Any time you see signs or labels added to a device, it is an indication of bad design: a simple lock should… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Good design is also an act of communication between the designer and the user, except that all the communication has to come… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
It is the duty of machines and those who design them to understand people. It is not our duty to understand the… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
The world is complex, and so too must be the activities that we perform. But that doesn't mean that we must live… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Everything has a personality: everything sends an emotional signal. Even where this was not the intention of the designer, the people who… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
In their work, designers often become expert with the device they are designing. Users are often expert at the task they are… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
The argument is not between adding features and simplicity, between adding capability and usability. The real issue is about design: designing things… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
A challenge to the designers of the world: Make signs unnecessary. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
If you're more susceptible to interruption, you do more out of the box thinking. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Serious accidents are frequently blamed on "human error." Yet careful analysis of such situations shows that the design or installation of the… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Behavioral design is all about feeling in control. Includes: usability, understanding, but also the feel. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
The design of everyday things is in great danger of becoming the design of superfluous, overloaded, unnecessary things. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
The designer has an obligation to provide an appropriate conceptual model for the way that the device works. It doesn't have to… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
In design it is important to shoe the effect of an action. ... Feedback is critical. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
The best kind of design isn't necessarily an object, a space, or a structure: it's a process- dynamic and adaptable. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Technology may change rapidly, but people change slowly. The principals [of design] come from understanding of people. They remain true forever. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Simplicity design axiom: The complexity of the information appliance is that of the task, not the tool. The technology is invisible. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Too many companies believe that all they must do is provide a 'neat' technology or some 'cool' product or, sometimes, just good,… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
“key to winning the race is not to compete against machines but to compete with machines.” — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Hypertext makes a virtue out of lack of organization, allowing ideas and thoughts to be juxtaposed at will. [...] The advent of hypertext is… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
We delude ourselves if we believe that skilled behavior is easy, that it can come about without effort. We forget the years of tuning,… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
“Could we ever switch to this or any of the many other rational systems? Unlikely: tradition is difficult to overcome.” — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
“If designers and researchers do not sometimes fail, it is a sign that they are not trying hard enough—they are not thinking the great… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
What makes something simple or complex? It's not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Only the most sophisticated of beings can lie and cheat, and get away with it. — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Any time you see signs or labels added to a device, it is an indication of bad design: a simple lock should not require… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
Good design is also an act of communication between the designer and the user, except that all the communication has to come about by… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
“We need to remove the word failure from our vocabulary, replacing it instead with learning experience. To fail is to learn: we learn more… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
When I use a direct manipulation system whether for text editing, drawing pictures, or creating and playing games I do think of myself not… — Donald A. Norman Copy Share Image
