I immediately connected to this text because of its foundations in cognition and neuroscience, two things I also am interested in learning more about. I had already previously learned that our decision-making is hampered when the emotional centers of our brain (limbic system) are shut off. It is indeed impossible to make decisions without emotion. This fact was one I found significant because of my indecisive nature. In Don Norma’s book, he relates our emotions to design, which is something I’ve never considered at all. I find it extremely fascinating how ‘attractive things work better’ not because of a technical correlation between aesthetics and placement, but because of the correlation of aesthetics and emotion. This made me wonder about mental illnesses, design, the creative field, and their effects on each other.
When Don Norman mentioned visceral, behavioral, and reflective levels of processing, it reminded me of the id, ego, and superego concept in psychology. Again, concepts I’ve failed to wholly include in designs. I realized that I often get stuck overthinking matters of thought, completely forgetting about all other matters such as behavior and perception. Even within the reflective aspect, I end up focusing on the use of a product and fail to consider the aftereffects of a certain design, which Don Norman also mentions.
I find it amusing that this book enlightened me with an answer to a concern I had a few weeks ago when I was wondering about this NYU building at Mercer St. that had stairs leading all the way down, while in other buildings, like our dorm, the stairs disconnect at the ground level. After learning that this is to prevent accidents, I realized that design does often involve trial and error and is definitely not something to be overlooked.
I am fascinated by the perspective Don Norman has of design, making this a book I’m sure to read in the future.
Leave a Reply