The Design of Everyday Things is one of the most influential books in User Experience Design. The first version of the book, published in 1988, defines the language still used by product designers today, including terms like affordance
, signifier
, mappings
, etc. The book demonstrates great design principles through design flaws in ordinary things that we run into everyday like microwave oven, door knobs, etc.
The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. More than that, it gives the reader a framework to communicate their design ideas to stakeholders more effectively.
The principles laid out in the book are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. And, the goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.
If you can only read one book about product design, pick this book.
About the Author
Don Norman is widely regarded for his expertise in the fields of design, usability engineering, and cognitive science.
He worked at Apple
as a User Experience Architect (the first use of the phrase "User Experience" in a job title) and then as the VP in charge of the Advanced Technology Group.
He is also an IDEO
fellow (IDEO is a Palo Alto-based design firm famous for having designed the Apple's first mouse and the Palm V PDA)
He is now a co-founder and consultant with the Nielsen Norman Group
.
The Design of Everyday Things is one of the most influential books in User Experience Design. The first version of the book, published in 1988, defines the language still used by product designers today, including terms like affordance
, signifier
, mappings
, etc. The book demonstrates great design principles through design flaws in ordinary things that we run into everyday like microwave oven, door knobs, etc.
The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. More than that, it gives the reader a framework to communicate their design ideas to stakeholders more effectively.
The principles laid out in the book are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. And, the goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.
If you can only read one book about product design, pick this book.
About the Author
Don Norman is widely regarded for his expertise in the fields of design, usability engineering, and cognitive science.
He worked at Apple
as a User Experience Architect (the first use of the phrase "User Experience" in a job title) and then as the VP in charge of the Advanced Technology Group.
He is also an IDEO
fellow (IDEO is a Palo Alto-based design firm famous for having designed the Apple's first mouse and the Palm V PDA)
He is now a co-founder and consultant with the Nielsen Norman Group
.