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Computer invisibile
From "Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms" (motto of the 1933 Chicago USA World's Fair)to "People Propose, Science Studies, Technology Conforms" (Donald Norman's person-centered motto for the twenty-first century).
Technologies have a life cycle, says Donald Norman, and companies and their products must change as they pass from youth to maturity. Alas, the computer industry thinks it is still in its rebellious teenage years, exulting in technical complexity. Customers want change. They are ready for products that offer convenience, ease of use, and pleasure. The technology should be invisible, hidden from sight. In this book, Norman shows why the computer is so difficult to use and why this complexity is fundamental to its nature. The only answer, says Norman, is to start over again, to develop information appliances that fit people's needs and lives. To do this companies must change the way they develop products. They need to start with an understanding of user needs first, technology lastthe opposite of how things are done now.
Contents
Preface
1 Drop Everything You're Doing
2 Growing Up: Moving from Technology-Centered to Human-Centered Products
3 The Move to Information Appliances
4 What's Wrong with the PC?
5 There Is No Magical Cure
6 The Power of Infrastructure
7 Being Analog
8 Why Is Everything So Difficult to Use?
9 Human-Centered Development
10 Want Human-Centered Development? Reorganize the Company
11 Disruptive Technologies
12 A World of Information Appliances
Appendix: Examples of Information Appliances
Notes
References
Index
Technologies have a life cycle, says Donald Norman, and companies and their products must change as they pass from youth to maturity. Alas, the computer industry thinks it is still in its rebellious teenage years, exulting in technical complexity. Customers want change. They are ready for products that offer convenience, ease of use, and pleasure. The technology should be invisible, hidden from sight. In this book, Norman shows why the computer is so difficult to use and why this complexity is fundamental to its nature. The only answer, says Norman, is to start over again, to develop information appliances that fit people's needs and lives. To do this companies must change the way they develop products. They need to start with an understanding of user needs first, technology lastthe opposite of how things are done now.
Contents
Preface
1 Drop Everything You're Doing
2 Growing Up: Moving from Technology-Centered to Human-Centered Products
3 The Move to Information Appliances
4 What's Wrong with the PC?
5 There Is No Magical Cure
6 The Power of Infrastructure
7 Being Analog
8 Why Is Everything So Difficult to Use?
9 Human-Centered Development
10 Want Human-Centered Development? Reorganize the Company
11 Disruptive Technologies
12 A World of Information Appliances
Appendix: Examples of Information Appliances
Notes
References
Index
Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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632 people want to read
About the author
Donald A. Norman
40 books1,549 followersDonald Arthur Norman is an American researcher, professor, and author. Norman is the director of The Design Lab at University of California, San Diego. He is best known for his books on design, especially The Design of Everyday Things. He is widely regarded for his expertise in the fields of design, usability engineering, and cognitive science, and has shaped the development of the field of cognitive systems engineering. He is a co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, along with Jakob Nielsen. He is also an IDEO fellow and a member of the Board of Trustees of IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. He also holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego. Norman is an active Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), where he spends two months a year teaching.
Much of Norman's work involves the advocacy of user-centered design. His books all have the underlying purpose of furthering the field of design, from doors to computers. Norman has taken a controversial stance in saying that the design research community has had little impact in the innovation of products, and that while academics can help in refining existing products, it is technologists that accomplish the breakthroughs. To this end, Norman named his website with the initialism JND (just-noticeable difference) to signify his endeavors to make a difference.
Much of Norman's work involves the advocacy of user-centered design. His books all have the underlying purpose of furthering the field of design, from doors to computers. Norman has taken a controversial stance in saying that the design research community has had little impact in the innovation of products, and that while academics can help in refining existing products, it is technologists that accomplish the breakthroughs. To this end, Norman named his website with the initialism JND (just-noticeable difference) to signify his endeavors to make a difference.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 4, 2012
This book, written by the same author as "The Design of Everyday Things", is a really interesting look at computers, software and human-centered design in the late 1990's.
The book is sub-titled "Why good products can fail, the personal computer is so complex, and information applicances are the solution.". This is a nice summary of the entire book.
Norman begins by looking at previous inventions, including the phonograph, and the initial versions failed despite the fact that this versions were technologically superior to later successful incarnations. This happened because they failed to take into account the basic requirements of the user.
He then looks at the current state of PC's and considers this in terms of a technology maturity, where a critical mass of users has now built up, such that to increase the user base, the next wave of users will need to be those who are not technologically proficient. These users have different demands for the technology, most specifically that they expect to buy applications to carry out tasks rather than the technology itself.
Norman argues that because the PC has been designed to attempt to do everything for all users, it is fundamentally too complex to suit this next wave of users. He proposes a new type of device which will address the needs of these users - the "Information Appliance". Examples of these already exist in applications such as car computers and calculators.
He points out that for wide-spread adoption/success of such devices, a cruicial last step will be for a standard for communications and information exchange between the devices will be required.
He concludes the book by documenting the changes needed in organisations to carry out the Human Centered Design process that will be needed for such devices to emerge, and then provides details of what some of these devices may be like.
It will be interesting to see how Norman's predictions pan out in the long term.
The book is sub-titled "Why good products can fail, the personal computer is so complex, and information applicances are the solution.". This is a nice summary of the entire book.
Norman begins by looking at previous inventions, including the phonograph, and the initial versions failed despite the fact that this versions were technologically superior to later successful incarnations. This happened because they failed to take into account the basic requirements of the user.
He then looks at the current state of PC's and considers this in terms of a technology maturity, where a critical mass of users has now built up, such that to increase the user base, the next wave of users will need to be those who are not technologically proficient. These users have different demands for the technology, most specifically that they expect to buy applications to carry out tasks rather than the technology itself.
Norman argues that because the PC has been designed to attempt to do everything for all users, it is fundamentally too complex to suit this next wave of users. He proposes a new type of device which will address the needs of these users - the "Information Appliance". Examples of these already exist in applications such as car computers and calculators.
He points out that for wide-spread adoption/success of such devices, a cruicial last step will be for a standard for communications and information exchange between the devices will be required.
He concludes the book by documenting the changes needed in organisations to carry out the Human Centered Design process that will be needed for such devices to emerge, and then provides details of what some of these devices may be like.
It will be interesting to see how Norman's predictions pan out in the long term.
January 28, 2013
----quote---
And guess what the most effective protest method is? Incisting on following procedures.
If you have to add a sign that says push or pull, then this indicates that the door is not as simple as is possible; its design is faulty.
And guess what the most effective protest method is? Incisting on following procedures.
If you have to add a sign that says push or pull, then this indicates that the door is not as simple as is possible; its design is faulty.
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September 17, 2010I wonder what Norman would've thought of the iPhone...
Invisible Computer is interesting more for Donald Norman's clear-headed analysis than his far-reaching predictions and conclusions about the future. The book doesn't tie its numerous threads together well, but there are smart insights sprinkled throughout.
Invisible Computer is interesting more for Donald Norman's clear-headed analysis than his far-reaching predictions and conclusions about the future. The book doesn't tie its numerous threads together well, but there are smart insights sprinkled throughout.
November 1, 2024
If I had read this book when it was published, in 1998, and not in 2024, I would have given it four stars, not three. Some parts have aged badly and have even become obsolete, some observations have become commonplaces, others are revisited, and hashed over in some of his later writings. Norman honestly and openly admits what he got wrong in his previous work. Some of his observations and intuitions are still pertinent and well worth reading and Norman's evolution is in itself, quite interesting.
I feel that Norman's first major, and now classic, design book, The Design of Everyday Things (2013) -a revised and expanded edition of The Psychology of Everyday Things (1988)-, is in my opinion, still the best place to start reading Norman's ideas and case studies on user-centered design -a term which he later changed to human-centered designed and still later to humanity-centered design. Norman started out in academia, did extensive consulting work and in 1993 left academia to become an Apple Fellow User Experience Architect. The Invisible Computer highlights the differences between working in academia and in industry and recognizes the importance of marketing in industry design, indicating that successful product development stands on three pillars: technology, marketing and user-centered design.
As is usual with Norman, he provides many fascinating case studies and stories. For example in this book, he claims that Thomas Alva Edison was a great inventor and innovator, credits him with the creation of a successful applied research laboratory but points out, by following the history of the phonograph, an artefact Edison invented, that he was not a successful businessman because he consistently made incorrect or bad marketing decisions. As Giordano Bruno's aphorism has it: se non è vero, è ben trovato... Edison was not as unsuccessful as a businessman as Norman makes him out to be, despite his bad track record in sound recording and some other ventures. By the time Edison died, his estate was worth, by 2020 standards, $170 million, which would put him far below many current tech billionaires, but still within Forbes 400 list. This contrasts with, say his arch-rival Nikola Tesla who died nearly broke in spite of having 700 patents to his name to Edison's 1,093 patents. (See https://www.grunge.com/184850/how-muc...)
Norman drives home that having a technically superior product does not necessarily translate into a business advantage, even having a technically superior beautifully designed product does not not necessarily translate into a business advantage if it is not user-centered and if it ignores harsh marketing realities. His analysis of Apple Macintosh's failure to hold on to the leadership of the PC market is a key testimonial to this.
The book focuses on how difficult the personal computer is to use and proposes that this is due to the PC still being locked into the first stage of a disruptive technology, where the market and and the manufacturers are fixated on technological progress, by and large ignoring the needs and problems the vast majority of those potential users who are not technophiles or early adopters. Norman argues that the future of the industry lies in breaking away from focusing on competing for more market share of an increasingly commoditized hardware and software platform and developing what he calls information appliances, easy to use, simple devices with limited or specialized functionality, in which the computer fades into the background. Norman rather vaguely describes what an information appliance is, and provides a list of 1998 devices he considers information appliances such as cell phones, wearable computing devices, “intelligent” whiteboards, a home financial center appliance, real-time language translators/interpreters, crop supervision and control appliances, and personal medical appliances, Some of his proposals, such as a plethora of printers scattered around the house to print out, say shopping lists in the kitchen, glossy photographs in the living room, thumbnail-sized photo prints of people to paste into research notebooks, into sound very dated, indeed.
This book will probably be of more interest to readers who were working with PCs in the nineties, rather than to members of younger generations, which is a shame because many key intuitions and observations are still valid today. Norman has recently published Design for a Better World (2023) -which I have yet to read- which probably provides more up-to-date cases as well as corrections to some of his less successful ideas and forecasts in The Invisible Computer.
I feel that Norman's first major, and now classic, design book, The Design of Everyday Things (2013) -a revised and expanded edition of The Psychology of Everyday Things (1988)-, is in my opinion, still the best place to start reading Norman's ideas and case studies on user-centered design -a term which he later changed to human-centered designed and still later to humanity-centered design. Norman started out in academia, did extensive consulting work and in 1993 left academia to become an Apple Fellow User Experience Architect. The Invisible Computer highlights the differences between working in academia and in industry and recognizes the importance of marketing in industry design, indicating that successful product development stands on three pillars: technology, marketing and user-centered design.
As is usual with Norman, he provides many fascinating case studies and stories. For example in this book, he claims that Thomas Alva Edison was a great inventor and innovator, credits him with the creation of a successful applied research laboratory but points out, by following the history of the phonograph, an artefact Edison invented, that he was not a successful businessman because he consistently made incorrect or bad marketing decisions. As Giordano Bruno's aphorism has it: se non è vero, è ben trovato... Edison was not as unsuccessful as a businessman as Norman makes him out to be, despite his bad track record in sound recording and some other ventures. By the time Edison died, his estate was worth, by 2020 standards, $170 million, which would put him far below many current tech billionaires, but still within Forbes 400 list. This contrasts with, say his arch-rival Nikola Tesla who died nearly broke in spite of having 700 patents to his name to Edison's 1,093 patents. (See https://www.grunge.com/184850/how-muc...)
Norman drives home that having a technically superior product does not necessarily translate into a business advantage, even having a technically superior beautifully designed product does not not necessarily translate into a business advantage if it is not user-centered and if it ignores harsh marketing realities. His analysis of Apple Macintosh's failure to hold on to the leadership of the PC market is a key testimonial to this.
The book focuses on how difficult the personal computer is to use and proposes that this is due to the PC still being locked into the first stage of a disruptive technology, where the market and and the manufacturers are fixated on technological progress, by and large ignoring the needs and problems the vast majority of those potential users who are not technophiles or early adopters. Norman argues that the future of the industry lies in breaking away from focusing on competing for more market share of an increasingly commoditized hardware and software platform and developing what he calls information appliances, easy to use, simple devices with limited or specialized functionality, in which the computer fades into the background. Norman rather vaguely describes what an information appliance is, and provides a list of 1998 devices he considers information appliances such as cell phones, wearable computing devices, “intelligent” whiteboards, a home financial center appliance, real-time language translators/interpreters, crop supervision and control appliances, and personal medical appliances, Some of his proposals, such as a plethora of printers scattered around the house to print out, say shopping lists in the kitchen, glossy photographs in the living room, thumbnail-sized photo prints of people to paste into research notebooks, into sound very dated, indeed.
This book will probably be of more interest to readers who were working with PCs in the nineties, rather than to members of younger generations, which is a shame because many key intuitions and observations are still valid today. Norman has recently published Design for a Better World (2023) -which I have yet to read- which probably provides more up-to-date cases as well as corrections to some of his less successful ideas and forecasts in The Invisible Computer.
January 14, 2018
If you've read other works by Donald Norman, some parts of this book will already be familiar to you; the new stuff starts in chapter 9. Either way, this was an interesting read, especially his predictions of the future made ~20 years ago.
December 31, 2021
A great book for any designer of ANYTHING, but due to its age and the speed with which technology advances, this book is filled with outdated references and examples. If the examples were updated to modern tech, this book would be even better!
September 28, 2022
One of first books about importance of UX (called UE here). Some forecast became true, many of scifi devices mentiond are now apps inside smartphones.
November 29, 2024
Finished reading the few remaining chapters after a hiatus of twenty years. The underlying ideas of human-centred design, usability and user experience, and useful applications have matured and are now a given in many instances. The switch from the Swiss army knife PC to a set of tools in the form of information appliances didn't happen though. While consumer electronics continued to be developed into more capable devices, the PC diversified, the smartphone ate many appliances, we got the app ecology, ubiquitous computing and communication, AI, in a way not anticipated by Norman. As such the book is a rather dated, quaint nineties manifesto and vision of near future developments which in the end took other turns.
July 8, 2007
Even though this book is somewhat dated, i thought some of the "predictions" made were almost spot-on, while others were kind of weird and far-fetched, but i think that's all part of the creative process. excellent book on why/how computers are complicated, and how they need not be so. it also discusses ways that computer complications can be alleviated (through creating more "information appliances"). unfortunately, at a publish date of 1998, this book is a little out dated, but i think a lot of the ideas are worth considering, and it is definitely a great back-up read for reference sake.
August 23, 2011
This is a great addition to The Design of Everyday Things as this one (obviously) talks about computers much more.
Interestingly, the iPhone, iPad, Androids, Kindle, Nook, and other specific technologies seem to be proving him right (at least in a general way).
Interestingly, the iPhone, iPad, Androids, Kindle, Nook, and other specific technologies seem to be proving him right (at least in a general way).
June 29, 2008
I always enjoy Norman's books. Have to say it's been awhile since I've read one or seen a new one. Just found TIC when unpacking.
July 14, 2008
Beau geste!!!
July 5, 2011
out of date, not much useful info. ( other than ' affordments ' )
February 5, 2009
A must read!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews