Design is the first thing a user will see for any type of product, either tangible or digital. Therefore, it is important to have a design that can serve the purpose of the product.
However, how can we know that we are serving the purpose of the product through design? Similar to the story of the “Three Teapots”, sometimes the teapot is chosen solely on the mood of the user. Then, I wonder that how we can predict the mood of our customers through designs. As in design, since we can not predict the behavior of our potential customers, we tend to design it the be as easy to understand as possible based on their functionality with the highest degree of aesthetics.
Nevertheless, there is a property that we need to further consider: usability. As it is mentioned in the reading, “[usability is] equal to beauty, equal to function equal but not superior” (Norman). I learnt that it is important to also consider how the user will use it and in what situation they can use them. There are different situations that a certain product can be used. Take the most common example: a door. In the case of emergency, the door should not be a stress point. In other words, it should provide as quick and easy access as possible. On the other hand, for the door that is a secure gate to seek for protection, it should be tough to open at any point. Therefore, these 2 doors with similar functionality have different usability and, hence, have different designs.
I believe that the how a certain product is used is heavily depended on the user. It is indeed difficult to understand all users, but we can still design with how the users react with the product in mind. Similar to how Hamilton helped with the NASA mission to Mars, we need to account for all possibility of interaction between the users and the product itself.