Skip to content
Back to Reading Notes

Reading note

The Design of Everyday Things

by Don Norman

"The book that taught me craft and empathy are the same discipline, wearing different clothes."

Key takeaway

If the user has to think about the object, the designer stopped thinking too early.

Norman's argument is quieter than the book's reputation suggests. He is not asking designers to be more clever. He is asking them to be more responsible.

The examples age; the discipline doesn't. Every product organisation I have joined has one door somewhere in its interface that people keep pushing when they should pull.

The longer note is coming.

Next reading note

High Output Management

Reader list

New notes when they settle.