In this reading, the author discusses the psychopathology of everyday objects. Essentially, the author argues that there are several factors determining the user experience about everyday objects, and that the design for everyday objects is hard and complex because it also involves many parties, such as designers, users, and manufacturers. With these factors, the author introduces the concept of Human-Centered Design (HCD).
One prominent feature of HCD is that it focuses on both the human psychology and the functionality of the object. Therefore, the design for everyday objects should also comply with these two principles. However, to add to the HCD, especially in modern times, I think it is also important to point out the constant evolving of our psychopathology of everyday objects. Our perceptions about affordances, signifier, and so on are constantly challenged and changing with the emergence of new designs and new design regimes. For example, the recent transformation to flat design in almost every field of digital design might indicate our less desire or need for digital designs to completely represent the daily objects in their most realistic form. On the contrary, we realized that we were able to understand the minimalistic flat design and found it aesthetically appealing. Maybe, one day, the example of the unworkable pot the author presented at the beginning would become the mainstream of design when people find it interesting, appealing, or even practical.
In a nutshell, in the digital era, everything is evolving at a rapid pace, so is our psychology for design. Except for the challenges the HCD faces as the author presented, designers must also realize or even foresee the future of our psychopathology of everyday objects and make movements towards our needs not only in the moment, but also in the foreseeable future.