The Design of Everyday Things (51 page)

The design of everyday things is in great danger of becoming the design of superfluous, overloaded, unnecessary things.

Design Thinking and Thinking About Design

Design is successful only if the final product is successful—if people buy it, use it, and enjoy it, thus spreading the word. A design that people do not purchase is a failed design, no matter how great the design team might consider it.

Designers need to make things that satisfy people's needs, in terms of function, in terms of being understandable and usable, and in terms of their ability to deliver emotional satisfaction, pride, and delight. In other words, the design must be thought of as a total experience.

But successful products need more than a great design. They have to be able to be produced reliably, efficiently, and on schedule. If the design complicates the engineering requirements so much that they cannot be realized within the cost and scheduling constraints, then the design is flawed. Similarly, if manufacturing cannot produce the product, then the design is flawed.

Marketing considerations are important. Designers want to satisfy people's needs. Marketing wants to ensure that people actually buy and use the product. These are two different sets of requirements: design must satisfy both. It doesn't matter how great the design is if people don't buy it. And it doesn't matter how many people buy something if they are going to dislike it when they start using it. Designers will be more effective as they learn more about sales and marketing, and the financial parts of the business.

Finally, products have a complex life cycle. Many people will need assistance in using a device, either because the design or the manual is not clear, or because they are doing something novel that was not considered in the product development, or for numerous other reasons. If the service provided to these people is inadequate, the product will suffer. Similarly if the device must be maintained, repaired, or upgraded, how this is managed affects people's appreciation of the product.

In today's environmentally sensitive world, the full life cycle of the product must be taken into consideration. What are the environmental costs of the materials, of the manufacturing process, of distribution, servicing, and repairs? When it is time to replace the unit, what is the environmental impact of recycling or otherwise reusing the old?

The product development process is complex and difficult. But to me, that is why it can be so rewarding. Great products pass through a gauntlet of challenges. To satisfy the myriad needs requires skill as well as patience. It requires a combination of high technical skills, great business skills, and a large amount of personal social skills for interacting with the many other groups that
are involved, all of whom have their own agendas, all of which believe their requirements to be critical.

Design consists of a series of wonderful, exciting challenges, with each challenge being an opportunity. Like all great drama, it has its emotional highs and lows, peaks and valleys. The great products overcome the lows and end up high.

Now you are on your own. If you are a designer, help fight the battle for usability. If you are a user, then join your voice with those who cry for usable products. Write to manufacturers. Boycott unusable designs. Support good designs by purchasing them, even if it means going out of your way, even if it means spending a bit more. And voice your concerns to the stores that carry the products; manufacturers listen to their customers.

When you visit museums of science and technology, ask questions if you have trouble understanding. Provide feedback about the exhibits and whether they work well or poorly. Encourage museums to move toward better usability and understandability.

And enjoy yourself. Walk around the world examining the details of design. Learn how to observe. Take pride in the little things that help: think kindly of the person who so thoughtfully put them in. Realize that even details matter, that the designer may have had to fight to include something helpful. If you have difficulties, remember, it's not your fault: it's bad design. Give prizes to those who practice good design: send flowers. Jeer those who don't: send weeds.

Technology continually changes. Much is for the good. Much is not. All technology can be used in ways never intended by the inventors. One exciting development is what I call
“the rise of the small.”

THE RISE OF THE SMALL

I dream of the power of individuals, whether alone or in small groups, to unleash their creative spirits, their imagination, and their talents to develop a wide range of innovation. New technologies promise to make this possible. Now, for the first time
in history, individuals can share their ideas, their thoughts and dreams. They can produce their own products, their own services, and make these available to anyone in the world. All can be their own master, exercising whatever special talents and interests they may have.

What drives this dream? The rise of small, efficient tools that empower individuals. The list is large and growing continuously. Consider the rise of musical explorations through conventional, electronic, and virtual instruments. Consider the rise of self-publishing, bypassing conventional publishers, printers and distributors, and replacing these with inexpensive electronic editions available to anyone in the world to download to e-book readers.

Witness the rise of billions of small videos, available to all. Some are simply self-serving, some are incredibly educational, and some are humorous, some serious. They cover everything from how to make spätzle to how to understand mathematics, or simply how to dance or play a musical instrument. Some films are purely for entertainment. Universities are getting into the act, sharing whole curricula, including videos of lectures. College students post their class assignments as videos and text, allowing the whole world to benefit from their efforts. Consider the same phenomenon in writing, reporting events, and the creation of music and art.

Add to these capabilities the ready availability of inexpensive motors, sensors, computation, and communication. Now consider the potential when 3-D printers increase in performance while decreasing in price, allowing individuals to manufacture custom items whenever they are required. Designers all over the world will publish their ideas and plans, enabling entire new industries of custom mass production. Small quantities can be made as inexpensively as large, and individuals might design their own items or rely on an ever-increasing number of freelance designers who will publish plans that can then be customized and printed at local 3-D print shops or within their own homes.

Consider the rise of specialists to help plan meals and cook them, to modify designs to fit needs and circumstances, to tutor on a
wide variety of topics. Experts share their knowledge on blogs and on Wikipedia, all out of altruism, being rewarded by the thanks of their readers.

I dream of a renaissance of talent, where people are empowered to create, to use their skills and talents. Some may wish for the safety and security of working for organizations. Some may wish to start new enterprises. Some may do this as hobbies. Some may band together into small groups and cooperatives, the better to assemble the variety of skills required by modern technology, to help share their knowledge, to teach one another, and to assemble the critical mass that will always be needed, even for small projects. Some may hire themselves out to provide the necessary skills required of large projects, while still keeping their own freedom and authority.

In the past, innovation happened in the industrialized nations and with time, each innovation became more powerful, more complex, often bloated with features. Older technology was given to the developing nations. The cost to the environment was seldom considered. But with the rise of the small, with new, flexible, inexpensive technologies, the power is shifting. Today, anyone in the world can create, design, and manufacture. The newly developed nations are taking advantage, designing and building by themselves, for themselves. Moreover, out of necessity they develop advanced devices that require less power, that are simpler to make, maintain, and use. They develop medical procedures that don't require refrigeration or continual access to electric power. Instead of using handed-down technology, their results add value for all of us—call it handed-up technology.

With the rise of global interconnection, global communication, powerful design, and manufacturing methods that can be used by all, the world is rapidly changing. Design is a powerful equalizing tool: all that is needed is observation, creativity, and hard work—anyone can do it. With open-source software, inexpensive open-source 3-D printers, and even open-source education, we can transform the world.

AS THE WORLD CHANGES, WHAT STAYS THE SAME?

With massive change, a number of fundamental principles stay the same. Human beings have always been social beings. Social interaction and the ability to keep in touch with people across the world, across time, will stay with us. The design principles of this book will not change, for the principles of discoverability, of feedback, and of the power of affordances and signifiers, mapping, and conceptual models will always hold. Even fully autonomous, automatic machines will follow these principles for their interactions. Our technologies may change, but the fundamental principles of interaction are permanent.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The original edition of this book was entitled
The Psychology of Everyday Things
(POET). This title is a good example of the difference between academics and industry. POET was a clever, cute title, much loved by my academic friends. When Doubleday/Currency approached me about publishing the paperback version of this book, the editors also said, “But of course, the title will have to be changed.” Title changed? I was horrified. But I decided to follow my own advice and do some research on readers. I discovered that while the academic community liked the title and its cleverness, the business community did not. In fact, business often ignored the book because the title sent the wrong message. Bookstores placed the book in their psychology section (along with books on sex, love, and self-help). The final nail in the title's coffin came when I was asked to talk to a group of senior executives of a leading manufacturing company. The person who introduced me to the audience praised the book, damned the title, and asked his colleagues to read the book despite the title.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOR
POET: PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY THINGS

The book was conceived and the first few drafts written in the late 1980s while I was at the Applied Psychology Unit (the APU) in
Cambridge, England, a laboratory of the British Medical Research Council (the laboratory no longer exists). At the APU, I met another visiting American professor, David Rubin of Duke University, who was analyzing the recall of epic poetry. Rubin showed me that it wasn't all in memory: much of the information was in the world, or at least in the structure of the tale, the poetics, and the lifestyles of the people.

After spending the fall and winter in Cambridge, England, at the APU, I went to Austin, Texas, for the spring and summer (yes, the opposite order from what would be predicted by thinking of the weather at these two places). In Austin, I was at the Microelectronics and Computer Consortium (MCC), where I completed the manuscript. Finally, when I returned to my home base at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), I revised the book several more times. I used it in classes and sent copies to a variety of colleagues for suggestions. I benefited greatly from my interactions at all these places: APU, MCC, and, of course, UCSD. The comments of my students and readers were invaluable, causing radical revision from the original structure.

My hosts at the APU in Britain were most gracious, especially Alan Baddeley, Phil Barnard, Thomas Green, Phil Johnson-Laird, Tony Marcel, Karalyn and Roy Patterson, Tim Shallice, and Richard Young. Peter Cook, Jonathan Grudin, and Dave Wroblewski were extremely helpful during my stay at the MCC in Texas (another institution that no longer exists). At UCSD, I especially wish to thank the students in Psychology 135 and 205: my undergraduate and graduate courses at UCSD entitled “Cognitive Engineering.”

My understanding of how we interact with the world was developed and strengthened by years of debate and interaction with a very powerful team of people at UCSD from the departments of cognitive science, psychology, anthropology, and sociology, organized by Mike Cole, who met informally once a week for several years. The primary members were Roy d'Andrade, Aaron Cicourel, Mike Cole, Bud Mehan, George Mandler, Jean Mandler, Dave Rumelhart, and me. In later years, I benefited immensely from my
interactions with Jim Hollan, Edwin Hutchins, and David Kirsh, all faculty members in the department of cognitive science at UCSD.

The early manuscript for POET was dramatically enhanced by critical readings by my colleagues: In particular, I am indebted to my editor at Basic Books, Judy Greissman, who provided patient critique through several revisions of POET.

My colleagues in the design community were most helpful with their comments: Mike King, Mihai Nadin, Dan Rosenberg, and Bill Verplank. Special thanks must be given to Phil Agre, Sherman De-Forest, and Jef Raskin, all of whom read the manuscript with care and provided numerous and valuable suggestions. Collecting the illustrations became part of the fun as I traveled the world with camera in hand. Eileen Conway and Michael Norman helped collect and organize the figures and illustrations. Julie Norman helped as she does on all my books, proofing, editing, commenting, and encouraging. Eric Norman provided valuable advice, support, and photogenic feet and hands.