Donald A. Norman Quotes

Quotes about:

• Technology may change rapidly, but people change slowly. The principals [of design] come from understanding of people. They remain true forever.

  Donald A. Norman

  Technology, People, Design

  29 Copy quote

• Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.

  Donald A. Norman

  Communication, Mean, Deep Understanding

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• It is not enough that we build products that function, that are understandable and usable, we also need to build products that bring joy and excitement, pleasure and fun, and, yes, beauty to people's lives.

  Donald A. Norman

  Motivational, Fun, People

  29 Copy quote

• The hardest part of design ... is keeping features out.

  Donald A. Norman

  Design, Software, Hardest

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• Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability - they should go hand in hand.

  Donald A. Norman

  Hands, Design, Brain

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• The best kind of design isn't necessarily an object, a space, or a structure: it's a process- dynamic and adaptable.

  Donald A. Norman

  Space, Design, Kind

  Donald A. Norman (2007). “Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things”, p.198, Basic Books

  6 Copy quote

• User-centered design means working with your users all throughout the project.

  Donald A. Norman

  Mean, Design, Projects

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• Knowing how people will use something is essential

  Donald A. Norman

  Aquariums, Knowing, People

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• A challenge to the designers of the world: Make signs unnecessary.

  Donald A. Norman

  Design, Challenges, World

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• Attractive things work better.

  Donald A. Norman

  Attractive Things, Design, Attractive

  Donald A. Norman (2013). “The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition”, p.48, Basic Books

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• The world is complex, and so too must be the activities that we perform. But that doesn't mean that we must live in continual frustration. No. The whole point of human-centered design is to tame complexity, to turn what would appear to be a complicated tool into one that fits the task, that is understandable, usable, enjoyable.

  Donald A. Norman

  Mean, Frustration, Design

  17 Copy quote

• Good design is also an act of communication between the designer and the user, except that all the communication has to come about by the appearance of the device itself. The device must explain itself.

  Donald A. Norman

  Communication, Design, Appearance

  "The Design of Everyday Things". Book by Donald Norman, Introduction, 2002.

  4 Copy quote

• What makes something simple or complex? It's not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the person using the device has a good conceptual model of how it operates.

  Donald A. Norman

  Simple, Numbers, Devices

  Donald A. Norman (2010). “Living with Complexity”, p.40, MIT Press

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• When a device as simple as a door has to come with an instruction manual—even a one-word manual—then it is a failure, poorly designed.

  Donald A. Norman

  Simple, Doors, Instruction

  "The Design of Everyday Things". Book by Donald Norman, Ch. 4, p. 87; regarding doors labeled "Push" and "Pull", 2002.

  21 Copy quote

• No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service - from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly. That's systems thinking.

  Donald A. Norman

  Reflection, Thinking, Islands

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• Having the best product means nothing if the people won't buy it.

  Donald A. Norman

  Business, Mean, People

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• Simplification is as much in the mind as it is in the device.

  Donald A. Norman

  Mind, Devices, Simplification

  Donald A. Norman (2010). “Living with Complexity”, p.13, MIT Press

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• User experience is really the whole totality. Opening the package good example. It's the total experience that matters. And that starts from when you first hear about a product experience is more based upon memory than reality. If your memory of the product is wonderful, you will excuse all sorts of incidental things.

  Donald A. Norman

  Memories, Reality, Example

  11 Copy quote

• A good designer will actually design the company.

  Donald A. Norman

  Design, Designer, Good Design

  4 Copy quote

• The design of everyday things is in great danger of becoming the design of superfluous, overloaded, unnecessary things.

  Donald A. Norman

  Everyday Things, Design, Unnecessary Things

  Donald A. Norman (2013). “The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition”, p.183, Basic Books

  4 Copy quote

• If people keep buying poorly designed products, manufacturers and designers will think they are doing the right thing and continue as usual.

  Donald A. Norman

  Thinking, People, Buying

  "The Design of Everyday Things". Book by Donald Norman, Ch. 1, p. 8, 2002.

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• In my opinion, no single design is apt to be optimal for everyone.

  Donald A. Norman

  Death, Design, Opinion

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• How do you discover a need that nobody yet knows about? This is where the product breakthroughs come through.

  Donald A. Norman

  Needs, Breakthrough, Knows

  Donald A. Norman (2005). “Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things”, p.70, Basic Books

  8 Copy quote

• People Propose, Science Studies, Technology Conforms.

  Donald A. Norman

  Technology, People, Study

  "Things That Make Us Smart". Book by Don Norman, www.theguardian.com. 1993.

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• Complexity is acceptable as long as it is intelligible and necessary. We want to avoid needless complications.

  Donald A. Norman

  Long, Simplicity, Want

  9 Copy quote

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