Assignment #2: The Design of Everyday Things

Chapter 1: "The Psychopathology of Everyday Things" 

This chapter gave a huge number of examples to help describe the information being presented.  I realised as I was reading this book that I have used and had problems with a vast number of the examples provided for bad designs. It actually shocked me to think about the number of things that could be displayed so much simpler, in ways that would actually make sense.  This started to make me think, I know that keyboards were designed with a specific purpose in mind, but if that is the case, why are some of the most commonly used letters in some random places? Also, what particularly decided the location of the symbols associated with the numbers on the top row of buttons? I assume it was random, but could they be better designed and why can't the user decide which symbols to place there? I use a variety of symbols that are not available on the keyboard at any point in time. The repeated example of the phone displayed some of the problems with expanding previous designs. The previously designed phones have an obvious impact on the newer designs. Thus, the designers must try to keep the design similar and still add the necessary items. Hopefully the new designs do not reach the state of needing an engineering degree to figure them out.

Chapter 2: "The Psychology of Everyday Actions"

This chapter spent most of the time talking about how the users will blame themselves for failures of the designer.  I know the watch example is well and truly covered in the book, but this made me think about my father's digital watch.  It has two buttons on the front and he is unable to determine how to make the alarm stop going off daily.  It is not a failing on his part, but he simply passes the watch to me and says "make it stop." This makes me wonder if there are other technologies, like a digital watch, which are designed for everyone, but only those of a younger generation are likely to use. Cell phones for example, how long did it take for your parents to start texting? Mine didn't learn how to text regularly until I was two years into college. How many designs are simple for the youth to understand but incredibly complicated for the older generations? As people we need to demand devices which anyone can simply use and are easy to understand.

Chapter 3: "Knowledge in the Head and in the World"

This chapter covered the differences between having the knowledge of something stored in your memory vs being visible in the world. It also talked about how constraints can make it a lot easier to remember items and the types of memory and how they are different. I found this chapter particularly hard to read because a majority of this information is already covered in an intro to psychology class. Beyond that, the topic was relatively interesting. I had never considered the amount of information which is displayed in the world as compared to that which I keep in my head. Unfortunately, I had a stove which was going to be on my bad design list, which after this chapter will not be. I found Norman's comments about wanting a portable computer that attaches to a phone rather interesting, I believe that we have not met his thoughts that there would be a perfect version of this in 10 years. Eventually we will get a smart phone that is "perfect" for everyone.

Chapter 4: "Knowing What to Do"

This chapter covers some of the most common errors to occur from confusing affordances as well as the ways in which constraints can be used to depict only the correct solution. The example of the Lego police motorcycle clearly demonstrated how correctly designed objects can be constructed without worry about the pieces being combined incorrectly. Because of this I started to realize how almost every time my family and I are putting some piece of furniture together, we end up placing a piece in backwards or just plain wrong. Is it possible that we are not the only ones to have problems like these? According to Norman, it is. Makes me wonder what else I am just accepting that I am unable to accomplish correctly when a simple change in design would make a world of difference.  Doors and switches, even thirty years after this book was originally published, are still placed terribly. In my last apartment there were two switches side by side. One turned on the light behind me and the other in front. I consistently got which was witch backward. It would have been easy to place one in each area, but I guess not.

Chapter 5: "To Err is Human"

This chapter was all about the types of mistakes that people make, ways to prevent many of these mistakes from happening, and how our conscious and unconscious behavior and memory affects these mistakes.  There are a wide variety of things that I consistently get wrong, a surprising number of things. From incorrect light switches to putting my shoes on the wrong feet, I make mistakes everyday. This chapter made me think about these mistakes and start to wonder how many of them are because I was in a hurry or not paying attention? More than I am willing to admit. So, how can I fix this problem... I can't. There is not a solution which will allow everyone to be able to focus on one thing at a time, it is a side effect of being human. What else do we just have to accept because we are human?

Chapter 6: "The Design Challenge"

This chapter discusses the ways that new innovations are designed and some of the problems that can occur when the designer doesn't take enough of the user into account. This chapter spent a lot of time going through examples which I found to be utterly necessary. Without the examples, many of the principles being detailed would not have been easy to understand. Who knew the number of problems that could occur because of errors in design. I didn't know that there was a convention for the faucets, at least not consciously. There are an amazing number of things that have universal conventions, now that I stop to think about it. What else will become a convention in the future? A computer, a car, who knows!

Chapter 7: "User-Centered Design"

Ah, Chapter 7. Well, I thought that this chapter was basically a summary of the previous six chapters with minutely more detail paid to certain areas. This chapter was the hardest for me to read because I relate to the examples given. The main thing that this chapter impressed upon me was that there is no such thing as a perfect design and that even if you get to the point that you have a perfect design, at least some part of it is going to be based on either social or cultural conventions or international standards. What do you do with people who consistently deviate from international standards? The British still drive on the wrong side of the road (apologies to any British who read this) but they aren't the only ones. The one example that really rang true for me was the analog clock. I have spent years growing up with analog clocks, only for digital watches to come around. I am now completely incapable of reading an analog clock. It that something like a court reporter's typewriter, the longer you go without using it the less you remember? Who knows.

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman:

Overall, this book was an excellent read. Parts of it were slow, but it was much better than I was expecting. It is a book that should be used in any and all parts of the design of a new or returning product. This book details some of the common mistakes that people make with regard to new and old designs and ways to improve the designs so that the mistakes are not made again. It also covers the ways in which humans relate to their world and how we are more likely to blame ourselves for a mistake or error when it is possibly the designers fault. The last thing that I feel this book covered is the comparison between when as people we use the knowledge that is in our brains and when we use that which is available in the world.

As I was reading this book, there were several examples of designs which I thought made no sense and then not ten pages later the author was explaining the very thing that I had been thinking about (i.e.: keyboards and stoves). From the layout of the book you can clearly see that there are so many more things which the author could have talked about but didn’t for whatever reason. Because of this, as a reader we have been challenged to look at the products we use on a daily basis and see if they are reasonable or not. I have already found items which I use everyday and plan to replace because they are simply not reasonable, such as some of my lamps. On the other hand, things like a keyboard are impossible to be replaced because they have become internationally standardized.

As a potential program designer, there was one section that really resonated with me. This section described how programmers should not be designers of user interfaces. Well, if we aren’t the designer then who is? As a programmer, we will try to make the program user friendly, but if it makes the “back end” work harder, we are just as likely to leave the user with a less easily understood “front end.” Our job is to ensure that everyone who uses our products likes them enough that even if there is a major error, they are still likely to come and try another product because of the user friendliness. Unfortunately, I tend to not think about what the user will need to be doing because (as Norman describes) as the designer I am so familiar with what is expected of the user that by the time the design is finished, I could probably run the program in my sleep. That’s fantastic, but not for a new user.

Chapter 6 presents a “design challenge.” It is in no way a formal challenge, but Norman challenges the reader to always put the user ahead of the design. So, how can we as users ensure that this challenge is met. We must require that all of the products we purchase are usable, reasonable, and intelligently designed. We must stand up and fight back for the design of products that allow the user to not “need an engineering degree from MIT to work this.” If we continue to accept mediocre designs, the companies will continue to make them.

I pose a challenge to all of the students of CHI Fall 2012. Find at least one item a year (more if you can) and refuse to use that product because of its design failures. I will be doing my best to ensure that every design I produce has put the user before everything else. Are you willing to try and do the same?

Good Design Examples:

1.   The ever useful flash drive! This device is clearly designed with the user in mind. When it is in operation, there is not an easy way to accidentally disconnect it. When it is not in operation, there is not an easy way to break it. Picture credit: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive]

2.   The stapler is an example of good design because it is a simple object with relatively little difficulty understanding. It is self contained (except for the staples of course) and is hard to get wrong. Though first time users may not instantly understand how to work one, it is doubtful that they would have to ask how to work it. Picture credit: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stapler]

3.   A soda can is something that I consider to be a good design. They are almost impossible to open incorrectly (without serious effort I might add) and once open have a clearly defined up direction. Even a first time user should be able to figure out a soda can because there is really only one way to open it, and only one thing that moves. But even if they can't, once they have been shown how, they will probably never make the mistake again. Picture credit: [http://randyyaj.blogspot.com/2011/02/3d-or-vector.html#!/2011/02/3d-or-vector.html]

 

4.   A chest of drawers can be good or bad.  This particular example is one that is good. It is not tall enough to be top heavy and only has handles in the middle of the drawer. Some of the chests with two handles will bind the drawers if you only pull on one. This design is obvious and the mapping between what to do is easy to see. Picture credit: [http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80159835/]

 

5.   The spoon is an example of good design. Why? Because it has a simple design which clearly depicts what you are able to do with it. Now that's not to say that some ingenious person cannot find another use for a spoon, but one a person knows it is used to move food to your mouth, it becomes rather obvious how it is to be used with only one correct mapping. Picture credit: [http://www.restaurantware.com/mini-spoon-silver-500-count-box/]

Bad Design Examples: 

1.   The light switches seem fine where they are located until you open the door. Then you realize that the light switches are located behind the open door and impossible to use without moving the door.

2.    The normal person would assume that the highest setting would be furthest from the off side and the lowest would be closest to off. Unfortunately, this is not true and I have turned the Crock pot on warm (thought it was on high) and didn't notice my mistake for 6 hours.

 

3.   The traditional pop-top water bottle.  Some people love these, but I personally can't stand them. One of two things will occur when you try to use it. 1) the bottle will be impossible to open or 2) the bottle will be leaky after it is "closed". Because of the material that these bottles are made out of, it is close to impossible to have one that works effectively without causing serious complaints, at least in my opinion. Picture credit: [http://www.homerecovery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=40_43]

4.   Who hasn't seen a table that the sides fold down?  I personally grew up with one, but this particular table has two things wrong with it. It looks great, but wait till you try to use it. The sides are impossible to get to stay upright, I have personally caused the sides to fold down at least twice in memory. The second thing wrong with this table is the shelf underneath it. That shelf is perfect height for a person to constantly bang their shins on. I also have memories of doing this. Never again will I own a table with folding sides or a shelf underneath. Picture credit: [http://www.kitchenidease.com/drop-leaf-kitchen-tables]

5.   Ah, the knife sharpener... A fantastic idea and a simple design, one problem. With the knife sharpener in the picture, I have seen both of my parents attempt to sharpen the knife and stab or cut themselves (not badly, but still). This device seems perfectly designed so that if the user doesn't stop the knife at just the right moment, or is pushing down too hard, the knife will come flying out of the end of the sharpener. I feel the newer designs prevent this from occurring as frequently.  Picture credit: [http://www.taxidermy.com/cat/17/sharpener.html]