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 More Quotes by Donald A. Norman More Quotes From Donald A. Norman As the technology matures, it becomes less and less relevant. The technology is taken for granted. Now, new customers enter the marketplace, customers who are not captivated by technology, but who instead want reliability, convenience, no fuss or bother, and low cost. Donald A. Norman cost technology taken If you think the products don't match what you want from a product, don't buy it. Donald A. Norman products want thinking Scientists are always skeptics. Donald A. Norman skeptic scientist It is the duty of machines and those who design them to understand people. It is not our duty to understand the arbitrary, meaningless dictates of machines. Donald A. Norman arbitrary design people Only the most sophisticated of beings can lie and cheat, and get away with it. Donald A. Norman cheat sophisticated lying We are victims of our own success. We have let technology lead the way, pushing ever faster to newer, faster, and more powerful systems, with nary a moment to rest, contemplate, and to reflect upon why, how, and for whom all this energy has been expended. Donald A. Norman technology powerful way A good designer will actually design the company. Donald A. Norman good-design designer design If you think of the product as a service, then the separate parts make no sense - the point of a product is to offer great experiences to its owner, which means that it offers a service. And that experience, that service, comprises the totality of its parts: The whole is indeed made up of all of the parts. The real value of a product consists of far more than the product's components. Donald A. Norman real mean thinking Learning should take place when it is needed, when the learner is interested, not according to some arbitrary, fixed schedule Donald A. Norman arbitrary schedules should It was always amusing to be inside Apple and read what journalists said we were doing Donald A. Norman amusing apples said Hypertext makes a virtue out of lack of organization, allowing ideas and thoughts to be juxtaposed at will. [...] The advent of hypertext is apt to make writing much more difficult, not easier. Good writing, that is. Donald A. Norman organization writing ideas In the consumer economy taste is not the criterion in the marketing of expensive soft drinks, usability is not the primary criterion in the marketing of home and office appliances. We are surrounded with objects of desire, not objects of use. Donald A. Norman marketing office home Attractive things work better. Donald A. Norman attractive-things attractive design Readers always seem to think that the author has some control over the design of their books. Donald A. Norman writing book thinking Am I an Apple bigot? No. I can critique their products and their customer service philosophy. But overall, they do better than any other player. Donald A. Norman apples player philosophy Having the best product means nothing if the people won't buy it. Donald A. Norman business mean people The problem with emotion was that it was clearly something important, but-at least according to the old philosophy-it was something to overcome. Donald A. Norman important overcoming philosophy Forget the complaints against complexity; instead, complain about confusion. Donald A. Norman confusion complaining forget In the university, professors make up artificial problems. In the real world, the problems do not come in nice, neat packages. They have to be discovered. Donald A. Norman university-professors nice real Simplification is as much in the mind as it is in the device. Donald A. Norman simplification devices mind
