Last week when I wrote about the keynote speakers, I gave a broad overview. Since then I have done some research, and found some interesting tidbits of information about Dr. Don Norman. In the video below they describe what he is about, and exactly what is meant by "Emotional Design" (no Matt, you wont need any tissues!). I found his thought process very intriguing. His approach is that it's OK to have to read a manual or receive instruction on how to use a product the first time. If you have to do it a second time, then the part was designed wrong. We all encounter one problem he raises quite frequently, and that has to do with how lots of designers spend to much time in a lab, and not in the real world. If you have 5 minutes, take a look at this video, and decide for yourself:
Dr. Norman's Biography Web Site
Did you know Dr. Norman served on a group investigating the 3-Mile Island accident? He mentions that the design of the control room was perfect to create the disaster it did. Knobs and switches placed in no particular importance, unmarked switches, and no ligical grouping of similar switches. And what engineer you know also has a psycology degree? His approach to design seems to be a logical one, and he spends his time trying to pass that along to others. He also talks about a stove. You have four burners in a rectangular pattern, but the knobs are in a straight line. Wouldnt it be logical to pattern the knobs in the same way as the burners? So he takes a very simplistic look at design, and tries to make things better.
The History Channel had a great documentary on the three mile island disaster. Apparently, the switch that the technicians pressed to stop the trouble lit up so they thought they were successfull. However, the switch was designed to light up to let the technician know that the signal was sent and not that it was actually received and executed. Doh!
Also, it is interesting that when Jimmy Carter called to find out what was going on, the power company didn't realize that he had been a nuclear engineer on a US Navy sub so they tried the whole technical obfuscation thing and got smacked down. Pretty funny (except for the gravity of the situation).
Posted by: Jeff Cope | October 17, 2007 at 11:16 AM