The Design of Everyday Things - Study Notes

Design that ignores users' needs and psychology, leading to confusion and frustration.

Design that considers user needs and psychology, leading to understandable, usable, and enjoyable products.

Requirements and preferences of people who will interact with a product or system.

Applying psychological principles to product design for better user experience.

Study of the human mind and its processes.

A book arguing for the importance of design that considers people's needs.

The process of creating and improving products. This process should involve user needs.

The ease with which a product or system can be used.

Perceptible signals that indicate possible actions with a product.

The perceived possibilities of an object based on its physical characteristics.

Signifiers are more crucial for design than affordances, especially in digital products.

Affordances can be confusing in digital products because they are often not obvious or consistent.

Design principles based on human psychology remain relevant over time.

Good design principles can last for decades because they understand fundamental human psychology.

Using timeless concepts instead of specific companies or technologies ensures lasting relevance.

Keeping design clear and concise helps users understand it quickly.

A book that explores how everyday objects can be designed to be more user-friendly, focusing on the psychology of interaction.

A design approach that focuses on understanding and meeting the needs of the users. This involves research, prototyping, and testing with real users.

Limitations or restrictions on possible actions, helping guide user behavior. They can be physical, logical, or cultural.

Information provided to the user about the results of their actions. This can be visual, auditory, or haptic (touch).

The relationship between controls and their effects. Good mapping makes it easy to understand how controls affect the system.

A mental representation of how a system works. If the conceptual model is clear and consistent, the user can understand and predict the system's behavior.

Doors that are designed in a way that makes it unclear how to open them, leading to confusion and frustration for users.

The study of the design flaws in everyday objects that cause users to make mistakes and become frustrated.

Doors can be confusing when their opening mechanism is not clear or intuitive, such as doors that slide, push, or pull in unexpected directions.

Errors or inconsistencies in design that make products difficult to use, leading to frustration, confusion, and mistakes.

Designing products that are easy to understand and use, requiring minimal instructions or explanations.

Designing products that anticipate and minimize the possibility of user error, making them more reliable and user-friendly.

The process of evaluating a product or system's ease of use and identifying potential design flaws.

The connection between controls and the functions they control, like a switch controlling a specific light.

When the layout of controls reflects the arrangement of the things being controlled, making it easier to understand.

Different vehicles use varying controls for steering, like tillers, wheels, joysticks, or even separate track controls.

The accuracy of the conceptual model doesn't matter as much as its clarity and usefulness in understanding the control.

The way we control a vehicle, like turning right or left, affects the vehicle's movement based on the design of the controls.

A good conceptual model helps us understand how a control should be operated and its effect on the device.

A strong conceptual model makes the mapping easier to understand, leading to better user experience.

Effective design relies on clear communication between user and product, achieved through signifiers.

Clear signifiers lead to better understanding and faster learning for users, making the product more accessible.

Signifiers are essential for designers because they improve usability and user satisfaction by making actions clear and intuitive.

Once a design concept is understood, it often appears simple and obvious, demonstrating the power of effective communication.