Donald Norman

1. Norman is making several important points in this chapter. I believe one important point is that certain products are just designed poorly. Sometimes there are too many functions but not enough controls.  That said, numerous products are overwhelming and a little over the top. In some cases simplicity is important. Another key point Norman observed is the lack of communication between the designer and the user. A designer cannot create a well designed product if it is not usable by the person who is mostly likely to use it. Another point addressed is that a product is successful if it incorporates natural design and does not need much explaining.
2. I recently encountered a product in Welles Dining Hall that I had difficulty using.  I wanted to add milk to my coffee, so I attempted to use the milk dispenser like any other beverage dispenser. I pushed the handle down but felt resistance. I stopped and tried to figure out why I was having trouble. After some contemplation I tried pulling the nozzle up rather than pushing down. Fortunately this worked! First, the product lacked visibility because there was no signal as how to release the milk. The product failed to incorporate natural design because it was not usable in the way you would assume. Rather than pushing down to release the milk, I had to pull up.
3. Ipod designers addressed Norman's principles by creating a simple product that was than tested by others for feedback. In addition, the number of functions is about equal to the number of controls. The user is not overwhelmed. The ipod is well designed because it is easy to understand and it is usable. The product also incorporates visibility by simply including a little picture for the forward, backward, pause, play, and menu button.