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Donald A. Norman
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The Design of Everyday Things Paperback – February 1, 1990

by Donald Norman (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,698 ratings
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A popular, entertaining, and insightful analysis of why some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.
B & W photographs and illustrations throughout.
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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Doubleday Business
  4. Publication date
    February 1, 1990
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0385267746
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0385267748
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans--from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools--must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design and the desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed.

Review

"This book is a joy -- fun and of the utmost importance." -- Tom Peters. -- Review

...makes a strong case for the needlessness of badly conceived and badly designed everyday objects...[T]his book may herald the beginning of a change in user habits and expectations, a change that manufacturers would be obliged to respond to. Button pushers of the world, unite. -- Los Angeles Times

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday Business (February 1, 1990)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385267746
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385267748
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,698 ratings

About the author

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Donald A. Norman

Donald A. Norman

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Don Norman takes special delight in the interaction of people and technology. "Develop the skill of observation," he says, "and especially pay attention to the obvious, for this is where you will discover many hidden insights. What seems to be obvious often is not."

Business Week has named him one of "the world's most influential designers," the influence from his books, essays, courses and students, lectures, and consulting.

He is a fellow of many organizations, including the American Association of Arts and Sciences. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineers and former lots of things, including VP at Apple Computer, President of a startup, and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman group. He has honorary degrees from the University of Padua (Italy), the Technical University Delft (the Netherlands), and the University of San Marino. He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin medal in Computer and Cognitive Science and the Sir Misha Black medal for contributions to Design Education.

He is known for his books "The Design of Everyday Things," "Emotional Design," "Living with Complexity," and "The Design of Future Things," but he is most proud of his students all over the world, who put into practice his human-centered design philosophy.

His latest book is Design for a Better World: meaningful, sustainable, humanity centered" which draws upon his rich history to address some of the most pressing problems facing the world today. The real issues are not technical, nor can they be solved simply by technology. The most difficult is human behavior, which is why design can play such an important role. Design is a way of thinking, of solving the core underlying issues, combining a knowledge of technology, all areas of human activity, and most important of all, human behavior.

He lives at www.jnd.org, where you can find chapters from his books and loads of essays.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,698 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the illustrations in the book great and valuable for today's usability issues. They also say the content is dated but still valuable for usability concerns. Opinions are mixed on the relevance and readability, with some finding it very ancient and others saying it covers basic ideas that are still relevant.

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ContentIllustrationsEnjoymentReadabilityRelevance
47 customers mention "Content"39 positive8 negative

Customers find the book provides excellent insights, principles, and illustrations. They say it's a fantastic book that introduces anyone, regardless of prior experience, to fundamental concepts. Readers also say it helps them with vocabulary and is a rich and enjoyable plea for sane design.

"...The principles are still completely relevant and not dependent on fads or changing technology...." Read more

"...The book itself provided great perspective and challenges the reader to look at everyday things from a good/bad design point of view...." Read more

"...design, but once I started reading I realized that it explains in detail the different aspects that influence the way we interact with the world and..." Read more

"...I would recommend this as a great introduction and continual reference as we continually attempt to obtain seamless and logical interaction with..." Read more

39 customers mention "Illustrations"28 positive11 negative

Customers find the illustrations in the book great, simple, and interesting. They also say the ideas are relevant and interesting, and the book provides an interesting view on things we use everyday.

"...But the ideas are so very relevant...." Read more

"...Norman also gives design guidelines (e.g., natural mappings, visibility, feedback etc) that the reader can focus on an implement when designing...." Read more

"...The main message I got out of it is that a good design should serve men and allow us to use that object in the most natural and "human" and..." Read more

"...This isn't just stupid, dysfunctional object design, like the picture on the cover...." Read more

4 customers mention "Enjoyment"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining, humorous, and insightful. They also say it's a quick read.

"...it's titled "the design of everyday things." It has some really laughable moment when explaining that one of his friends gets stuck in a..." Read more

"...Not only did it teach me a lot, but it was also pretty entertaining and a quick read...." Read more

"Humorous and insightful, Norman unlocks our ability to look deeply into the design of objects in way that is critically useful for the development..." Read more

"Entertaining and Useful..." Read more

25 customers mention "Readability"16 positive9 negative

Customers are mixed about the readability. Some find the explanations clear, understandable, and entertaining. They also say the book is well illustrated and informative. However, some find the writing repetitive and hard to get through.

"...1. Make interaction simple, visible, and intuitive2. Give users feedback to determine if their actions have produced the desired effect3...." Read more

"This is essential and timeless reading for any designer. It's tough to get through, ironically because it's a book about usability and accessibility..." Read more

"...Some of the principles laid out are indeed excellent and well illustrated.The structure of the book is - ironically - not crystal clear...." Read more

"...Most importantly, designs should be intuitive and require little to no instructions...." Read more

17 customers mention "Relevance"6 positive11 negative

Customers are mixed about the relevance of the book. Some find it very ancient and revolutionary, while others say it's dated and some of the examples are antiquated.

"...I gave 4 stars because I felt that some of the examples are antiquated and might not be recognized by younger students...." Read more

"This is essential and timeless reading for any designer...." Read more

"A bit dated, but Dr. Norman covers some basic ideas that are the foundation to most modern design principles...." Read more

"...this book for my Human Centered Design class and while the content is a bit dated (Cell Phones are a bit futuristic) It is still a wealth of..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Sarah Heinzelwein
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for any designer of any kind
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is essential and timeless reading for any designer. It's tough to get through, ironically because it's a book about usability and accessibility in design and it's just oceans upon oceans of text. But Donald Norman is brilliant and the ideas are sound. Consider that the original book was written long before the internet and that the revised edition in the late 90's or early 00's hadn't really gone out of date. The principles are still completely relevant and not dependent on fads or changing technology. If you are an artist, industrial designer, graphic designer, tech industry professional, or just a curious human, read this book. Don't let the Norman door hit you on the way out. (What does that even mean? Well, read the book and find out!)
7 people found this helpful
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Nora McDougall
5.0 out of 5 stars "Required Reading" that became a favorite
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2009
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It's not often that a book you are required to read for a college course becomes a favorite, but this one did. In fact, today I did a Google search for "norman door." Sure enough, Google has it cataloged. I even found a discussion on the term on a blog site. Even when the name of the book slips my mind, that term sticks. I Googled it because my copy of the book is packed away in a storage unit somewhere from two moves, and it's cheaper to buy another copy than spending 3 hours digging through boxes.

The ironic thing about this book being "required" is that it was requried for a masters level computer science user interface class at the University of Montana. It was the only textbook for the course, about 1/10 the price of normal textbooks and about 1/10 as heavy as normal textbooks. But the ideas are so very relevant. I will be recommending it to my own web development students, even though the book isn't about web development.

By the way, has anyone out there found any Norman signs lately? The Missoula Federal Credit Union has a sign touting their Saturday hours. Unfortunately, the sign failed to mention that that doesn't apply to Saturday on Memorial Day Weekend! Maybe they should read the book!
2 people found this helpful
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Peter Chen
4.0 out of 5 stars Great High-Level Thinking
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2013
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The book condition and seller were great.

The book itself provided great perspective and challenges the reader to look at everyday things from a good/bad design point of view. Norman also gives design guidelines (e.g., natural mappings, visibility, feedback etc) that the reader can focus on an implement when designing.

The book was not so good in terms of organization and consistency. Ironically the book is about good design, but the layout is lacking. First level headings are in Initial caps and aligned right, while second level headings are in all caps and aligned left. Third level headings are also all caps (with smaller font size) and aligned left. In general, I believe all caps are thought to be "bigger" and should be the first level headings and second level headings should use initial caps and third level should use initial caps and italics. I think this, at least now, is a typical cultural convention as well. If I saw only an outline of the book with all the different headings, I think the organization could be improved.

In terms of consistency, throughout the book he talks about design principles, things to keep in mind, and evaluates items back to his ideal design elements. However, that list isn't described consistently. In the 2002 preface (p.xi) the list of design principles include: conceptual models, feedback, constraints, and affordances. On p.4 Norman introduces the principle of visibility. On p.23 Norman introduces the principle of mapping. Visibility and mapping are related to conceptual models, but should not be identified as a "principle" or should have been included in the list of principles on p.xi. Norman defines his credo on p.36 for errors, which is great, but, in my opinion, should be included as a design principle. Throughout the book Norman gives examples and relates the design to the principles he's outlined, but only to some of them and not all.

To improve this read, I would recommend: (1) revise the organization and layout; a good and "symetrical" outline would greatly improve readability and would better convey the "conceptual model" of Norman's message, (2) revise the formatting of the heading levels, (3) formulate a complete list of design principles at the beginning of the book, (4) for each example, evaluate the design with respect to all of the design principles, not just some of them
3 people found this helpful
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Pepito Sbazzeguti
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, informative and a great guide.
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2013
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I was expecting a book that provided general guidelines on how to design, but once I started reading I realized that it explains in detail the different aspects that influence the way we interact with the world and with the objects around us (such as how memory works and how we learn from the environment).
The main message I got out of it is that a good design should serve men and allow us to use that object in the most natural and "human" and intuitive way without having to look at a manual!
I also learned a lot about psychology; I know I will go back to this book from time to time.
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Brian L. Donat
5.0 out of 5 stars Light Read, Dated, but Still Applicable.
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2010
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The authors of HCI, Human Computer Interface, Dix, Finlay, Abowd and Beale, recommend this book in their early chapters. The recommend was taken to heart and the book was purchased. It's a small pocket book sized tome and may be considered pertinent, but light reading. It begins humorously, but within the first two chapters, the message of the work begins to get hammered in. It'll be a new concept some, - information in the world as compared to information in the head. There's a lot of basic HMI/HCI/Human Factors type stuff as related to user interface failures and successes. It's a sort of philosophical approach to interface design ideology in layman's language with examples and analogues. Pack this book into the brief case, the back pack or whatever, and read it while at the beach, on the bus or between more detailed knowledge seeking excursions. Take a break and absorb some reflection on pertinent interface design philosophy and then jump back into the tough stuff. Yes, it's light reading. But it's valuable light reading. The message and import are worth the journey.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Diana Ferriz
5.0 out of 5 stars Todo Ok
Reviewed in Spain on March 29, 2021
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Muy buen libro
One person found this helpful
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Anna Kop
5.0 out of 5 stars This book, along with a few other things piqued ...
Reviewed in Canada on August 18, 2017
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This book, along with a few other things piqued my interest in the design field. It made me look at ordinary objects in a new way. It's been several years since I've read it, and I haven't looked back.
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Denis
5.0 out of 5 stars sehr interessantes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on May 7, 2019
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Ich habe mir dieses Buch gekauft, weil es mir in einem Podcast empfohlen wurde. Design ist unglaublich wichtig und dieses Buch erklärt sehr gut warum und auch wie man das praktisch umsetzen kann. Auch für neue Technologien und Software ist gutes, bedienbares Design unabdingbar. Der Autor beschreibt seine Ideen mit einfachen Worten und man interessiert sich für das, was er als Nächstes beibringen möchte. Kann das Buch jedem weiterempfehlen, der sich für Design interessiert.
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Eric Konigsdorfer
2.0 out of 5 stars Design from an engineer's mind perspective
Reviewed in Australia on January 19, 2023
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Don Norman started his career an Electrical engineer, then went into Psychology, and finally something directly related to understanding effective design, he studied cognitive science. So, my point here is that Don is an engineer and a psychologist, but not a designer. Hence a lot of schematics and acronyms along the pages of this way too long and hard going book. Try explaining what Love is with a series of diagrams and acronyms, instead of using poetry, that is how this book goes by explaining effective design. BUT, do not get me wrong, this book is perfect to explain design to engineers and accountants... ie, people very far from instinctively understand what design is. It is good for people with a non-creative mind. But for design students and design professional, I do not think that this is the best book. It is still worth a read, but far from life changing. It is also way too long, with a lot of simple arguments repeated too many times, with way too long explanations, and demonstrations. This book could be written in a tenth of its size, and save paper. Still, most of the arguments proposed in this book are 100% valid, it is the way the information is analysed and delivered to you that is so painful, to me anyway. Some of my best friends are engineers, and let's face it; they are not normal people! (sic) Engineers and creatives live on different planets, and with that in mind, just be aware that this book is not tailored for the artistic/creative mind, but more toward the engineer that is about to design the control panel for a new washing machine, or a nuclear power plant. This is just my opinion, and I accept that I could be completely wrong.
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di ponio sophie
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in France on October 17, 2017
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Ce livre permet une compréhension globale du design de nos jours. C'est un ouvrage que je recommande de lire pour les étudiants et les professionnels ou même toutes personnes intéressés par ce sujet.
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