Design of Everyday Things _ Chapter #1 Reflection

Voice thread Outline

Oil burner, which uses tea light candles

Accordances,
• Refers to the perceived and actual properties of the thing, primarily those fundamental properties that determine just how the thing could possibly be used.
• Afford = is for

Constraints,
• Make something easy to use with few errors. Is to make it impossible to do otherwise.
• Constrain the choices.
Mappings,
• The relationship between two things, between the controls and their movement
• Is the set of possible operations.
• Good mapping has a natural relationship between the controls and the thing being controlled.
Feedback,
• In design, it is important to show the effect of an action.
• Without feed back we turn o\ff equipment at improper times or restart unnecessarily.
• What result has been accomplished.
Visibility,
• The correct parts must be visible, and they must convey the correct message.
• What parts operate and how.
• Visibility indicates the mapping between intended actions and actual operations.

Conceptual model –
• In order to know how to use things, we need a conceptual model of how they work.
• Other clues to how things work come from their visible structure, in particular from affordances, constraints, and mapping.
The fundamental principles of designing for people are:
1) Provide a good conceptual model.
2) Make things visible.