If people keep buying poorly designed products, manufacturers and designers will think they are doing the right thing and continue as usual.
Donald A. NormanRead
Complexity is acceptable as long as it is intelligible and necessary. We want to avoid needless complications.
Interpretation
Complexity is okay if it's understandable and necessary, but we should avoid unnecessary complications.
This quote emphasizes the importance of balance in design and problem-solving, suggesting that while complexity is sometimes needed for functionality, it should not obscure understanding or add unnecessary hurdles. The goal is to keep things clear and purposeful, rather than overcomplicating matters without cause.
In practice
In a presentation on design principles, one might quote this to highlight the need for clarity in complex systems.
If people keep buying poorly designed products, manufacturers and designers will think they are doing the right thing and continue as usual.
Also note that invariably when we design something that can be used by those with disabilities, we often make it better for everyone
When you have trouble with things—whether it's figuring out whether to push or pull a door or the arbitrary vagaries of the modern computer and electronics industries—it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself: blame the designer.
User-centered design means working with your users all throughout the project.
Products were once designed for the functions they performed. But when all companies can make products that perform their functions equally well, the distinctive advantage goes to those who provide pleasure and enjoyment while maintaining the power. If functions are equated with cognition, pleasure is equated with emotion; today we want products that appeal to both cognition and emotion.
The hardest part of design ... is keeping features out.
As water shapes its flow in accordance with the ground, so an army manages its victory in accordance with the situation of the enemy.
Within seconds thoughts become words that slip off our tongue and into the world. Pausing before we speak may seem cumbersome, but it allows us to decide: Is this helpful? Does this need to be said now? What is the best way to say this?
Reality can be beaten with enough imagination.
Linux is a complex example of the wisdom of crowds. It's a good example in the sense that it shows you can set people to work in a decentralized way - that is, without anyone really directing their efforts in a particular direction - and still trust that they're going to come up with good answers.
It is often easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives.
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