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Two of the most important characteristics of good design are discoverability and understanding.
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Discoverability: Is it possible to even figure out what actions are possible and where and how to perform them? It involves five concepts:
- Affordances - a relationship between the properties of an object and the capabilities of the agent that determines how the object could be used. Good affordances are discoverable and determine what is possible.
- Signifiers - a property of an object that signals appropriate behavior to a person (i.e., where to perform an action on the object). Good signifiers are perceivable and not misleading.
- Perceived affordances often act as signifiers but they are ambiguous.
- Signifiers tend to be more important than affordances since they communicate how to use the design.
- Mapping - the relationship between the elements of two sets of things. Mappings determine how we should layout certain things
- The relationship between a control and its results is easiest to learn whenever there is an understandable mapping between the controls, the actions, and the intended result.
- Natural mappings lead to immediate understandings. These mappings take advantage of intuitive knowledge (spatial positioning or cultural knowledge).
- Feedback - communicates the results of an action.
- Good feedback is immediate and informative.
- Feedback is essential, but not when it gets in the way of other things, including a calm and relaxing environment.
- Present unimportant information in an unobtrusive fashion, and important signals in a way that captures attention.
- Conceptual Model - a, usually highly simplified, explanation of how something works.
- It doesn’t have to be complete or accurate as long as it is useful
- Simplified models are valuable as long as the assumptions that support them hold true.
- Products often have multiple conceptual models for different people.
- The major clues to how things work come from their perceived structure. Conceptual models derive from the device itself.
- Conceptual models are valuable in providing understanding, in predicting how things will behave, and in figuring out what to do when things do not go as planned.
- Good communication is key to good conceptual models which are key to enjoyable products.
- Constraints - what cannot be done with the device.
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Understanding: What does it all mean? How is the product supposed to be used? What do all the different controls and settings mean?
- The system image pertains to the combined information available to us about the device. It is what can be perceived from the physical structure that has been built.
- The designer expects the user’s model to be identical to the design model, but because designers cannot communicate directly with users, the entire burden of communication is on the system image
- No matter how brilliant the product, if people cannot use it, it will receive poor reviews
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Simple devices should be intuitive. They should not require manuals or personal instruction. Many products defy understanding simply because they have too many functions and controls.
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It is the duty of machines and those who design them to understand people. It is not our duty to understand the arbitrary, meaningless dictates of machines
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All artificial things are designed by definition. Design is concerned with how things work, how they are controlled, and the nature of the interaction between people and technology.
- Good design starts with an understanding of both psychology and technology.
- The problem with most designers is thinking too logically even when people are not logical. We have to accept human behavior the way it is, not he way we would wish it to be.
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Human Centered Design — an approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behavior first, then designs to accommodate these facets.
- People themselves are often unaware of their true needs. So, the principle is to iteratively design based on approximations of these needs.
- There is an emphasis on user experience, as it is through experience that people remember their interactions.
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The Paradox of Technology: More benefits imply more complexity which give us more frustration
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Design is multidisciplinary considering facets such as marketability, reliability, and manufacturing.
- It is when disciplines operate independently of one another that major clashes and deficiencies occur.
- The goal of design is to produce a great product, one that is successful, and that customers love.