Who is Don Norman?
The god father of UX…
Don Norman is the first person ever to hold a position that had “User Experience” when he worked for Apple. He carries a lot of expertise in the fields of design, usability engineering, and cognitive science. Don Norman is also a co-founder and Principal Emeritus of the famous group- Nielsen Norman Group. Norman, alongside colleague Jakob Nielsen, formed the Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) in 1998. The company’s vision is to help designers and other companies move toward more human-centered products and internet interactions, and to better ones knowledge on usability He is best known for his books on design, especially The Design of Everyday Things.
He has many past times:
- Company advisor and board member;
- Keynote speaker;
- Author of books and columns.
What is design according to Don Norman?
Norman believes that design is concerned with how things work, how they are controlled, and the nature of the interaction between people and technology. When done well, the results are brilliant products. However when done badly, the products are unusable, leading to great frustration and irritation for the user.
Norman generated new ideas on how the communication between the two can be combined to enhance the experience of using the object.
Don Norman makes a case for Human Centered Design and describes how designers should think about users and their problems. He also breaks down common design mistakes and gives readers a framework for user-centered design.
The famous PRINCIPLES
Norman is also famously known for his design principles that he came up with. These principles will be optimised to user needs, and when used correctly they help to produce a pleasurable experience for the user. Norman suggests that this is what ‘great design’ is all about.
- Visibility
- Feedback
- Affordance
- Mapping
- Constraints
- Consistency
User-centered design
In 1986, Norman introduced the term “user-centered design” in the book User Centered System Design: New Perspectives on Human-computer Interaction
“People are so adaptable that they are capable of shouldering the entire burden of accommodation to an artifact, but skillful designers make large parts of this burden vanish by adapting the artifact to the users.”
On a more serious note…
I read in blog on Design weekly that Don beliefs that bad UX is bad for the planet…
“Climate change is a symptom to a problem that designers had a hand in creating,”
“We shouldn’t be pushing for recycling, we should be helping to design systems that make it easier to re-use and repair things instead,” Norman explains.
“The problem isn’t with today’s design – which is excellent – but with the world it’s in. The world has changed, and we need to expand our design work to fit that world.”
This is also a topic that I wouldn’t have really thought about or concerned myself with, I guess that is my own ignorance to think I am nothing to do with this problem. Norman believes that as designers it is duty to help the world and not hinder it. this article was an eye opener for me for sure…
Reflection
I found it very helpful to look at Don’s work and his past. he is such an important figure when it comes to UX design and his thinking and beliefs are so important to know and to understand. I really want to read the book – ‘ The design of Everyday Things’ as I think that this will allow me to become more knowledgable about Norman’s teachings and therefore allow me to become a better designer. I will add this to my reading list. I love doing pocket profiles I learn a lot from them, I learn information and I get to read the designers opinions and quotes which is always interesting.
