Designed To Be Simple

Donald A. Norman talks about the flaws in the design on everyday things in the first chapter of his book The Design of Everyday Things. After reading the chapter, I am now to answer the questions I was assigned:

1. What do you feel were the author's key points in this chapter?
   
   Donald Norman points out his key points so clearly that he leaves me very little work to do. In the first part of his chapter states that "Well-designed objects are easy to interpret and understand. They contain visible clues to their operation. Poorly designed objects can be difficult and frustrating to use" (2). This is basically what the chapter is about in a whole. However, he points out that he will not only identify the problems but attempt to change the way of things. Donald Norman believes the design of an everyday object should not evoke any questions and should be self-explanatory without signs or drawings but merely by tiny but well placed clues. He also declares that these clues should be aesthetic and fit into the object. He names this as visibility: "The correct parts must be visible, and they must convey the correct message" (4). After talking about incomprehensible and poor designs he makes a simply point: don't buy them. Although he mostly disregards this option in most of his arguments,his reasoning that if people keep buying the poorly designed products the companies will get the wrong message and continue to make them is very reasonable. Afterward, he shifts the topic onto psychology of materials and psychology of causality. Here he explains by an example that some material are doomed to be targeted by vandals. In the Twenty Thousand Everyday Things part he indicates that even if learning how to use an every product took 1 minute, adapting a lifestyle full of them would take a lot of time. Following this criticism, he moves onto explaining what would make a design good. Here, he again underlines visibility and also adds that providing a good conceptual model is very helpful. In the following pages, he talks about modern everyday items like telephones. He states that as technology develops the complexity of simple everyday items start following an U-shaped graph: an increase and then a decrease in complication. After talking about cars, he recommends one button or switch having only one function to keep things simple. Before moving onto The Paradox of Technology through an anecdote he points out that if a new product is introduced with a poor design a few times it will be marked as not-to-be-bought in the eyes of the public. In a nut shell, his key points are that a design of an everyday item should be self-explanatory and simple to use through visibility and mapping.
   
2. Think of a specific object that you have had difficulty using. How did the design contribute to making it difficult to use? Does the usability problem arise from one of the principles that Norman discusses in this chapter?
   
   My fathers dishwasher. It includes one dial that sets the wash program and an on/off button (or at least I assume it is that). The button is a rhombus with a vertical line inside. It also has a screen which through experience is assumed to show the minutes remaining on the wash. One day my father told me to start the dishwasher. I went to the kitchen; asked him which program I should use and set the dial to that program. I closed its cover ( I forgot to put washing liquid in it but that was my bad not the designs). Now I needed to start the program. But how? I discovered I could press the dial, so I did. Nothing happened. So I hit the only button, the the machine turned off. I turned it on and while I was thinking on how to solve the problem the sounds of water flowing into the machine informed me I was successful. I still have no idea how I started the program. It was pure coincidence. Why not add a start stop button?
   
3. How did the designers of the iPod address the principles that Norman discusses here?
   I believe Apple products are one of the worlds best in design as in both look and user friendliness. iPod, although having only five buttons and many functions is simple to use. Each button has several functions but only in different menus or applications. The wheel is a living symbol of "design intelligence". Also, while having various functions, the buttons and the wheel always have natural mapping as mentioned in Norman's article.