1. Passage
“There are no easy answers. Whenever the number of functions and required operations exceeds the number of controls, the design becomes arbitrary, unnatural, and complicated. The same technology that simplifies life by providing more functions in each device also complicates life by making the device harder to learn, harder to use. This is the paradox of technology.
The paradox of technology should never be used as an excuse for poor design. It is true that as the number of options and capabilities of any device increases, so too must the number and complexity of the controls. But the principles of good design can make complexity manageable.”
Response
I found this passage to be interesting for several reasons. First, the opening part seems to offer a little insight into what the consumer of today has become. As technology has vastly improved in such a short amount of time, the consumer has become increasingly impatient and intolerant. As a public, we demand so much from the products we buy. Several people in the discussion touched on this point. Keaton for example said that he would sometimes get angry when the wifi at his friends house would go too slowly. “Slow” for Internet connections has come to have such a skewed meaning now. Mike was saying how he sometimes even feels bad because of how technology has made us all so impatient. Everyone is a bit guilty when it comes to this, and all of us could do well to stop complaining so much, but we just want so much out of our technological gadgets. It’s no wonder that the designers have such difficulty trying to satisfy consumers. Despite this difficulty, it is interesting that Norman says this paradox of technology cannot be used as an excuse for poor design. Even though technology that is meant to simplify life is actually complicating life because consumers want so much out of the devices, designers need to find a way to fix this. It is respectable that Norman encourages designers to not accept this understandable excuse as a reason for poor design. Instead he says, they should aim to try and make the complexity manageable, which is possible if enough time and research is spent on the design process.
2. This book has remained an influential book for a little over two decades now. This is completely understandable given that the elements of good design have neither changed nor been mastered since the publication of this book. The myriad of devices that we all listed in our discussion as examples of everyday objects that frustrate us is testament to this. The objects listed ranged from microwaves to wireless printers to calculators. Designers continue to make mistakes in the design of products, and thus there is still a need for the book. The points that Norman raises such as natural design, the importance of visibility, natural mapping, affordances, conceptual models, et cetera will always remain fundamental to good design. These are not elements that change. Even though product markets may evolve and consumer interest can change, buttons on devices still need to be visible and operating devices still need to be as intuitive as possible. Designers can always look back to this book to make sure that all the points are addressed.
3. The points that Norman makes surely help with evaluating products. There are many features that I would look for now. For example, I would look to see how visible everything is. I do not want there to be too many buttons that I have to spend five minutes looking for the right one, but I also do not want too few buttons that I cannot operate the device. It is preferable if each button has one function as opposed to five, and that each button is clearly marked. When a button is pushed, I want to have some sort of feedback that indicates the button has in fact been pressed. Overall, using the device should seem natural. On and off buttons should be placed as a corner button, and colors to the buttons are also helpful. Red is generally associated with the off button. There shouldn’t be anything that makes me think “why is this here?” If there is to be a button, it should have some use at all times. There should be nothing like the “R” button in the example provided by Norman. Despite having a checklist though, I would try to be understanding of the designer and the difficult task that he or she has in creating efficient, logical devices.
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