[.ca] The Psychology Of Everyday Things (ISBN 0465067093)

From Amazon.com:
With the many recent advances in technology, it seems, there has followed a diminution of quality. Electronic books have several advantages over their print counterparts, for instance. But for the time being, they're hard to use and unattractive to boot. Computers, which are supposed to make our lives easier, are commonly sources of frustration and wasted time. Movies are wondrously chock-a-block with special effects--but someone forgot the story. And so on. Donald Norman, a retired professor of cognitive science, is bothered to no end by the fact that grappling with unfriendly objects now takes up so many of our hours. Over the course of several books, of which The Psychology of Everyday Things was the first, he has railed against bad design. He scrutinizes a range of artifacts that are supposed to make our daily living a little easier, and he finds most of them wanting. Why, he asks, does a door need instructions that say "push" or "pull"? A well-designed object, he argues, is self-explanatory. But well-designed objects are increasingly rare, for the present culture places a higher value on aesthetics than utility, even with such items as cordless screwdrivers, dresser drawers, and kitchen cabinets. In their concern for creating "art," many designers don't seem to consider what people actually do with things. Such disregard, Norman suggests, leads to few objects being standardized: think of all the different kinds of unsynchronized clocks that lurk in microwave ovens, VCRs, coffee makers, and the like--and of all the different kinds of batteries needed to drive them. Why, he wonders, must we reset all those clocks whenever the power goes off? Some designer somewhere, he ventures, ought to develop a master clock that communicates with all other electric clocks in a home--one that, when reset, synchronizes its slave units. You don't need to be especially interested in technological matters to enjoy Norman's arguments. The book's underlying question is aimed at a global audience: will the design of everyday things improve? If this entertaining and, yes, well-designed book changes even a few minds, perhaps it will. --Gregory McNamee

See The Psychology of Everyday Things:
Take a look at the The Psychology of Everyday Things (the hardcover edition of this book). They changed the title for the paperback edition.

Mind altering book.:
If you design anything you will want to read this book. Even if you don't design what physically appears to a persons eye you want to read this. It is an amazing book which really changes your view of everything. After you read the first chapter of this book you'll start viewing the world differently. You'll start questioning why your VCR is like so, or why your DVD player is not like you think it should be. It is a fun book to read and a worthy one.

Nice Argument for Usability, But Misses the Application:
"The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald A. Norman is said to be one of those great usability books. I bought mine at a major usability conference, believing the hype. My conclusion: Useful, but overhyped. Norman takes a theme that says, "Look at history and you will see how the objects we use daily are sensible and functional. Now, design websites and software likewise," and develops a complete book. Rats. I gave it all away. Now you do not need to buy the book, nor read any its 257 pages. Really, that's more or less all there is to the book. It is easy to read, but, in the end, becomes repetitive and is deficient in assisting the reader with application. It points out a problem we need to understand, but offers no solution. It is worth reading, but lacks as an instructional tool. For the dense-headed, or for someone who has never considered the arguments for thinking about function before form, the book is tremendously useful. Example after example is presented is simple terms so that readers will see that merely having a cool website is not enough. Where the book does not meet the mark is in the transferring the ideas into something modern, practical, and, in the case of we communications people, websites. What starts with a brilliant exposition about devices being useful ends where it started. Anthony Trendl editor, HungarianBookstore.com

super interesting:
great for artists, designers, programmers, architects, actually pretty much anyone who has an interest in they way things work, creative process, and design. This challenges the notion of lazy design, and goes against the issue of designing things the same way becuase that's the way it's always been done. Rewinds the design process and starts over. Shows design flubs and goes through the thought process and the intentions behind them. VERY interesting book, love the photographs and diagrams.

Interesting, thought provocing, though a bit "lost":
I enjoyed this book - don't get me wrong. But I find presenting ideas one after the other, without constantly linking them, not very helpful. It would of been good to take the door (say) and apply the different concepts to it throughout the book - instead of waiting for the last chapter to start painting the bigger picture. But still good - interesting read.