Donald A. Norman

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About Donald A. Norman

Don Norman is a voyeur, always watching, always on the lookout for some common-day occurrence that everyone else takes for granted but that when examined, yields insight into the human condition. (If you are rushing to catch a train, how do you know if you got to the station on time? Empty platform? You probably are too late. People milling about, looking at their watches,peering down the tracks? Probably OK. Who needs technology when people are so informative, even if as an accidental byproduct of their activities.

Business Week has named him one of "the world's most influential designers," the influence from his books, essasys, courses and students, lectures, and consulting.

He takes special delight in the interaction of people and technology. "Develop the skill of observation," he councils: especially pay attention to the obvious. "Question the obvious and you will dis cover many hidden insights. What seems to be obvious often is not."

He is a fellow of many organizations and former lots of things, including VP at Apple Computer and even President of a startup. He has honorary degrees from the University of Padua (Italy) and the Technical University Delft (the Netherlands). He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin medal in Computer and Cognitive Science and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is known for his books "The Design of Everyday Things," "Emotional Design," and "The Design of Future Things," but he is most proud of his students, now all over the world, who put into practice his human-centered design philosophy. his latest book is "Living with Complexity," which argues that complexity is necessary: Our tools must match our tasks. When people cry out for simplicity, they are wrong -- people want understanding. That is not the same as simplicity -- simple thing are often the most confusing.

He is currently revising "Design of Everyday Things" to keep the message the same but update the examples. Expected publication date is August 2013.

He lives at www.jnd.org, where you can find chapters from his books and loads of essays.

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Titles By Donald A. Norman

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The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition Nov 5, 2013

by Donald A. Norman

( 4,244 )

$12.99

Design doesn't have to complicated, which is why this guide to human-centered design shows that usability is just as important as aesthetics.
Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door.
The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization.
The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.

The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how -- and why -- some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things Mar 20, 2007

by Donald A. Norman

( 503 )

$11.99

Why attractive things work better and other crucial insights into human-centered design
Emotions are inseparable from how we humans think, choose, and act. In Emotional Design, cognitive scientist Don Norman shows how the principles of human psychology apply to the invention and design of new technologies and products. In The Design of Everyday Things, Norman made the definitive case for human-centered design, showing that good design demanded that the user's must take precedence over a designer's aesthetic if anything, from light switches to airplanes, was going to work as the user needed. In this book, he takes his thinking several steps farther, showing that successful design must incorporate not just what users need, but must address our minds by attending to our visceral reactions, to our behavioral choices, and to the stories we want the things in our lives to tell others about ourselves. Good human-centered design isn't just about making effective tools that are straightforward to use; it's about making affective tools that mesh well with our emotions and help us express our identities and support our social lives. From roller coasters to robots, sports cars to smart phones, attractive things work better. Whether designer or consumer, user or inventor, this book is the definitive guide to making Norman's insights work for you.

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Living with Complexity Oct 29, 2010

by Donald A. Norman

( 47 )

$18.99

Why we don't really want simplicity, and how we can learn to live with complexity.

If only today's technology were simpler! It's the universal lament, but it's wrong. In this provocative and informative book, Don Norman writes that the complexity of our technology must mirror the complexity and richness of our lives. It's not complexity that's the problem, it's bad design. Bad design complicates things unnecessarily and confuses us. Good design can tame complexity.

Norman gives us a crash course in the virtues of complexity. Designers have to produce things that tame complexity. But we too have to do our part: we have to take the time to learn the structure and practice the skills. This is how we mastered reading and writing, driving a car, and playing sports, and this is how we can master our complex tools.

Complexity is good. Simplicity is misleading. The good life is complex, rich, and rewarding—but only if it is understandable, sensible, and meaningful.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Things That Make Us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine Nov 30, 2014

by Don Norman

( 41 )

$9.99

By the author of THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS.

Insightful and whimsical, profoundly intelligent and easily accessible, Don Norman has been exploring the design of our world for decades, exploring this complex relationship between humans and machines. In this seminal work, fully revised and updated, Norman gives us the first steps towards demanding a person-centered redesign of the machines we use every day.

Humans have always worked with objects to extend our cognitive powers, from counting on our fingers to designing massive supercomputers. But advanced technology does more than merely assist with memory—the machines we create begin to shape how we think and, at times, even what we value. In THINGS THAT MAKE US SMART, Donald Norman explores the complex interaction between human thought and the technology it creates, arguing for the development of machines that fit our minds, rather than minds that must conform to the machine.

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La psicología de los objetos cotidianos (Serie Media nº 6) (Spanish Edition) May 22, 2018

by Donald A. Norman, Fernando Santos Fontenla

( 34 )

$6.99

¿Por qué los teléfonos modernos tienen teclas que no sirven para nada? ¿Por qué no se sabe, con frecuencia, si para abrir una puerta hay que empujar, o tirar, o si se trata de una puerta deslizante? ¿Por qué es tan difícil entender un manual de instrucciones?

Con muchos ejemplos similares y en clave de humor, Donald A. Norman, uno de los psicólogos más imaginativos de las últimas décadas, analiza los problemas del diseño de los objetos que nos rodean en la vida cotidiana y el tipo de conocimiento que cada uno requiere. La obra es también una amena y lúcida lección de psicología que utiliza el diseño como excusa.

"Todos somos víctimas de la perversidad natural de los objetos inanimados. He aquí un libro que, por fin, se revuelve contra los objetos, los diseñadores, los fabricantes y el resto de los seres humanos que originan y mantienen esta perversidad." Isaac Asimov

"Un libro entretenido y apasionante, lleno de historias sobre cómo se diseñan los objetos y sobre cómo deberían ser diseñados." R. Shank, catedrático de Psicología de la Universidad de Yale

"Un libro lleno de encanto, de enorme importancia para todos los que vivimos en un mundo de máquinas que no sabemos manejar y manuales de instrucciones que no nos ayudan a aprender, y para aquellos que diseñan el mundo. Los psicólogos nos acusan de haber perdido el contacto con nuestros sentimientos; Norman demuestra que ni siquiera tenemos contacto con los objetos que nos rodean." The Magazine of International Design

Other Formats: Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Design of Future Things May 12, 2009

by Donald A. Norman

( 85 )

$11.99

Donald A. Norman, a popular design consultant to car manufacturers, computer companies, and other industrial and design outfits, has seen the future and is worried. In this long-awaited follow-up to The Design of Everyday Things, he points out what's going wrong with the wave of products just coming on the market and some that are on drawing boards everywhere-from "smart" cars and homes that seek to anticipate a user's every need, to the latest automatic navigational systems. Norman builds on this critique to offer a consumer-oriented theory of natural human-machine interaction that can be put into practice by the engineers and industrial designers of tomorrow's thinking machines. This is a consumer-oriented look at the perils and promise of the smart objects of the future, and a cautionary tale for designers of these objects-many of which are already in use or development.

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Turn Signals are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles Nov 30, 2014

by Don Norman

( 8 )

$4.99

By the author of THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS.

For decades, Don Norman has spoken the language of gadgets, explaining how the things we see every day are made and made better. In this smart, sharp, fun exploration of design, Norman pulls back the curtain on the things we make to make our lives easier.

From water faucets and airplane cockpits to the concept of "real time" and the future of memory, this wide-ranging tour through technology provides a new understanding of how the gadgets that surround us affect our lives. Donald A. Norman explores the plight of humans living in a world ruled by a technology that seems to exist for its own sake, oblivious to the needs of the people who create it. TURN SIGNALS is an intelligent, whimsical, curmudgeonly look at our love/hate relationship with machines, as well as a persuasive call for the humanization of modern design.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology Sep 11, 2013

by Peter H. Lindsay, Donald A. Norman

( 9 )

$69.71

Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology aims to convey the excitement of modern experimental psychology to the beginning student. The book discusses the organization of auditory perceptions; neural information processing; and the theories of pattern recognition. The text also describes the visual system; the dimensions of vision; the auditory system; and the dimensions of sound. The neural basis of memory; transient memories; the structure of memory; and memory processes are also considered. The book further tackles language acquisition; the process of learning and cognitive development; problem solving; and decision making. The text also looks into motivation and the biochemical responses to stress. Psychologists and students taking psychology and related courses will find the book useful."

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Models of Human Memory Oct 22, 2013

by Donald A Norman, Donald A. Norman

( 1 )

$89.25

Models of Human Memory provides an overview of the state of knowledge on human memory models. The book begins with an introductory chapter on the basic stages of the memory system and the historical roots of memory models. The remaining chapters are organized into five parts.
Part I on memory systems covers topics such as a system for perception and memory; multi-trace strength theory of memory; and a model for postperceptual verbal memory that postulates a single memory store, with multiple copies, called replicas, created in memory by rehearsal processes. Part II presents studies phoneme storage and word recognition. Part III on memory for associations examines the storage-retrieval theory for the memorizing processes and presents simple model of short-term memory (STM) for paired associates. Part IV on storage and retrieval mechanisms deals with mechanisms of repetition and rehearsal in short-term memory; models of recall and recognition; and memory search models. Part V presents a theory of human long-term associative memory; and examines conceptual and methodological interactions between information-processing investigations of cognitive activity and attempts to build models of memory.

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