Women in STEM Bookclub: The Design of Everyday Things

This book club is for women in STEM to explore workplace related themes that are centered on women, STEM issues and leadership. Through these book explorations, we share experiences, exchange new ideas, and empower each other through friendly conversation and community.

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Title - The Design of Everyday Things
By: Don Norman

Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door.

The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization.
The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.

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Whether you love or hate the book, read one chapter, or happened across this description and found yourself interested, come join us for coffee and conversation!
Feel free to reach out for any questions or book suggestions as well.

Sincerely,
Jenny & Daniela