Title: The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition
Author: Don(ald A.) Norman
Publication date (EN): November 5, 2013 (Basic Books)
Pages (EN): 368 (trade paperback)
Value for PMs & founders
A practical playbook for human-centered products: make functionality discoverable, provide clear feedback, rely on natural mapping/constraints, and distinguish affordances vs signifiers to cut user errors, churn, and support costs.
Summary
Norman reframes usability as communication between product and user. He covers core interaction principles, the seven stages of action and gulfs of execution/evaluation, plus designing for error and discoverability. The 2013 revised & expanded edition updates examples and clarifies key concepts (e.g., affordances vs signifiers).
3 community-reported takeaways
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Make the right action obvious & visible, with immediate feedback—good design guides users at the right time. Nielsen Norman Group
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Affordances vs signifiers—signifiers (perceived cues) drive user behavior; design them deliberately. arjun-chandrasekhar-teaching.com
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It’s usually the design, not the user—design for error prevention and recovery. Barnes & Noble
Buy online
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Basic Books (publisher page). Hachette Book Group
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Amazon (US) — revised & expanded ed. Amazon
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Bookshop.org — paperback. Bookshop
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Barnes & Noble (US) — paperback. Barnes & Noble
Author of Impact Factories / Co-founder of Shy Robotics and Product Whys / Head of Product at Dassault Systèmes / Engineer passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship
Full bibliography here
