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From: norman@sdics.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng,misc.consumers
Subject: Design Examples Needed
Message-ID: <339@sdics.ucsd.EDU>
Date: Mon, 13-Apr-87 21:48:20 EST
Article-I.D.: sdics.339
Posted: Mon Apr 13 21:48:20 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 15-Apr-87 03:05:07 EST
Organization: UC San Diego Institute for Cognitive Science
Lines: 51
Keywords: Design, usability, cog engineering
Xref: utgpu comp.cog-eng:85 misc.consumers:1322

Stories, data wanted

I am writing a book called POET: The Psychology of Everyday Things.
It deals with design -- in particular, the poor design, of everyday
things.  I deal with things both simple and complex.  Simple things
that can cause grief are things like water faucets, light switches,
and doors.  Slightly more complex (but still everyday) things that
lead to frustrations include vcr controls, automobile dashboards
(especially auto radios, cruise controls, those ubiquituous stalks,
and heating controls), telephone systems (ah, those new
multi-functioned telephones now being installed in universities and
businesses across the world, with mysterious buttons labelled "R,"
where people stand around saying "My phone is ringing, now what do I
do?").  Get the point?

I am trying to show that designers of consumer goods have comletely
negelected the consumer.  They aim for aesthetics, for cost, for
hi-tech appearance, for prizes from design societies (one of my
sections is entitled: watch out for things that have won a prize").

Do you have examples or favorite horror stories to tell me?  Examples
are like my friend who got caught between doors and couldn't get out
(because the architect had gone for a sleek expanse of glass, with
invisible hinges and hardware, so one couldn't tell which side of the
door moved), or the frustration of groping for a clock radio to shut
off the alarm or to hit the snooze button, but changing the time of
day instead, or like my refrigerator (a GE) on which I cannot figure
out how to set the freezer and fresh food section temperatures.

Note that I am also trying to give positive examples of good design.
There are a number of examples I already have.  Please send me
examples of particularly good design.

[In the book I also try to give constructive criticism, showing the
psychological principles that lead to understandability and usability
of products (and that do not necessarily conflict with the real
economic and aesthetic constraints that the designer also faces).]

Don Norman
		"Kenneth H. Olsen, the engineer who founded and still
		runs Digital Equipment Corp., confessed at the annual
		meeting that he can't figure out how to heat a cup of
		coffee in the company's microwave oven." (Wall Street
		Journal, Friday, Nov 21, 1986)

Donald A. Norman
Institute for Cognitive Science C-015
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California 92093

norman@nprdc.arpa	norman%sdics@sdcsvax norman@ics.ucsd.edu