Donald Norman, an internationally renowned psychologist, was once rated as one of the most influential designers in the world by Businessweek.

About this book

The book "Design Psychology" was first published in 1988, and it is a classic introduction to design. This book will tell you the doorway of design from a psychological point of view.

Core content

1. Complexity is a part of the world. A good design should domesticate complexity, not simplify everything; Second, how to manage complexity; Third, how to design complex service processes.

First, a good design should domesticate complexity, not simplify everything.

A lot of complexity is necessary. If the function is cut and the experience is sacrificed for simplicity, then this design concept is wrong.

situation

When the mouse was first invented, how many keys should the mouse have was still a controversial issue. One key is not enough, so the two keys are mixed up. Apple believes that one-click mouse is not only beautiful, but also can reduce the trouble for users. However, in actual use, it is very inconvenient to find that one key is not enough. Now the mouse has two keys, including Apple's mouse. Therefore, we can't be simple for the sake of simplicity. If the simplicity of operation is sacrificed for the sake of simplicity of appearance, it is a bit of putting the cart before the horse.

Complexity is a part of the world, and it is not necessary and impossible for us to simplify all complicated things. What really annoys people is not complexity, but chaotic products. After getting a product, people don't know how to operate it. This is what people really hate. Consumers always say they like simple things, but the fact is that many things around us are becoming more and more complicated. If consumers really like simple products so much, then these complicated things will not appear at all. Consumers take money to vote in the market and choose complex and multifunctional products.

Psychologists' research can also prove that people prefer moderate complexity to simplicity. Things that are too simple may be boring, and things that are too complicated may be confusing. The complexity of the ideal should be variable. The more proficient you are in a field, the more you like complex things.

Secondly, several tools for designers to manage complexity.

1. Conceptual model

It is a highly simplified explanation, not accurate, and its purpose is to let people know how something works.

situation

The subway route map is a straight line or a circle, and the distance of each station is the same. Obviously, this is not the case, but this map is enough. People don't need a true scale subway map, which will only bring confusion to people.

2. Conceptual reorganization

Redefine this question. Many things are complicated because the direction of solving problems is wrong, so it is getting harder and harder.

situation

The earliest video recorder, before recording the program, must set the time, duration and channel, and then record according to the pre-designed time, which is very difficult to operate. In fact, people don't care when this video was actually recorded. The solution to this problem is not to make the function of "setting time" simpler and easier to operate, but to remove this function directly.

3. Modularization

Break down some complex structures into small and manageable modules.

situation

Before the popularization of smart TV, the entertainment system in the living room was a complex system, and all kinds of external devices had separate remote controls. Now smart TV has solved this problem very well, which contains almost all entertainment functions, but there is only one remote control, which is very convenient for users.

4. Automation

Many complicated operations can be done automatically by machines.

situation

The thermostat controller can automatically adjust with the change of outside temperature to keep the temperature at home. Take the plane as an example. Most operations are done automatically. There are also self-driving cars that have been particularly popular in recent years.

5. Default options

Reduce the time for people to make decisions.

situation

In order to increase the proportion of employees' pension savings, some companies have adopted the default option. If employees don't apply specially, they will automatically save a part of their salary for providing for the aged every month. With this default option, most employees are too lazy to apply again, so they all slip away with this pension money.

Step 6 get started tutorial

This is very common, but this tutorial must not be a thick and big manual, but should provide immediate help.

situation

When the user enters the operation interface for the first time, a teaching video or text description will pop up, which can let the user quickly understand the operation method of this product. After entering the new function, a new tutorial will pop up. If the introduction of all functions is printed in the manual, it will lose immediacy and users will have no patience to read it.

Third, the user's response to complex methods.

1. Do some psychological construction and accept complexity instead of conflict. All advanced skills take time to master. Think about the positive impact of mastering these skills on our life and work, and we will have the motivation to learn.

2. Grasp the complexity by the method of divide and conquer. In other words, we should divide the big tasks into small tasks and solve them one by one.

3. Learn by observing others and imitating others.

4. Use lists to handle complexity. For example, in order to avoid flight mistakes, the pilot will have a detailed list of processes and follow the list step by step.

Fourthly, how to design a complex service process?

1. Wish Line

Wise designers should pay attention to the information conveyed by the "wish line", which can often reflect people's real needs.

situation

In parks or university campuses, people often see the paths that people come out spontaneously on the lawn. These paths are "wish lines", which convey the real needs of most people. If there is a planned sidewalk, people still walk out of another road, which means that the planning may be unreasonable and the sidewalk position is wrong.

The "wish line" has great reference value for designers, but not all preferences should be satisfied.

situation

People want to cross the road directly anywhere, but this behavior is very dangerous. For this kind of preference, people can't let their temperament go. In order to ensure safety, it is necessary to design some railings and warning signs, such as setting a wide green belt in the middle of many roads, which can beautify the environment and prevent people from crossing the road.

We can expand the concept of "wishing line" a little. The essence of "wish line" is the trace left by people using something in the physical world, but in the online world, our activities will also leave traces. For example, your purchase records and browsing records on the website will be recorded by the merchants. These data are your "wishing line" on the Internet.

Consider a problem systematically

If you want to improve service quality and user experience, it is often useless to improve one or two parts. We should redesign the whole experience as a whole, so as to solve the problem fundamentally.

situation

The train service consists of a series of actions. Therefore, in order to improve the user experience, it is necessary to start with the whole system and put forward a set of design schemes. To complete a train service, it usually takes ten steps, quite a few, including inquiring about the route, determining the timetable, determining the price, entering the station, buying tickets and so on. After the complex service of "taking the train" is decomposed into ten steps, each step is redesigned and optimized, so as to improve the passenger's ride experience.

situation

In our life, there will always be some scenes that need to be queued. How to optimize and improve queuing experience? Firstly, provide users with a conceptual model, tell users the queuing process, eliminate uncertainty and relieve users' anxiety. And then make the wait seem reasonable. Such as flight delays caused by bad weather. Next, meet or exceed expectations. In some places, queuing will give an estimated queuing time, which is definitely higher than the actual queuing time. When people are waiting in line, they should not be idle, but should be busy all the time. People's perception of time is very subjective. If something happens, 10 minutes will pass quickly. At the same time, we must be fair. We can't tolerate such behavior as jumping the queue. Finally, this is a positive beginning and a positive end. Psychologists have found that people remember the whole story most clearly. So if the outcome of the long wait is happy, the experience of the whole activity will be better.

line

1. Complexity is a part of the world and a basic fact. Good design can tame complexity, not make it simple.

2. A lot of complexity is necessary. If the function is cut and the experience is sacrificed for simplicity, then this design concept is wrong.

3. The total complexity of the system is constant. If you want users to operate simply, the complexity hidden behind the scenes will increase. Many products have irreducible complexity. The key is who will deal with this complexity, the user or the designer.

4. If you want to improve service quality and user experience, it is often impossible to improve one or two parts. We should redesign the whole experience as a whole, so as to solve the problem fundamentally.