three levels of design

1. I think that Norman's key points were the three levels of design and how they could be used. The three different levels of design are visceral, behavioral and reflective. Visceral design is what nature does meaning, this design is about the look and the feel of the product. Behavioral design is about use. The product does not have to look pretty but as long as it works good the product will last. The last design is reflective design covers a lot. This design is about what message the product gives when you are using it, about culture, and about the meaning the product gives.

2. Chapter one and chapter three are very similar but have some differences. Most of the main points of both chapters are related in some way or another. The difference was that chapter three focused more on the way that the consumers feel toward a product while chapter one talked about why the products were bad and the different ways to make them better.

3. An example of visceral design that i have experienced is the Nestle Pure Life water that i drink. The bottle has a sleek and modern design that makes me want to have it compared to the normal shape of water bottles. I am sure that the cheaper water taste the same and probably has the same water quality as the more expensive water but the water bottle sold me on the Nestle. An example of Behavioral design is my iPod nano. It is very plain gray and for having so many functions it is easy to use and not complex at all. An example of reflective design is my pair of Prada shoes. They are not very comfortable and i dont think that if i wore them everyday they would last for longer than a couple of months but i wear them to nice occasions and when i put them on they make me feel nice.

part 2

1. "Perhaps it is introduced into the marketplace and fails, well that is it. Perhaps it could be introduced a second time, or even a third time, but after that it is dead: everyone believes it to be a failure." I found this passage interesting because when i look at a new product i say oh man i should have thought of that. I never realized how hard it really was to make a product good the first time or at all and if you mess up on one little thing that could mess up your whole idea and blow your only chance you had to make your product big.

2. Norman's book is still influential today for many reasons. One reason is that it is still influential today is because we still face the same problems that he did in 1988 and i think that as long as technology keeps improving we will always face these problems. There will always be problems with the way something is designed and the designers will never please anyone no matter how hard they try to.

3. There are many different things that should be put on the checklist for evaluating the design of a product. My check list would include easy of use and how the directions are written, the product would have to be very durable because often with new inventions they break easily, and i would worry about the price that i put my product out for because if it is too expensive or you are selling it for too cheap you will not make any profits and your product will go under.

The Design of Everyday Things

1. I think that Norman's key point was how the different ways that design can effect the products that we use. There are many ways to design a product that can make the product easy to use and hard to use. Sometimes with products they try too hard to make the perfect design which can make the products way too complex for the normal person to easily use. Another key point is that either the companies are not getting any feedback from the people using the products or they do not listen to the feedback they are getting. I think if the companies did some trials and looked at the feedback from the people during those most of the complex issues would be solved and the companies could make the products easier to use.

2. A product that i had trouble using or figuring out to use was my moms new blackberry phone that she got. The design was not too bad but i know that when i was trying to use the phone that had so many features that i would never learn how to use. The usability was hard because there were too many functions on the phone to use easily.

3. The designers of the iPod addressed the principles that Norman discussed very well. I think that the iPod did a great job with natural mapping. Anyone can pick up an iPod and use one. The iPod is simple enough for people of any age and with all different levels of experience in technology.

The Perfect Thing

1. This article illustrates the trials stage in the design process. The article tells all of the trials they had to make it just right. They had trouble in the early stages of the iPod. Fadell had a hard time trying to shrink the hard drive and have a long enough battery life so you can enjoy the 1000+ songs without worrying about the iPod.

2. There are many factors that i would use to evaluate a "perfect thing". The first factor would be the price of the product because you can have a great product but if it cost 3,000 dollars then you most likely will not sell many of them. Another factor would be how durable the product is. If the product is not durable then i know that most people will be unlikely to buy the products. The style of the product would have to be eye catching to make people really want to use it. The product would have to be very usable so many people could use the product.

3. In my Opinion i feel that the iPod has many strengths and very little weaknesses. I like the way there are many different kinds of iPod's to chose from. If you have 30,000 songs on your computer they have an iPod for you. There is a great battery life on the iPod and it is very easy to set up and use. The middle scroll buttons are very convenient and easy to use. The only weakness i can really think of for the iPod is how if you try and do too many things with it at once it has a tendency to freeze up and when you restart your iPod you lose your playlists.

Introduction

Hello i am Andy Herman. I graduated from Powers Catholic High School. My parents names are Tim and JoAnne. I have two older brothers and a younger sister. Tim is my oldest brother who is 25 and he lives in Chicago where he goes to law school. Mike is 22 and he goes to Kalamazoo also where he plays football and he is a chemistry major. My little sisters name is Madeline and she is 6 years old. At Powers i played football, basketball, and ran track. I was all-state in football and track. I have a girlfriend who goes to Western and she is also a freshmen. We have been dating for over a year and a half. I am on the football team where i play strong outside linebacker. I am excited for school to start but i am worried about managing the work load of school work and football.