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"The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman.

Technically this book is about how humans interact with things, but actually it covers a lot more topics that one can think: how humans act, err, how they make descisions, how memory works, what are the responsibilities of conscious/subconscious. Also you'll start to dislike doors, kitchen stoves and their disigners)



My wife told me that this book turned me into a design snob and she constantly pokes fun at me for it. One time, there was a pull handle for a door that needs to be pushed, and i went on a rant about how that is terrible design, and why wouldn't they design it this way, etc. (very similar to the arguments he uses in the book. ) so lately every time she sees something that she knows i think should be designed differently, she does the stupid spongebob mocking meme and goes "tHis sHoUlD bE DeSiGned SoOoO muCh BEttEr!"


I went on this rant on a day last weekend.

Nerdy by endearing is how she put it once I was done.

At least we have the high ground when they stumble over a stair with an offset height.


This book changed how I look at the world. I highly recommend it.


Did it? I'd heard so much about it and I was very disappointed - seemed to be a lot about door knob design (Yes I know it's an example but seemed a bit obvious, maybe it's been absorbed into the design literature so much that it's everywhere now and so the book is no longer surprising)




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