Design of Everyday Things by Norman

          In my opinion Norman’ article is a somewhat unnecessarily long paper that an be succinctly summarized. The basic idea of this article is based on things that do not function like they should due to poor design and/or poor instructions. A poor design can completely ruin a consumer product by rendering it hindersome or even useless. A somewhat comical example he uses that is extremely relatable to the average person are doors that are either push or pull doors but are designed to look like the opposite of their intended function. We have all at some point or another attempted to push open a “pull” door and had ourselves look a bit foolish in the process. I think most people like to blame themselves rather than considering the design of these doors to be a bit confusing. Norman questions why consumers tolerate these types of products. He also argues that technical communicators can solve these problems be being increasingly more detailed in instruction manuals and product designs. This is just one of many designs discusses by Norman in this extensive essay.

 One good design he discusses that someone may not think about is the universal design of scissors. Scissors are designed to have one large hole and one small hole on the handle to indicate to the user where to place each finger. Thanks to its design we instinctively hold scissors comfortably and in the proper way. I think the overall point of this article was to showcase how technical communicators have an opportunity and responsibility to design product in a way that can be understood by the average person. In order to do this technical communicators could test the usability and practicality of products before releasing them to the public.