The excerpt from Don Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things” offers a perceptive look at the psychology of commonplace objects and their designs. In his discussion of frequent problems with doors, light switches, and technology, Norman highlights the significance of design features like affordances and signifiers. He contends that effective design should be intuitive, enabling people to utilize a product without the need for manuals, mostly by means of obvious and sensible hints included into the design itself.
When I think about it, Norman’s emphasis on user-friendly design resonates even more. From my own experience, I have come across a lot of non-intuitive products and interfaces, which has caused annoyance and mistakes. I’m more conscious of the importance of user-centered design now that I’ve read this, and it’s inspired me to think about how the systems and items around me may be made clearer and easier to use. Norman’s concept of “affordances,” which refers to the potential interactions between people and their surroundings, has altered my understanding of how products should be made to fit naturally with human use rather than requiring users to adjust to complicated or counterintuitive systems.