Don Norman Strikes Again

I love Don Norman. He is great at taking high level concepts and bringing them down so even someone without design experience can enjoy and learn from them. He has a slide in his house… must I say more?

A a wide ranging and engaging read, Norman truly helps us understand "the meaning of things".

"Wants are determined by culture, by advertising, and by the way one view's oneself and one's self image"

"the design challenge is to keep the virtues while removing the barriers"

"Memories reflect our life experience ... they also serve to reinforce how we view ourselves"

"The concept [of self] is deeply rooted in the reflective level of the brain and highly dependent on cultural norms. It is, therefore, difficult to deal with in design"

"Adults like to explore experiences far beyond the basic, biologically wired-in preference. Thus although bitter tastes are viscerally disliked (presumably because many poisons are bitter), adults have learned to eat and drink numerous bitter things, even to prefer them"

"One cannot evaluate an innovation by asking potential customers for their views. This requires people to imagine something they have no experience with. .... the best way to discover these needs is through observation...but observation is exceedingly rare."

"Attractiveness is a visceral level phenomenon.. Beauty comes from the reflective level"

"Good art is not an optimal point in a multidimensional space"

"Once you have learned how to look at, listen to, and analyze what is before you, you realize that the experience is ever changing"

"As more people are involved in checking a task, safety can decrease.... the pilot who is not flying must be an active critic, continually checking and questioning the actions of the flying pilot"

"Most affective states are complex mixtures of positive and negative valence, at differing levels of arousal, with some residue of the immediately previous states. The resulting expressions are rich and informative. And real."

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

this book will definitely allow some fresh insights to how we see things and make certain choices. A good way to evoke the designer in you!

Not as good as The Design of Everyday Things, but the first half is good. The later parts, especially those about the future of robots, digress too much from the topic.

Overall, a must read for designers though.

"Attractive things do work better-their attractiveness produces positive emotions, causing mental processes to be more creative, more tolerant of minor difficulties."

It took me a few weeks to complete - I actually liked it.
Here are the most important key highlights from the book:
Three different categories of design
1. Visceral: Visceral design deals with nature & perception. When you see an object, your brain gives an automatic reaction (beautiful, ugly, luxurious, etc.).
2. Behavourial: Behavourial design emphasizes the use/functionality of an object. It's not about appearance or aesthetics - it's about UX & usability.
3. Reflective: Reflective design is about how an object can connect to you on a spiritual level. It's when you see something you like, but most people don't. It's all about the mind of the beholder.

I generally enjoyed reading the book, and especially found his theory of the three levels of design - visceral, behaviour and reflective to be very useful. If there was one takeaway from the book, it is that.

The book was written in 2004, and though it seems like yesterday to me, it’s actually 20 years ago. A lot has developed and changed since then.

One area he was criticising in the book was that of the lack of what we now know as UX. I found out that he is known as the father of UX. UX research is default when it comes to the design of products - be they phones or courses, and I was surprised that this was not the case earlier on.

Another area is that of automation and its consequences. Back then, Norman had already foresee some of the issues in which greater levels of automation will bring. He uses the term robots instead, rather than the more familiar term of automation in 2024. Many examples he cited then as fiction, are now reality, though some of his more fanciful predictions like having personalised robots that can help you much more than what we have today in one’s everyday life still lies somewhat a distant possibility.

Relatedly, the last two chapters on robots also covered emotions and making a case for robots to have them. It’s tied with his earlier thesis in the book about how emotion and cognition need each other, rather than the earlier and misunderstood notion that emotion is to be dealt with as a vestige of our evolutionary behaviour.

Some of the reviewers have complained about the fact that the last two chapters on robots don’t seem to connect with the earlier part of the book where he talked about the relation between emotions and design. I do agree somewhat as the change between chapters 5 and 6 (on robots) seems rather abrupt. But having read the book, I can understand why Norman wrote the way he did.

I think that this is a book that one is likely to return to again, as repeated reading is likely to yield more knowledge and insights. Even though it is somewhat dated in terms of content, the principles and theories that Norman writes on will continue to be of relevance.

Repetitive, uninteresting examples, preaching to the choir, little to no evidence, not very actionable.

Enjoyed the first half of the book, especially on the three levels of design. But trudged through the remaining chapters where the author talked about how emotions play a role in machines, future of robots…

In my opinion, Dan Norman is one of the leading researcher on design and cognitive behaviour associated with design, he has my highest respect. In this book however he is very heavy on theories and after the first few chapters the detail when he gets into prediction of future on robotics, it gets a little overbearing to be honest. There is no doubt in my mind that it has all the clever thinking and for an academic or student, it will certainly make sense but for a designer its a little stretch.

I absolutely loved the other 2 books, specially Don's masterpiece "The Design of Everyday Things". I strongly advice to read those books before this one, you will see the continuation and modernising some of his old theories.

Eu só queria começar dizendo que entendo quem começa esse livro e não consegue terminar.

O livro começa bem, com várias informações relevantes e importantes. Mas no meio do caminho ele parece se perder. Principalmente pelo fato de que o autor passa a falar sobre tecnologias que ficaram no passado ou passa a teorizar sobre coisas, que na época podiam ser interessantes, mas atualmente são só datadas e óbvias.
É um bom livro e não dá pra ignorar as questões que ele pontua sobre design e usabilidade, vale a pena tentar ler.

Super livre pour les product qui veulent creuser le sujet des émotions dans la conception produit.
Suite à son premier livre « the design of everyday thing » qui traite de l’importance de l’usage, l’auteur complète sa theorie en décrivant l’importance de prendre en compte trois niveaux de triggers émotionnels : visceral (ce qui donne envie au premier regard, lié aux sens) behavioral (lié à l’usage, à la robustesse) et reflective (qui provoque l’attachement des users, liés aux souvenirs, aux idéaux)
On a tendance à beaucoup mettre l’accent sur le niveau « behavioral », ce livre donne des bonnes pistes pour se poser les questions des émotions lors de la phase de conception

Unexpectedly deep.
Of course, the author goes a bit too far with his discussion of teapots and emotions they invoke in the user. But quite a lot of it is sheer brilliance distilled.
Q:
I HAVE A COLLECTION OF TEAPOTS. One of them is completely unusable—the handle is on the same side as the spout. It was invented by the French artist Jacques Carelman, who called it a coffeepot: a "coffeepot for masochists." (c)
Q:
Design is important to me, but which design I choose depends on the occasion, the context, and above all, my mood. These objects are more than utilitarian. As art, they lighten up my day. Perhaps more important, each conveys a personal meaning: each has its own story. One reflects my past, my crusade against unusable objects. One reflects my future, my campaign for beauty. And the third represents a fascinating mixture of the functional and the charming. (c)
Q:
The teapots also illustrate three different aspects of design: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. Visceral design concerns itself with appearances. Here is where the Nanna teapot excels—I so enjoy its appearance, especially when filled with the amber hues of tea, lit from beneath by the flame of its warming candle. Behavioral design has to do with the pleasure and effectiveness of use. Here both the tilting teapot and my little metal ball are winners. Finally, reflective design considers the rationalization and intellectualization of a product. (c)
Q:
The objects in our lives are more than mere material possessions. We take pride in them, not necessarily because we are showing off our wealth or status, but because of the meanings they bring to our lives. A person's most beloved objects may well be inexpensive trinkets, frayed furniture, or photographs and books, often tattered, dirty, or faded. A favorite object is a symbol, setting up a positive frame of mind, a reminder of pleasant memories, or sometimes an expression of one's self. And this object always has a story, a remembrance, and something that that ties us personally to this particular object, this particular thing. (c)
Q:
Emotions are out of place in a polite, sophisticated society. They are remnants of our animal origins, but we humans must learn to rise above them. At least, that is the perceived wisdom.
Nonsense! Emotions are inseparable from and a necessary part of cognition. Everything we do, everything we think is tinged with emotion, much of it subconscious. In turn, our emotions change the way we think, and serve as constant guides to appropriate behavior, steering us away from the bad, guiding us toward the good. (c)
Q:
In the 1980s, in writing The Design of Everyday Things, I didn't take emotions into account. I addressed utility and usability, function and form, all in a logical, dispassionate way—even though I am infuriated by poorly designed objects. But now I've changed. Why? In part because of new scientific advances in our understanding of the brain and of how emotion and cognition are thoroughly intertwined. We scientists now understand how important emotion is to everyday life, how valuable. Sure, utility and usability are important, but without fun and pleasure, joy and excitement, and yes, anxiety and anger, fear and rage, our lives would be incomplete.
Along with emotions, there is one other point as well: aesthetics, attractiveness, and beauty. (c) Can't help thinking he went a bit oberboeard with it all.
Q:
Indeed, emotion makes you smart. (c)
Q:
One of the ways by which emotions work is through neurochemicals that bathe particular brain centers and modify perception, decision making, and behavior. These neurochemicals change the parameters of thought. (c)
Q:
The surprise is that we now have evidence that aesthetically pleasing objects enable you to work better. As I shall demonstrate, products and systems that make you feel good are easier to deal with and produce more harmonious results. When you wash and polish your car, doesn't it seem to drive better? When you bathe and dress up in clean, fancy clothes, don't you feel better? And when you use a wonderful, well-balanced, aesthetically pleasing garden or woodworking tool, tennis racket or pair of skis, don't you perform better? (c)
Q:
... I am talking here about affect, not just emotion. A major theme of this book is that much of human behavior is subconscious, beneath conscious awareness. Consciousness comes late, both in evolution and also in the way the brain processes information; many judgments have already been determined before they reach consciousness. Both affect and cognition are information-processing systems, but they have different functions. The affective system makes judgments and quickly helps you determine which things in the environment are dangerous or safe, good or bad. The cognitive system interprets and makes sense of the world. Affect is the general term for the judgmental system, whether conscious or subconscious. Emotion is the conscious experience of affect, complete with attribution of its cause and identification of its object. The queasy, uneasy feeling you might experience, without knowing why, is affect. Anger at Harry, the used-car salesman, who overcharged you for an unsatisfactory vehicle, is emotion. You are angry at something—Harry—for a reason. Note that cognition and affect influence one another: some emotions and affective states are driven by cognition, while affect often impacts cognition. (c)
Q:
As I've said, cognition interprets and understands the world around you, while emotions allow you to make quick decisions about it. Usually, you react emotionally to a situation before you assess it cognitively, since survival is more important than understanding. But sometimes cognition comes first. One of the powers of the human mind is its ability to dream, to imagine, and to plan for the future. In this creative soaring of the mind, thought and cognition unleash emotion, and are in turn changed themselves. (c)
Q:
These and related findings suggest the role of aesthetics in product design: attractive things make people feel good, which in turn makes them think more creatively. How does that make something easier to use? Simple, by making it easier for people to find solutions to the problems they encounter. With most products, if the first thing you try fails to produce the desired result, the most natural response is to try again, only with more effort. In today's world of computercontrolled products, doing the same operation over again is very unlikely to yield better results. The correct response is to look for alternative solutions. The tendency to repeat the same operation over again is especially likely for those who are anxious or tense. This state of negative affect leads people to focus upon the problematic details, and if this strategy fails to provide a solution, they get even more tense, more anxious, and increase their concentration upon those troublesome details. Contrast this behavior with those who are in a positive emotional state, but encountering the same problem. These people are apt to look around for alternative approaches, which is very likely to lead to a satisfying end. Afterward, the tense and anxious people will complain about the difficulties whereas the relaxed, happy ones will probably not even remember them. In other words, happy people are more effective in finding alternative solutions and, as a result, are tolerant of minor difficulties. (c)
Q:
With positive affect, you are more likely to see the forest than the trees, to prefer the big picture and not to concentrate upon details. On the other hand, when you are sad or anxious, feeling negative affect, you are more likely to see the trees before the forest, the details before the big picture. (c)
Q:
Those situations and objects that, throughout evolutionary history, offer food, warmth, or protection give rise to positive affect. These conditions include:
warm, comfortably lit places,
temperate climate,
sweet tastes and smells,
bright, highly saturated hues,
"soothing" sounds and simple melodies and rhythms,
harmonious music and sounds,
caresses,
smiling faces,
rhythmic beats,
"attractive" people,
symmetrical objects,
rounded, smooth objects,
"sensuous" feelings, sounds, and shapes. (c)
Q:
The Elvish demonstration points out the relationship between the sounds of a language and the meaning of words. At first glance, this sounds nonsensical—after all, words are arbitrary. But more and more evidence piles up linking sounds to particular general meanings. For instance, vowels are warm and soft: feminine is the term frequently used. Harsh sounds are, well, harsh—just like the word "harsh" itself and the "sh" sound in particular. Snakes hiss and slither; and note the sibilants, the hissing of the "s" sounds. Plosives, sounds caused when the air is stopped briefly, then released—explosively—are hard, metallic; the word "masculine" is often applied to them. The "k" of "mosquito" and the "p" in "happy" are plosive. And, yes, there is evidence that word choices are not arbitrary: a sound symbolism governs the development of a language. This is another instance where artists, poets in this case, have long known the power of sounds to evoke affect and emotions within the readers of—or, more accurately, listeners to—poetry. (c)
Q:
Emotions, moods, traits, and personality are all aspects of the different ways in which people's minds work, especially along the affective, emotional domain. Emotions change behavior over a relatively short term, for they are responsive to the immediate events. Emotions last for relatively short periods—minutes or hours. Moods are longer lasting, measured perhaps in hours or days. Traits are very long-lasting, years or even a lifetime. And personality is the particular collection of traits of a person that last a lifetime. But all of these are changeable as well. We all have multiple personalities, emphasizing some traits when with families, a different set when with friends. We all change our operating parameters to be appropriate for the situation we are in. (c)
Q:
Flow is a motivating, captivating, addictive state. It can arise from transactions with valued things. "Household objects," say Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton, "facilitate flow experiences in two different ways. On the one hand, by providing a familiar symbolic context they reaffirm the identity of the owner. On die other hand, objects in the household might provide opportunities for flow directly, by engaging the attention of people." (c)
Q: