The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman - Core Takeaways

1. "Empathize with Users"

• Action: Understand the user's mental model—how they expect things to work based on past experience.
• Why: Design should align with users’ intuitive expectations, minimizing errors and frustrations.
• Quick Tip: Observe real users interacting with your design to uncover unexpected pain points.

2. "Prioritize Discoverability and Feedback"

• Action: Ensure that users can easily understand available actions (discoverability) and see the effects of their actions (feedback).
• Why: Users feel more confident when they understand both what they can do and what happens as a result.
• Quick Tip: Make critical actions visible and provide immediate feedback—like a button lighting up when pressed.

3. "Leverage Affordances and Signifiers"

• Action: Use affordances (what an object allows) and signifiers (cues for how to interact) in your designs.
• Why: Clear affordances and signifiers guide users intuitively toward the intended actions.
• Quick Tip: For example, a door with a flat plate signals “push,” while a handle signals “pull.”

4. "Embrace Constraints to Guide Action"

• Action: Apply physical, logical, cultural, and semantic constraints to reduce errors and guide user behavior.
• Why: Constraints help prevent mistakes by limiting available actions, steering users in the right direction.
• Quick Tip: Use physical barriers or logical cues to make misuse impossible or highly unlikely.

5. "Design for Error"

• Action: Anticipate common errors and build in ways for users to recover from mistakes.
• Why: Users will inevitably make mistakes, and designing for error improves usability and user satisfaction.
• Quick Tip: Incorporate “undo” options or confirmation steps to reduce the impact of accidental actions.

6. "Human-Centered Design is Key"

• Action: Start with the user's needs, test frequently, and iterate based on real user feedback.
• Why: Human-centered design creates products that are not only functional but also enjoyable and easy to use.
• Quick Tip: Follow an iterative process—observe, ideate, prototype, and test—to refine the design continually.

These principles help create intuitive, user-friendly products by addressing real user behaviors and expectations. By integrating these into your design process, you reduce friction, anticipate user needs, and foster a more satisfying interaction experience.