvious
Design tells the user
what actions he can No handles, no panels
performs
Feedback
Provides information Auditory feedback
about the effects of a (sidetone) when talking
user’s actions on a telephone
What has been done Tones when buttons are
pressed
What has been
accomplished
Design is about compromise
It takes 5 or 6 tries to get a product right
If a product fails within the first or second try, it’s
dead
Some products are guaranteed to fail, no matter
how good the idea
Designers are afraid to try

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