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The Design of Everyday Things
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Design_of_Everyday_Things
Chapter One: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things
Well-designed things do not need explanatory signage or trial-and-error.
Two important characteristics of design:
- Can the user discover what action are possible and how to do them?
- Can the user grok the meaning of the actions and the purpose of the thing?
Designers must design for humans, who are not perfectly logical creatures.
Discoverability is done with
- Affordances
- Signifiers
- Constraints
- Mappings
- Feedback
Understanding comes in the form of a conceptual model of the thing.
Affordances (and non-affordances) are the ways in which a user can (and can't) interact with a thing. The set of interactions is a function of both the thing and the user, so different users will have different affordance with the same thing.
Signifiers tell user how to interact with a thing. They aren't necessarily intentional. Signifiers are defined by effect, not intent. Perceived affordances can act as signifiers.
Mappings are the relationships between controls and their effects. Natural mappings exploit mappings we use naturally, such as spatial mapping and natural expressions of concepts (e.g. intensity).
Feedback tell the user that the system is working; and it must be immediate and clear.