Book Reading #11: The Design of Everyday Things

Title:
Chapter 4: Knowing What to Do

Reference:
Norman, Donald. The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic, 2002.

Summary:
Norman begins by describing the different constraints that affect things that we do.  He illustrates this with an example of assembling a LEGO police motorcycle.  The four types of constraints are physical, semantic, cultural, and logical.  Physical constraints limit the physical possibilities, like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  Semantic constraints rely upon knowledge of the situation, and the world, like where the rider should go on the LEGO motorcycle.  Cultural constraints are based on what is deemed culturally acceptable, like having the police sign facing right side up, so it can be read.  Logical constraints are things that make sense, like when there is one piece left, and only one place to put it, then it must go there.

Discussion:
I thought that this example of putting something together without instructions was interesting.  I don't think that it is the best since there are LEGO sets of over a hundred pieces, and there is no easy way to assemble them without instructions.  However, I think that Norman is just trying to make a point with this example that some things are designed simple enough to make without instructions.