THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS

Introduction the issue

Doors meant to be pushed; I pull; those meant to be pulled, I push; and those meant to
slide to the right, left, or up leave me surprised about what to do. The doors leave many stranded
in the doorway. For fascinating reading, search “Norman doors” in your favorite search engine
(include the quote marks). Designs should indicate how the door works without trial and error or
signs. Two characteristics define good designs; discoverability and understandability. It is only
for complex designs with manuals or instructions, not simple designs.

The complexity of Modern Devices

All artificial things are designed, but not all created things are physical structures. Since
prehistoric times, many design areas have made it a relatively new field. Industrial
Designers focus on form and material, interactive designers on usability and understandability,
and experienced designers on the emotional impact. Design is more of how things work, are
controlled, and the nature of the interaction between humans and machines, which are conceived,
designed, and created by people. The devices obtain rules from humans, and when it gets the
wrong rules, the machine does what it is told. They lack common sense; hence they need precise
and accurate instruction.

What is Human-Centered Design (HCD)

Daily activities cause people frustration and give a daily circle of fights that never end.
Technology is rapidly evolving but repeating the failures of earlier technologies. Human-
Centered Designer puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior at the forefront of their designs.

The Fundamental Principle of Interaction

1. Experience. It tells about the interaction between a person and the device being design
2. Affordance. How do people relate to physical objects? It is determined by object qualities
and the agent’s ability to interact.
3. Signifier. These describe the design’s practical problems. It gives communication for
understandability by the recipient.
4. Mapping. The relation between two sets of things. It is easy to determine how to use the
corresponding layout of controls and devices being controlled in a well-mapped
configuration.
5. Feedback. the action results in communication that must be immediate.
6. Conceptual models. A helpful and highly simplified explanation of how something
works.

What is the System image

People create conceptual models through training, instruction, and experience of themselves,
their environment, others, and the things they come to interact with to archive a given goal.
Conceptual models are designed through a combination of understandable available
information. Good communication is the key to good conceptual models, which are legible
and enjoyable products.
The Paradox of Technology is that new technology has simplified life by providing more
functions in each device. The devices have complicated life by making the same device
harder to learn and use, challenging the new designer.

Challenges of a Design
1. A Staggering number of disciplines to produce a single successful product
2. Poor management of fields with different priorities and goals to create a product
3. Difficulty in convincing the customer to understand the business
4. A problem in the design process
5. Diverse and conflicting needs of consumers