Donald A. Norman Quotes

Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.

If you think the products don't match what you want from a product, don't buy it.

We delude ourselves if we believe that skilled behavior is easy, that it can come about without effort. We forget the years of tuning, of learning and practice it takes to be skilled at even the most fundamental of human activities: eating, walking, talking, reading, and writing. It is tempting to want instant gratification - immediate expert performance and experiential pleasure - but the truth is that this primarily occurs only after considerable amounts of accretion and tuning.

So what does a good teacher do? Create tension - but just the right amount.

The designer has an obligation to provide an appropriate conceptual model for the way that the device works. It doesn't have to completely accurate but it has to be sufficiently accurate that it will help in both the learning of the operation and also dealing with novel situations.

Only the most sophisticated of beings can lie and cheat, and get away with it.

Our information lives will be better served when we are free to get to our information from wherever we are, with any device available.

Market segmentation s a natural result of the vast differences among people

It was always amusing to be inside Apple and read what journalists said we were doing

Good design is also an act of communication between the designer and the user, except that all the communication has to come about by the appearance of the device itself. The device must explain itself.

Having the best product means nothing if the people won't buy it.

You won't catch me giving clear lectures.

Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability - they should go hand in hand.

We expert teachers know that motivation and emotional impact are what matter.

Attractive things work better.

A challenge to the designers of the world: Make signs unnecessary.

The hardest part of design ... is keeping features out.

Technology usually provides a series of tradeoffs. Each asset is offset by a deficit...A major problem occurs when those who suffer from technology's defecits and those who benefit are not the same people.

Scientists are always skeptics.

I believe that the Apple Shuffle is an excellent compromise among the conflicting requirements of simplicity, elegance, size, battery life, and function

No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service - from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly. That's systems thinking.

In the university, professors make up artificial problems. In the real world, the problems do not come in nice, neat packages. They have to be discovered.

When you have trouble with things—whether it's figuring out whether to push or pull a door or the arbitrary vagaries of the modern computer and electronics industries—it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself: blame the designer.

Learning should take place when it is needed, when the learner is interested, not according to some arbitrary, fixed schedule

In design it is important to shoe the effect of an action. ... Feedback is critical.