The Psychopathology of Everyday Things
The chapter talks about the different factors that are crucial for a design to be practical. The author stresses on the importance of two main factors of discoverability (which enables the user to identify the actions that can be performed) and understanding (which allows the user to figure out the use).
The author throughout the chapter, argues that engineers and designers often overlook the needs of the people which dissolves the purpose of the design no matter how unique it may look.
An interesting viewpoint is put forward, that machines can not have a shared understanding as they lack the experiences possessed by people. Hence, for a mchine to be efficient it would have to take into consideration the possible human errors and strike a balance between being understandable and enjoyable.
I completely agree with the author’s opinion on the need for a shift to more human centered design which would enable an inclusive environment for all users and would eliminate the need for a high level of logic to operate a simple machine.
The paradox of technology, is indeed a reality with technology having the capacity to make things easier or complex depending on its design. Thus a good design ought to take into consideration the multiple disciplines that would make it useful for the user.