Reading no.01, Donald Norman

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Who is Donald Norman?

Donald Norman is basically the guy who made “user experience” a real thing before it was a cultural fixture. He wrote The Design of Everyday Things, where he breaks down why doors, stoves, computers—literally everyday stuff—are either intuitive or frustrating. He’s obsessed with how humans actually interact with objects, and his big ideas (like affordances, feedback, mapping) are now kind of the foundation for modern interaction design.

A few response-style questions

You don't have to use these sepcific questions but please provide a written response for this viewing where you think about questions in this zone, or experiences you've had with doors or buttons.

• When you use something every day (phone app, kitchen appliance, transit machine), where do you notice good feedback and where do you notice a lack of it?
• Have you ever mistaken what an object “affords” (like pulling when you should push)? How did the design mislead you?
• What constraints in design do you find helpful, and which feel restrictive or annoying?
• Norman argues that design problems are usually not the user’s fault. Do you agree? Can you think of an example where blame is unfairly put on the user?
• How do his ideas about signifiers translate into digital interfaces today (buttons, icons, hover states)?

What to submit

Please provide a .PDF, .TXT, .MD, or .RTF file that evidences your reading and comprehension of the material