The Design of Everyday Things: An Introduction into UX Design
If you are considering a career as a User Experience (UX) Designer, one thing you should expect is to become comfortable with change. The field of UX Design is constantly evolving in response to new technologies and updated design processes, so as a designer you will need to evolve alongside it in order to be successful.
While there are many different avenues for continuing to learn about UX Design, one of my personal favorites is by reading. Recently, as a part of my learning, I finished reading one of the most prominent books on the field, The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. In the post below, I’ll share some of my top takeaways from reading the book, particularly focusing on insights that can be helpful to new designers.
Introduction to UX Design
The first point to make about this book is that it is an excellent introduction into UX Design. If you are considering making the transition into the field, but aren’t sure if it’s the right fit for you — I highly recommend reading this book to help you make the decision. The book does a great job of conveying the mindset required of a UX Designer and can give you a solid foundation to start your journey into this career path.
In particular, I recommend reading Chapter 6 on Design Thinking which discusses the design process, so that reader can get a good idea of the work they would be doing as a UX Designer. The author also includes a diagram of the Double-Diamond Model of Design, which provides a good high-level summary of the process — as seen in the image below:
Solving the Right Problem
One of the most crucial, but often overlooked, lessons the author introduces to designers is the importance of ensuring that they are solving the right problem. When a designer is initially presented with a problem, their first step should be to validate whether they are looking at the true problem before they start brainstorming any solution. Oftentimes, a designer may be given a problem that is based upon a flawed understanding of the users and/or the problem itself — so any solution they come up with, could be ineffective and/or incomplete. In other words, a designer must ask “are we fixing the problem, or trying to put a band-aid on it?”
This understanding of the problem is essential for any business that hopes to have a successful and sustainable future. By understanding the true problem, the business has a solid foundation upon which to design their product/solution. If this foundation has a crack in it, then surely the business will collapse upon itself over time (even if they experience early success). To avoid suffering this fate, businesses need to be willing to commit sufficient time and resources into their research efforts to fully understand their users and the problem they need to solve.
Human Error and Design
As designers, the author also stresses that the reader needs to reconsider how they understand the term “human error.” Many of us have heard about cases of human error in which a person is blamed for an error that results from the incorrect use of a system. However, when you hear about these cases, do you ever stop to consider the reason for which the person committed the error?
The author argues that the majority of these human errors are actually the result of poor design. Sometimes the instructions provided to the user are unclear. Sometimes the system requires a highly complex series of steps and it can be easy to overlook one. Designers need to understand that humans aren’t perfect and that they make mistakes; however, the goal is to reduce these mistakes as much as possible. If a human makes a mistake when using your system, don’t blame them — instead look back to your design and ask how you can prevent someone else from making that same mistake in the future.
Fundamental Principles of Design
In addition to the foundational UX Design concepts mentioned above, the book does also go in depth on some more practical and psychological aspects of design as well. For instance, one section covers the author’s seven fundamental principles of design that need to be considered within the design of any system. While covered in greater details within the book, below are some quick summaries of each:
Discoverability — users can easily see all of the options available to them within the system.
- Example: If a user wants to search for something within a website, a search bar is clearly visible to them at the top of the page.
Feedback — whenever a user completes an action within the system, it informs them of the results in a clear and timely manner.
- Example: When a user uses a search bar on a website, the information they search for is clearly displayed once the search is complete. While the search is being processed, it is also helpful to inform the user that their search is in progress/loading.
Conceptual Model — users can intuitively comprehend how the system works without difficulty.
- Example: With the design of current keyboards, it’s easy for most users to simply look at them and know that buttons must be pushed down to use the letters (as it’s a standard practice at this point).
Affordances — the relationship between the properties of a system/object and a human, and understanding how they can interact.
- Example: Most smartphones today have a touchscreen, and as most users have fingers, this means that many actions can be completed by a user by tapping, swiping, or gesturing with their fingers on the screen.
Signifiers — show users where/how to complete certain actions.
- Example: When making an online purchase on a website, all user input fields are typically labelled with what information the user needs to enter into them; and there is usually a button at the bottom to “submit” or “complete” the payment.
Mappings — indicates to the user the relationship between certain actions and results.
- Example: A standard volume control feature today is a horizontal slide bar; a user can increase the volume by sliding the control to the right, or decrease the volume by sliding it to the left.
Constraints — informs users what actions/options are not allowed within the system.
- Example: When creating a new account on a website, there are usually instructions next to the password input field that informs the user what conditions they must use for their new password (such as it must be 8 characters long, include a number, etc.).
Closing Thoughts
For anyone who is thinking about starting a career as a UX Designer, The Design of Everyday Things is a fantastic book to read. It introduces readers to some of the most important foundational concepts of the field, and provides insight into how UX Designers think and work. Additionally, it is easier to read and more entertaining than most textbooks on the field.
As a UX Designer myself, I’m always interested in learning more about how I can improve my craft — so if you have any recommendations for books, blogs, or podcasts about design, please let me know in the comments!
