The Design of Everyday Things

August 1998
6 x 9, 271 pp., 57 illus.
$22.00/£10.95 (PAPER)
Trade

Not for sale in the U.S. or Canada.

ISBN-10:
0-262-64037-6
ISBN-13:
978-0-262-64037-4

The Design of Everyday Things
Donald A. Norman

Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault lies in product design that ignore the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. A bestseller in the United States, this bible on the cognitive aspects of design contains examples of both good and bad design and simple rules that designers can use to improve the usability of objects as diverse as cars, computers, doors, and telephones.

About the Author

Donald A. Norman is cofounder of the Nielsen Norman Group, an executive consulting firm that helps companies produce human-centered products and services. Norman is also Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University. Norman serves as advisor and board member to numerous companies in high technology and consumer products and to non-profit organizations in the area of policy and education.

"Norman . . . 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

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>	Architecture

>	Cognition, Brain, & Behavior

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