Professor Elam

Tuesday Sept 21, 2010

Don Norman wrote The Design of Everyday Things as well as the even more important, Emotional Design, Why We Love Hate the Design of Everyday Things. 

Norman makes the point that the original great design was the rotary dial telephone. Everyone knew how to use it, trouble and information brochure free. And ATT wanted it that way, after all they had a monopoly. The last thing would be for someone to suggest another company ought to get a chance. Think how long it took before ATT brought out the push button phone. But when they did  everyone had few problems with it. 

Now everyone and his dog is in the phone business. And no one knows how to use their office phone. Did Nortel put a simple pull out directory of how to program my phone under the device, of course not, and so goodness knows what auto reply message I have on it. 

Which brings me to the topic of Electronic Homework Bulletin Boards. They break all of Normans' rules, no commonality, all are different. One would think that various obvious fail safe rules would be employed, but, uh huh!  And so I managed to assign nine problems in class with no points for them!  One might think this would be intentionally impossible, but oh no!  I did it with no assistance from anyone, all on my own. And of course the site now tells me I am blocked from changing it. Maybe the plot of Dr. Strangelove, launching a nuclear attack in spite of all safeguards, was not as difficult as one might think…..

 Simplest is bestest, think rotary dial telephone….

Bear with me, construction in progress ……

What everyday design bugs you, what thrills you, sound off!