This Newscan Daily (10/14/03) short report links to a longer BBC News report about the work of product designer Don Norman. I believe Norman's ideas about product design apply directly to the design of software, courseware, and learning objects. "Beauty, pleasure and simplicity of use are what people care about now when it comes to technology, according to the design guru."
JH
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THE JOY OF GOOD DESIGN
Design guru Don Norman says the way a device looks, feels and gives
pleasure is just as important as how it works, and that good design can make up for some -- though not all -- shortcomings. "How attractive something is will mean people will overlook some of the bad functionality, but not completely." His new book, "Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things," -- due out in 2004 -- focuses on the way design works at different levels of brain perception. "The visceral level is the low biological level and that's where beauty comes in and appearances matter.
On the surface something looks attractive and feels good. That is very
important and that makes the brain function differently," says Norman. The behavioral level, which controls muscles, perception and language,
perceives an object's usability and how it feels. But Norman says the most important aspect of design is its ability to invoke the deeper level of reflection, the level that dictates how we feel about things. "That is where having a good brand name matters. Having a good brand name has to be earned because they stand for trust." Good emotional design must incorporate all three levels, and Norman cites Apple and Sony as two companies that have managed to do that well. (BBC News 14 Oct 2003) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3175506.stm
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