At the start of this year I published my objectives for 2017. One of my objectives is to blog about every book I read this year, as part of a conscious effort to spend more time reflecting upon the content I consume. Below is my analysis of book six.
Upon completing this book, I’m at the half-way point toward my original goal of reading 12 books this year. (Yes, I know I’m a bit behind schedule.) I wanted to take a moment and mention that these posts are not meant to be book reviews, but rather an opportunity to reflect upon the segments, stories, and concepts from each book that particularly resonate with me — a deeper dive into not only what content made me think, but why it made me think.
I’ve started to notice that some of my more recent book posts seem to lack authenticity — a characteristic that has always been a prominent part of my writing. This discovery certainly disturbed me. It’s not easy to feel like you’ve lost your voice. I think the reason for this fading authenticity stems from external pressures to succeed. I’ve been too preoccupied by what others may think of me and it’s starting to make it’s way into my writing. My posts have taken longer to compose but have had less to offer. I have started to second guess every word I write, instead of just exhaling genuine emotion into my posts. After all, this goal is self-imposed. These blogs are suppose to be for me. Why am I trying so hard to impress everyone else? And even if my work impresses someone else, is it really worth it if I lose my voice in the process? When I started writing for others, I lost myself. So, for the remainder of the year, I’m going to prioritize authenticity, not only in my writing, but in all aspects of my life.
To anyone still reading at this point, I apologize for that little aside. Let’s move on to book six, shall we?
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
This book parallels my recent shift toward the field of UX design. I sort of stumbled into UX about a month ago and have since been consuming all things design like Leslie Knope consumes waffles.
If you aren’t familiar with the term, UX refers to “User Experience”, which is essentially the relationship between user and product, across every point of interaction. Don Normon coined the term “user experience” back in 1993 while working at Apple.
In his words: “I invented the term because I thought human interface and usability were too narrow. I wanted to cover all aspects of the person’s experience with the system including industrial design, graphics, the interface, the physical interaction, and the manual.”
In The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman talks a lot about the interaction between humans and machines.
“Our strengths are in our flexibility and creativity, in coming up with solutions to novel problems. We are creative and imaginative, not mechanical and precise. Machines require precision and accuracy; people don’t. And we are particularly bad at providing precise and accurate inputs. So why are we always required to do so? Why do we put the requirements of machines above those of people?”
The human-machine relationship fascinates me. Machines are made by humans to communicate with other humans. There’s something equally comforting and unsettling about that concept. Comforting because when it comes down to it, design is a form of connecting to others — humans talking to humans. Unsettling because of how complex the process is. Why is communicating with others so difficult? When did connecting to others become so unnatural? Good design demands an intimate understanding of people.
“It is the duty of machines and those who design them to understand people.”
The Design of Everyday Things challenges all previous assumptions about design and provokes readers to open their minds to a much broader, more inclusive idea of design. Design is discovering, understanding, and evaluating. Design is the door to your office, the car that you drive, the oven in your kitchen. Design is everything. Design can comfort, inspire, provoke, and warn. Good design can save lives. Poor design can cost lives.
“Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible.”
Norman presents readers with an elaborate spread of user-centered design principles, UX best practices, and design thinking, but also manages to leave you hungry for more. This book not only gave me a great introduction to the foundation of UX design, but also a newfound appreciation for the capabilities of design. Having spent several years as a visual designer, I have to admit I was surprised to have gained so much from a book about design thinking. I was taught in school about the power of design, but somewhere along the way it seemed to have lost it’s luster. The Design of Everyday Things has reawakened my wonder for design. I’m inspired to explore uncharted territory and shake up the world of design.
Nearly all the content I’ve consumed about UX design thus far has praised Don Norman or The Design of Everyday Things in some capacity (and rightfully so). I encourage everyone, designers and, perhaps even more importantly, non-designers to read this book. You won’t regret it. Many have warned that after reading this book you will see design everywhere. They were right.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. I hope my attempt to re-introduce authenticity was apparent in this post. For those of you who made it this far, thank you. I appreciate you.
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Stay tuned for my next analysis on Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Are you a fellow bookworm? Check out my previous book analyses: 52 Cups of Coffee | The Limits of Art | Art Without Borders | Alias Grace | Walk Through Walls
