Month: March 2024

To begin with, I enjoyed reading another one of Norman’s chapters. Something I liked about his writings is how he always gives really good examples to his point which makes it very clear to the reader what exactly he is talking about and the point he wants to get across. In this chapter particularly, he gives an example of the teapots to show good design and usability.

When Norman wrote about “Affect and Behavior” it started to get a little confusing and seemed a little bit like a psychology lesson up until the “Implications upon Design” when he gave an example on how useful doors are designed for stressful occasions.

I highly agree with Norman when he wrote “Good design means that beauty and usability are in balance.” A lot of people do in fact sometimes pay so much attention to the aesthetics and design of the product rather than its accessibility and usability.  Overall, I like Norman’s way of giving examples when it comes to making his point more clear.

The second reading focused more on physical computing. I found it very frustrating when the simulator crashed, which was essential for them to come back. It was fascinating that just a child playing with the keyboard of the DSKY unit allowed for such a crash. Luckily, they were able to come up with a solution. Overall, I liked the story of how Margaret invented software and had her code get people to the moon.

Norman’s text, “Emotion & Design: Attractive things work better,” discusses the importance of aesthetics in design. As the authors say, attractive things work better after all. In the reading, the author makes a connection between affect and cognition, highlighting that our emotions and cognitive processes are intertwined. The author mentions that negative affect makes easy tasks hard while positive affect makes hard tasks seem easy. I agree with the author that attractive things simply work better and that they make hard things seem easy. In fact, just as the author asserts that ‘attractive things work better,’ I also believe that the aesthetic appeal of certain objects can sometimes lead people to perceive the usability of a design more positively than its actual usability.

This text reminded me of the interface of Apple products, especially the iPhone, as a good example of how aesthetics can influence our perception of usability. I believe that one of the main reasons for Apple’s success lies in its ability to seamlessly integrate form and function. The clean and minimalist design of its interface isn’t just visually pleasing, but its aesthetics also enhance the user experience by reducing clutter and cognitive load, making the iPhone seem easy to control. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of Apple’s design philosophy is its ability to evoke positive emotions in users. From the moment one unboxes an iPhone, they are greeted with a sense of delight and anticipation. The smooth, responsive interface only adds to this feeling, making every interaction with the device a pleasure.

In this way, I believe that Apple has mastered the art of using aesthetics to enhance usability. By creating products that are not only functional but also visually appealing and emotionally engaging, they’ve managed to cultivate a loyal fan base all over the world.

Regarding the reading about Hamilton, I was truly inspired by her dedication and passion for her career. Her unwavering dedication to both her career as a programmer and her role as a mother was truly remarkable. Rather than succumbing to societal pressures to prioritize one over the other, she fearlessly pursued both paths with equal fervor. Hamilton’s story is truly inspiring. It shows that with passion and determination, we can overcome any obstacle. She was a pioneer in the tech industry, breaking norms and proving that gender doesn’t limit success. Her legacy reminds us that dedication and passion can make anything possible, no matter what challenges we encounter.

Emotions & Attractive by Donald A.Norman

Reading about the author’s teapot collection and the talk about design was really thought provoking. I never realized how much design can affect how we feel about things. For example, the different teapots the author has are all for different reasons – some are pretty, some are just practical. It made me think about the things I have in my home. Do I choose the things because they look nice, or because they work well?

The part about how color screens were introduced in computers got me thinking about the things that I have with me. Do I like them more because they look cool, even if they don’t work perfectly? And then, there’s the talk about emotions and how they affect our choices. It made me think about the times when I bought something just because it made me happy and gave satisfaction, even if it wasn’t really practical.

Overall, this text made me realize that design is more than just how something looks. It’s about how it makes us feel and how well it works. It made me want to pay more attention to the things I buy and think about why I choose them.

Her Code Got Humans on the Moon

Learning about Margaret Hamilton’s role in the Apollo space program was really inspiring. It’s amazing how she broke stereotypes by being a working mom in a field dominated by men. Seeing how Hamilton faced various challenges and still made groundbreaking contributions to software engineering makes me think about the countless times that I doubted myself when faced with obstacles. She reminds me that determination and hard work can lead to amazing achievements, even in the face of difficulty.

Moreover, Hamilton’s leadership and problem-solving skills during critical moments, like the Apollo 8 mission, inspire me to be a better leader in my own life and encourages me to challenge myself, believe in my abilities, and strive for excellence in everything I do.

The sentence “After all, attractive things work better,” which the author repeats several times throughout the essay, resonated with me, cementing the notion that aesthetics should never be compromised in favor of usability. It seems that humans inherently seek out aesthetic objects. Many items, not necessarily usable, exist solely because they are beautiful in their own way—for instance, paintings, statues, and interior designs. In my view, aesthetics is becoming a trend. One example I can cite is the aesthetic cafes, known as “gamsung cafes,” in South Korea. These cafes are designed to entice people into taking pictures, thanks to their stunning interiors. Initially, I couldn’t understand the appeal of these places. However, upon visiting one of the famous “gamsung cafes,” I found myself enjoying the atmosphere and the emotions it evoked. This experience helped me realize that aesthetics can indeed touch people’s emotions.

This reflection also brought to mind the reasons behind the iPhone’s rising popularity. Usability is, of course, crucial. When comparing the two most popular phone brands, Samsung and Apple, I view Apple as the representative of aesthetics, while Samsung champions usability. While older generations might prefer Samsung for its user-friendliness, many from the newer generations opt for Apple. A YouTube video interviewing people about their choice of iPhones surprised me. Their answers were strikingly simple: “It’s beautiful.” That’s it. I believe this sentiment drives the current generation and represents a prevailing trend. As a Business Major, this reading underscored the ongoing trend that “After all, attractive things work better.”

The stories of Margaret Hamilton’s work on the Apollo software and Don Norman’s article on the role of aesthetics in design provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between form, function, and user experience.
Hamilton’s experiences showcase the critical importance of secure programming by anticipating edge cases. “Hamilton wanted to add error-checking code to the Apollo system that would prevent this from messing up the systems. But that seemed excessive to her higher-ups.” This example highlights the need for designers to think through all the ways a product might be misused, even if it means going out of their way for additional work. This is actually a core part of every group work we do. Since one student might specialize in something, it’s their responsibility to convey complexities to a manager or the leader. This of course assumes that leader is capable of listening and trusting their group members’ expertise. Unfortunately, most companies nowadays work around maximizing profit and such thoughts are the last things that come to their mind.
The pushback Hamilton faced raises questions about the biases we bring to the design process. The belief that “astronauts would not make any mistakes” is plain wrong. Norman’s article suggests that aesthetic preferences can vary significantly across cultures and individuals – the same as “Three Teapots”. This variability means that as designers, we must constantly challenge our own assumptions and try to broaden our perspective. We should allow for all possibilities to happen and design a product for the end user (who might happen to be an astronaut) that works without major flaws. Norman’s article also suggests that that an attractive design can enhance usability, but not replace it entirely. For example, our current smartphone UIs are much more attractively designed than a few years ago. Even so, this raises the complexity of usability. I have personally downloaded older more simplified launchers for my grandmother, simply because it is so much easier to use.
All in all, combining usability with aesthetics while having the end user in mind is clearly the way to go. Hamilton’s approach to software engineering shows that innovative work pays off, as the result was truly out of this world.

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.

I find it fascinating that there is this duality pertaining to how affect impacts the way humans function. Norman demonstrates that negative affect tends to have an effect on the mind that is contradictory to that of positive effect, for example, negative effect aids the focus process whereas the positive effect relaxes it; negative affect makes it harder to do easy tasks whereas positive affect makes it easier to do difficult tasks; negative affect makes simple tasks difficult whereas positive affect makes difficult tasks easier (4, 5). When it comes to a product, this duality has an even more noticeably contradictory impact on the engineers and the users. Positive affect can make the engineers design a product in a more comprehensive way, that is, to fill it with functions ranging from simple to advanced; this, however, can render some negative affects from the users especially when they cannot figure out how to operate the advanced parts of the product. Negative affect can sometimes make the engineers feel less incentivized to improve their product and only try to finish it, which can make the product become easier for users to operate. This may prime users’ minds and make them become more tolerable to trying advanced functions within the product when the engineers decide to improve it, as Norman argues, “although poor design is never excusable, when people are in a relaxed situation, the pleasant, pleasurable aspects of the design will make them more tolerant of difficulties and problems in the interface” (6).

Another point that Norman makes to which I find worth mentioning is the harmony between beauty and usability. Obviously, the product is useless when it is beautiful but not functional; similarly, the product is also hard to use design and appeal-wise if it is highly functional but not beautiful. However, I do not fully agree with him there has to be a balance between beauty and usability. This should be dependent on the purpose of the product itself and how it is going to be used. If users choose the product because of its functions, then there is no point that the product’s level of beauty should match its functionality; the product then only needs to be decent looking enough. Vice versa, if the beauty of the product is the main selling point, then that should be the manufacturer’s main focus in design and production.

As for the story about Margaret Hamilton and how her codes help the astronauts successfully land their mission, I really admire her determination to finish up the product that she helped start. It is about her integrity and not to give in when she has more to offer. When designing and creating a product, it is important to be as thorough as possible in terms of codes and functions. It is fine if the users decide not to use it, as in the case for most computers and laptops and their users these days. However, when the users want to maximize their laptops and computers, they will really need to use what is on the table, hard.