Product Description

First, businesses discovered quality as a key competitive edge; next came service. Now, Donald A. Norman, former Director of the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of California, reveals how smart design is the new competitive frontier. The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how--and why--some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2951 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From the Publisher
This is the only updated edition, and the only one to include Don Norman's brand new introduction.

About the Author
Don Norman is cofounder of the Nielsen Norman Group, Professor at Northwestern University, and former Vice President at Apple Computer. He is the author of The Design of Everyday Things and, most recently, of Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things.

Customer Reviews

A classic.
Same book as the paperback "The Design of Everyday Things". Just as good a book under either title. (You'll find more reviews of it under the other title.)

Design made easy.
You read this book and then you think aha! - thats why I have trouble with my door/kettle/car. Norman manages to inform the reader with interesting examples, backed up by years of research.

One of the easiest ways to sell good design and usability is by showing people what happens if you don't invest enough time and resources. This book provides ample ammunition to any designers who are confronted with clients who require educating, as well as a design solution.

Why not 5 stars? - well, the book could be longer.

Very good, but dated
It's an exceptional book, so why have I given it only 4 stars?

Certainly not the books fault, but this book does tend to get recommended to students as the definitive book for software interface design.

The book is quite dated, being just a renamed reprint of 1989 book "The Psychology of Everyday Things", identical content, except with a new foreword.

The insight into the flawed design of everyday objects is amazing, but could have been so much better if instead of just updating the foreword new chapters were added dealing with modern issues (computers, satellite tv, mobile phones, etc).

Reading this book will still make high tech designers better, but don't expect it to be as relevant to you as it was to your lecturer who read it 17 years ago.