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Having the best product means nothing if the people won't buy it.

Donald A. Norman

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Donald A. Norman
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More quotes by Donald A. Norman

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No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service - from initial intentions through final reflections, from first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly. That's systems thinking.
Donald A. Norman
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The current paradigm is so thoroughly established that the only way to change is to start over again.
Donald A. Norman
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Rule of thumb: if you think something is clever and sophisticated beware-it is probably self-indulgence.
Donald A. Norman
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Technology may change rapidly, but people change slowly. The principals [of design] come from understanding of people. They remain true forever.
Donald A. Norman
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It was always amusing to be inside Apple and read what journalists said we were doing
Donald A. Norman
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Only the most sophisticated of beings can lie and cheat, and get away with it.
Donald A. Norman
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We are victims of our own success. We have let technology lead the way, pushing ever faster to newer, faster, and more powerful systems, with nary a moment to rest, contemplate, and to reflect upon why, how, and for whom all this energy has been expended.
Donald A. Norman
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As the technology matures, it becomes less and less relevant. The technology is taken for granted. Now, new customers enter the marketplace, customers who are not captivated by technology, but who instead want reliability, convenience, no fuss or bother, and low cost.
Donald A. Norman
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It is not enough that we build products that function, that are understandable and usable, we also need to build products that bring joy and excitement, pleasure and fun, and, yes, beauty to people's lives.
Donald A. Norman
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The world is complex, and so too must be the activities that we perform. But that doesn't mean that we must live in continual frustration. No. The whole point of human-centered design is to tame complexity, to turn what would appear to be a complicated tool into one that fits the task, that is understandable, usable, enjoyable.
Donald A. Norman
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If people keep buying poorly designed products, manufacturers and designers will think they are doing the right thing and continue as usual.
Donald A. Norman
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To me, error analysis is the sweet spot for improvement.
Donald A. Norman
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Innocence lost is not easily regained. The designer simply cannot predict the problems people will have, the misinterpretations that will arise, and the errors that will get made.
Donald A. Norman
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Hypertext makes a virtue out of lack of organization, allowing ideas and thoughts to be juxtaposed at will. [...] The advent of hypertext is apt to make writing much more difficult, not easier. Good writing, that is.
Donald A. Norman
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It is the duty of machines and those who design them to understand people. It is not our duty to understand the arbitrary, meaningless dictates of machines.
Donald A. Norman
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What makes something simple or complex? It's not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the person using the device has a good conceptual model of how it operates.
Donald A. Norman
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If you're more susceptible to interruption, you do more out of the box thinking.
Donald A. Norman
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In my opinion, no single design is apt to be optimal for everyone.
Donald A. Norman
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Design is really an act of communication, which means having a deep understanding of the person with whom the designer is communicating.
Donald A. Norman
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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.
Donald A. Norman