The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

Key Points, Summary, & Review

Written by Shiyan Boxer

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman is a best-selling book about how design serves as the communication between object and user, and how to optimize that conduit of communication in order to make the experience of using the object pleasurable. The book contains many examples of both good and bad design and simple rules that designers can use to improve the usability of everyday objects.

Don Norman prefaces the book with an all to the common confusing encounter with doors — simple and universal objects, that aren’t always designed with the user in mind.

“I push doors that are meant to be pulled, pull doors that should be pushed, and walk into doors that neither pull nor push, but slide.

– Don Norman

The design of a door should indicate how to work it without any need for signs, certainly without trial and error. From doors to cars to the most sophisticated computer program, Human-Centred Design, (HDC) is the core of a good product and the overriding theme in this book.

Design serves as the communication between objects and user, and effective communication leads to a more pleasurable experience for the user.