Conventions 337

Silly me, read the wrong chapter and didn't realize it until too late. Story of my life.
But I had a good time reading a learning about some phycology of everyday things that we use and handle.

Something that I really thought was interesting was the idea that we all have misconceptions. Weather they come from cultural or past experiences, or just the fact that we don't really understand what it going on. These aren't necessarily a bad thing, they are probably just the way we see and make sense of the world around us. This is probably be a good idea to be aware of as a designer. Don Norman points out that if an error is possible, someone is going to make it. If we as designers are aware of misconceptions, we can design things that may prevent errors.

 

Doors. Art 337

Could you describe your front door handle to me? No cheating! What does it look like, what is it made of? Better question, how did you get through it? 

This semester I am taking Art 337, Interaction Design, and the book we are reading is The Design of Everyday Things. It's a little dated, but the book has brought to my attention the realities of everyday things and how they are used, or not used, due to the design of the object. 

Let's consider your door again. How did you know how to open the door to your home? You probably weren't given any instructions or watch anyone else do it before you did. But there were some clues that indicated to you what to door was supposed to do. First, you recognized that to door was the way between the outside and the inside of your home, so you knew that you had to go through it. Next, the type of handle indicated to you that you might need a key and that you should probably turn it to get through. Now, consider the other doors that you may have walked through today. Chances are that none of them were exactly like your door, but you were able to successfully pass through that door. How?

On the first day of class we were divided into groups and asked to walk around campus and observe how students walk through doors around campus. People are funny, to say the least. My group noticed a handful of patterns. For example, people used certain hands depending on where the handle was located and if anything was in their hands. And they would almost always place their hands in the same location. 

The most interesting thing we saw was which door people would use. If there was a line of doors, like to the library, people would almost always use the door they saw being used. Even if if was the farthest one away, and even if it had just barley closed. One of my classmates said "No one likes being rejected, and especially not by a door." 

 Don Norman, the author of DOET stated that the most important thing that we as designers need to lear is how to observe. This is critical. How can we design a successful product if we don't know how people are using it. Something may make sense to the designer, but they understood what they were doing. Someone who is unfamiliar with a product may not understand things the same way a designer might. That's why it's so important to watch and pay attention to how people do things.