DET Chapter 6

Norman pointed out that the good design evolves and “the design is tested, problem areas are discovered and modified, and then it is continually retested and remodified until time, energy, and resources run out.” (142)  He explains that designers work to improve the products created so the experience the user has with the product is better or at least different.  Later on, he says once the product is satisfactory, to change it would be unnecessary. After reading this chapter, I realized if I go into product creating, I would always look for ways to improve a product or how something is done but I also have to learn the limit. I would have to figure out when it stops being worth changing. To create innovations that are unnecessary for the public, even if they are more efficient (like the Dvorak keyboard Norman discussed), would be unwise. The innovation created must be worth the effort to adjust to change and in some cases, it will not be worth the effort.

When creating a product, Norman points out people tend to prioritize one aspect of the products they make while downgrading the rest. Some people place aesthetics over usability and cost/ease of manufacture. Others place usability first (something I would probably do) and some place the best cost/ease of manufacture as their priority.  It is important to keep in mind, when we are creating the products for the athletes at CRI, all factors must be treated as equally important.

Finally, another important topic he brings up is projecting our own ideas and our place in the design making and product using process. He says, “We tend to project our own rationalizations and beliefs onto the actions and beliefs of others.” (155) This concept is extremely important to remember because as a group of able-bodied designers who are creating products for athletes whose bodies do not work completely like ours do, we have to really ask and consider what they need. We do not know best but hopefully we can learn to the best of our capabilities. There is a difference in being an expert on the device and an expert on the task. Obviously, when we create the device we become an expert on how it works but it is important to see if the task of the device is carried out the way the user wants it, not how we imagined it to be.