Thoughts on The Design of Everyday Things. Chapter 1-3.

While reading Norman’s book, The Design of Everyday Things, I started recalling my own frustration with everyday things and how they work or simply do not.

Last week when I was waiting with my daughter to see her doctor I watched frustrated older lady who was trying to open a bag of chips. She was trying to tear each corner of the bag, as finally she gave up and used her car key to make a hole in the bag to reach some chips. This is just a very simple example of how packages are often poorly designed, and often require the use of scissors.

One of the most important aspects of any design is visibility. By making certain elements able to be seen, the user can follow the path, read various signals and make the right decision. My own frustration usually shows when I’m using the remote control and I’m switching a TV to a DVD player. I have to use two different remote controls, remember what buttons to push and often at the end still ask for help. And even if I consider myself being technologically savvy, some products create lots of frustration and quite a challenge.

In the Psychology of Everyday Action, Norman explains how we often misinterpret signals and make decisions based on our mental model how things work, or how people behave. In many cases our interpretations are based on bias, incomplete information or information distorted over the time.

I enjoyed reading the third chapter where Norman is talking about memory. I can recall my own irritation on trying to enter the password that wouldn’t work. At the end I would decide on using just two different passwords for all my websites and accounts. Still, some of them I would store in the notebook for future reference. After a long vacation I would not remember all special passwords and codes I use at work.
A few years ago I decided not to memorize cell phone numbers of my family. After having so many numbers to remember I began filtering the importance and the relevance of the information. I realized that this information didn’t have any value to me and in most cases was retrievable from my own cell phone.