Norman 3 Course Blog Entry

Norman gives so many living examples that have made me stop and think about design when looking at everyday items and places. The example given about the cafeteria in a museum was interesting. I thought about the layouts of restaurants in high traffic areas like in a shopping mall or in an airport. They seem to always have uncomfortable seats and tend to be very small. I never thought about the fact that they may have been designed that way for a reason. The owners would not want people with long layovers at an airport to hang out comfortably in their restaurant after they eat when they are not spending more money. One the other side of this issue I know of a McDonald’s restaurant that has only two registers on the inside and usually only uses one even on busy days. Adding one more register and two more employees at the registers would allow for many more customers to be serviced in a shorter time. When I would walk in and see this situation I would walk right back out. Making the changes would greatly affect the number of potential customers and increase revenue.

Another area that Norman discussed a lot was again the topic of usability versus aesthetics. A saying that comes to mind is one that I have heard from my friends many times when we discuss the use of a new product. We would see many products that have very limited uses. We would say “but it looks cool.” This stresses the fact that the architects often put looks over use. The case study of the Federal Aviation Administration where they allowed architects to design one set of offices and then took input from users to design another helps to prove the point. The architects won awards for their design but the other offices experienced an increase in productivity from their employees. This also shows a breakdown in priorities between what is considered good design of an office environment between the user and the designer.

The discussion of the everyday used products of the bathroom I also found interesting. The different costs and benefits of different faucet designs shows that even for a simple product, design is important. It was interesting to me that the faucets with sensors discussed by Norman show the dating of the book since they are now very commonly found, especially in public restrooms. Norman talks about the fact that the visibility of its function is no longer there for a faucet if a sensor is used. In today’s world, we seem to have overcome this problem. What came to my mind is the use of the sensor toilets and urinals at least in many public men’s restrooms. This is the case where the users do not need to know how to use them since there is nothing they need to do. This actually works out, especially in bars or at sporting events in particular where alcohol is served. Many users of these restroom facilities often did not flush the traditional toilets or urinals anyway. The sensors would help to keep the restrooms much cleaner.