In The Design of Future Things, best-selling author Donald A. Norman presents a revealing examination of smart technology, from smooth-talking GPS units to cantankerous refrigerators. Exploring the links between design and human psychology, he offers a consumer-oriented theory of natural human-machine interaction that can be put into practice by the engineers and industrial designers of tomorrow’s thinking machines. A fascinating look at the perils and promise of the intelligent objects of the future, The Design of Future Things is a must-read for anyone interested in the dawn of a new era in technology.
Don Norman is a voyeur, always watching, always on the lookout for some common-day occurrence that everyone else takes for granted but that when examined, yields insight into the human condition. (If you are rushing to catch a train, how do you know if you got to the station on time? Empty platform? You probably are too late. People milling about, looking at their watches,peering down the tracks? Probably OK. Who needs technology when people are so informative, even if as an accidental byproduct of their activities.
Business Week has named him one of "the world's most influential designers," the influence from his books, essasys, courses and students, lectures, and consulting.
He takes special delight in the interaction of people and technology. "Turn signals are the facial expressions of automobiles" is the title of his book of essays, which illustrates his philosophy. (Not one of his most popular books, alas. Too quirky even for fans.)
He keeps complaining that he is too busy, as he adds on even more activities. He likes to say that he spends half his time as co-director of Northwestern University's MMM program, the dual degree MBA + Engineering program that emphasizes design and operations, half with the Nielsen Norman group, half writing, and the remaining half serving on advisory boards, such as the editorial advisory board of Encyclopedia Britannica and the Industrial Design Department of Korea's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), where he is Distinguished Visiting Professor.
He is a fellow of many organizations and former lots of things, including VP at Apple Computer and even President of a startup. He has honorary degrees from the University of Padova (Italy) and the Technical University Delft (the Netherlands). He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin medal in Computer and Cognitive Science. He is known for his books "The Design of Everyday Things," "Emotional Design," and "The Design of Future Things," but he is most proud of his students,, now all over the world, who put into practice his human-centered design philosophy. He is now finishing the book "Sociable Design: How to Manage Complexity," to be published by MIT Press in Fall 2010. He lives at www.jnd.org, where you can find chapters from his books and loads of essays.
