Solving human behavior is the toughest design challenge | by Rita Kind-Envy

Don Norman explains gaps in human-centered design, throws shade at Apple, and believes we will save the world.

Who’s Norman?

Enjoy my quick notes on the recent talk with Don Norman, as well as my own thoughts and ruminations.

But wait. Who’s that guy again?

1. He’s the guy who wrote Design of Everyday Things, Emotional Design, and Design for a Better World (his latest book, very important).
2. He’s also the very same guy who came up with the term “user-centered design and “human-centered design.” What’s the difference between the two? According to D. Norman, it’s the same thing. It’s just that “human-centered design” sounds a bit more, you know, human.
3. He’s many more things than that. I wish you’d heard him talk. He sounds like a Person (capitalized) with a Mission (capitalized).

On Nielsen-Norman controversy

People have been upset recently with the statement J. Nielsen made about accessibility (apparently) failing, prompting designers to “think dollar signs,” etc.

This led to a pitchforks-and-torches movement of trying to cancel the grandpas of UX. I think it’s a bit silly, and this is why:

• Popularity often results in extravagance.
• People become overly self-assured, discarding conventional behavior layer by layer, similar to peeling an onion.
• This behavior may result in making provocative remarks.

At no point is this a reason to discard all the goodness this person has brought to UX. There’s absolutely no need to “ignore Nielsen and Norman,” as to this day, they write pieces that are more comprehensible and useful than 90% of design “content” out there.

So, that’s that. Let’s roll! As always, big thanks to ADPList for organizing free events with UX legends. This talk was one of them. The video is already on YT.

BTW, if you’re interested in what the second “N” from NN/group — Jacob Nielsen — thinks about the future of UX, my quick notes with him can be found here.