Reading Norman’s chapter on how to design everyday things brought back memories of my experience with poorly designed washing machines. The majority of newer machines have vague buttons, knobs, and symbols that make even a single load of laundry complicated. Some controls are counterintuitive, with icons that are unidentifiable as any standardized symbol. Others have poorly laid-out buttons or poorly readable colors, which make discoverability nearly impossible.
These design errors are just the kind of problems Norman discusses in terms of discoverability and understanding. A washing machine should express its use naturally so that users would know what can be done, where to do it, and what the controls accomplish without regard to instructions. Norman’s principles of affordances and conceptual models are applicable here. The signifiers should refer to the possible actions on the machine, and affordances should tell us where and how to do them naturally. Poorly designed washers fail in all of these ways, keeping their users uninformed and frequently erring that would not have been done with better design.
Norman indicates that machines should be planned for human error, and I agree that anticipating mistakes is crucial in terms of usability. A properly thought-out machine should anticipate human error and guide the user instinctively through the procedure, without requiring perfect knowledge or precision. I think there is a fine line, however, between assisting users and overcompensating for every mistake. If a design strives to support as many potential errors as it can, it will end up being overcomplicated or even enable sloppy use, rather than teach or lead users to the correct way of using it. Brilliant design, in my opinion, should discourage the most common errors without shutting doors entirely on the freedom to learn from experience and make decisions, rather than trying to predict all potential errors. This equilibrium provides usability without sacrificing structure or clarity.
Reflecting on Norman’s principles, I realize how important it is to design for clear feedback in interactive media, especially in my p5.js projects. For example, if I create a sketch where clicking on shapes triggers animations or changes their color, I can’t assume that a first-time user will immediately understand what to do. To address this, I might add visual cues like hover effects, tooltips, or a brief on-screen instruction to indicate which elements are interactive and what actions will happen. Norman’s arguments remind me that good design means guiding users through interactions intuitively, so they can enjoy the experience without confusion, frustration, or guesswork. By applying this principle, I can make my projects more accessible, engaging, and user-friendly.