Another interesting book that I had read recently, it is titled the design of everyday things. It is a pschology book disguise under the cloak of the topic of design. This is because it focuses on how people react to the designs of the everyday things that we use. There are many poorly designed things out there in this world and it confuses a lot of people about its usage. The message from this book is that such confusion can be rid of it only designers pay more attention to how people interact with these things and also how they perceive these things.

A lot of the designs of the things around us are arrived at without much thought of how people are going to use it. This is because the main consideration is the object's functionality and its cost. This makes the final product usually perplexing to the first time user. More often than not, most of these things come with thick user manual that are less than helpful. This brings to the point that everyday things should be designed in such a way that people can figure out how to use it just by looking at it.

New and revolutionary designs are always needed to meet the changing needs of the people. The Japanese are particularly apt at this aspect. But the purpose of having such contraptions are questionable....

This is where the concept of pschology comes in. The idea of using natural mapping and constraints come into play. Natural mapping employs the visual input of the design to give clues about the operations of the thing. For example, the knob to turn on the stoves are usually arrange in the same pattern as the stove itself. This gives the user a mental map of the operation of the equipment.

A high tech solution to a simple everyday task....

The use of constraints also help people in making the right choice about what to do with the thing. The constraints limit the choice people can make in operating the thing. A good example of this would be the fitting of the key into a keyhole. Usually keys are designed to fit in one way so that you would not fumble at it during an emergency. A key seat or guide would do the trick as this ensure that the key only fits in one way. Another case in point would be the diskette used in computers. The diskette is designed with constraints such that it fits in one way only.

I found this book rather intriguing because it points out issues that are happening around us but then little is done about it. More often than not, we wouldn't be too bothered about a bad design but then we would complain about a highly priced product that lack functionality. This goes to show that people today are more concern about the cost and functionality of the product than how well it can be used. There are many things that we use today around us which we still can't figure out its use. Remote control that have a all sorts of buttons, a fridge that have a mind of its own and a car that looks more like an airplane cockpit. What good is a gadget that comes pack with functions that only the designer can figure out how to use?

The door of the future from Japan!