Slides for Norman Chap 1
- 1. Comm / INFO 2450 Communication and Technology Professor Drew Margolin
- 2. 2450 in the News
- 3. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things Overview • Design can be better • Conceptual Models Breakout • Visibility • Affordances • Signifiers Breakout • Mapping • Feedback
- 4. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things • everyday objects filled with design issues • we interact with them deeply, unconsciously, constantly • typically people blame themselves; but designers can do more •It’s easier to change design than human nature! Design can be better Student: so if the #affordance of an object isn't clear, is it always a design error, or could the user be at fault? #qs Usually the designer has both more power and a greater incentive to fix the problem
- 5. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things Improving Design Conceptual Models Design Model User Model System Image
- 6. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things What is a conceptual (or mental) model? • A simple, coherent explanation for how something works Why are they important? • We (humans) use models to hypothesize how devices (or anything) is likely to behave in new situations • It’s much easier for us to learn models, then learn from our models, than to learn directly Any model that is implied by the design will be used to “guess” how it works
- 7. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things Examples/types of models • Analogies to well known objects • It’s a “couch” • “folders” on your computer • “horseless” carriage • Human personalities • My computer is “finicky” • These devices “play well together” • Abstract ideas • Gravity is a “force” • “smart” phone
- 8. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things Designers must recognize: 1. The “modeling” is happening whether they like it or not 2. Contradictions in the model make people very frustrated and confused 3. The design communicates the model, not the designer student: #qs why would designers make new #conceptualmodels when similar models already exist for a particular product? System image includes: • Visible affordances • Cultural expectations • Experiences • Word of mouth/folk theories • Manual/instructions
- 9. Design Models and User Models The image suggests this is the right model
- 10. Design Models and User Models Or is it this? How can these models contradict each other?
- 11. Breakout •Discuss within a group of 2-3 people sitting by you… • •- think of a recent/novel technology that is modeled on •an existing one. • - Does the design tell you that it is modeled in this way? • - How does it do so? Or, if it doesn’t, why is it confusing? •If you have access to Twitter, tweet to the class account •I’ll call on volunteers to discuss 3-5 Minutes
- 12. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things Visibility Basic Principles Improving Design Conceptual Models we are visual creatures – often fastest perception “visual first, think later” Visibility” often means salience –noticeability
- 13. Visibility
- 14. Visibility If nothing is salient, nothing is “visible,” even if it is brightly colored
- 15. Visibility Where should I speak? Where is the ON switch?
- 16. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things What they are •what “can be done” with an object, properties of the object that the user can take advantage of – In relation to the user – lack of knowledge, skills, strength can eliminate an affordance High-Level Principles Affordances Why they serve as clues to design •People assume that affordances, particularly when salient and specific, are fundamental to use – This follows from coherent mental models: I ought to do what is easily done Where they come from •Physical properties •perception informed by culture and habit are important
- 17. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things
- 18. Affordances
- 19. Affordances Student: #qs are #affordances any interaction possible btw user and object (dropping my glass of milk) or just what its designed for? Tricky questions Short answer – anything. Practically: • Salient properties • Unique or unusual properties, even if hidden But the designer’s intention is irrelevant. The designer must control use through the affordances that can be perceived.
- 20. Chapter 1 – The Psychopathology of Everyday Things Signifiers For this class, signifiers are: • Indicators (marks, sounds, symbols, behaviors) that – Highlight or point out affordances – Provide instructions for appropriate use (I will not ask you to make tricky distinctions between affordances and signifiers) High-Level Principles
- 21. Signifiers Why Norman added this concept • To distinguish between • what an object/technology can do (affordance) • Signals/symbols designers provide to point out these affordances (signifiers) Why it’s problematic for us • Explicit signifiers are often (though not always) crutches for bad design • Good design relies on visible affordances • When visible affordances indicate appropriate use, no signifiers are needed • When visible affordances indicate inappropriate use, signifiers are needed to correct the problem • When there are no visible affordances indicating appropriate use, signifiers are needed
- 22. Signifiers Why Norman added this concept • To distinguish between • what an object/technology can do (affordance) • Signals/symbols designers provide to point out these affordances (signifiers) Why it’s problematic for us • Explicit signifiers are often (though not always) crutches for bad design • Good design relies on visible affordances • When visible affordances indicate appropriate use, no signifiers are needed • When visible affordances indicate inappropriate use, signifiers are needed to correct the problem • When there are no visible affordances indicating appropriate use, signifiers are needed
- 23. Signifiers
- 24. For Thursday 1. Be sure you’re on Blackboard and Twitter 2. Read Chapter 2 – Norman 3. By Wednesday 12PM, tweet about Chapter 2 OR Chapter 1 (to get a chance to be on the board) (you will have another chance to tweet after class on Thursday)
- 25. END