conferences

UX London Tweets – Don Norman

Leisa Reichelt

Here is a dump of my live tweets during The Don’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland – coming soon!

  • Don Norman on the stage. Last speaker of the day at UX London
  • the Don opens with ‘Thank you, it is now time for questions’
  • whenever anyone says they want something, I oppose it. I question it. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Rules of complexity: Life is complex, The tools we build have to match life, the problem is understanding not simplicity #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Complexity is not bad. Complicated is bad. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • If you want to make something simple you compensate by making other things complex #uxlondon #TheDon
  • When @lukewdesign says ‘no one’ customises Yahoo.com he means ‘only 60million people’ #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Complex can be enjoyable. Some simple things can be horrible. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Don Normal talking about the doors. What a treat. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • ‘I highly recommend walking around with sticky green dots to remind yourself which way things should turn’ #uxlondon #TheDon
  • As a generalisation, Asian cultures prefer more complex interfaces #uxlondon #TheDon (123india.com vs google.com)
  • he even sounds a bit like a messiah, don’t you think?
    </starstruck>#uxlondon #TheDon
  • Magpies are the only bird that can pass the mirror test, can lie, they’re extremely intelligent #uxlondon #TheDon #WhoKnew
  • reading music is incredibly complex but it produces amazing things, we don’t complain about that complexity. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • People whose offices look messy often know where their stuff is & are better able to find things than ‘neat’ people. #uxlondon #TheDon Amen
  • Too simple is boring. To complex is frustrating. There’s an ideal amount. Experience moves the preferred complexity up. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Being distracted is sometimes a good thing, it can be how we learn things. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • some ‘simple’ tools take time to use well. eg. a silversmith’s hammer #uxlondon #TheDon
  • there’s a sweet spot for complexity & engaging things are found in that sweetspot, but it keeps shifting! #uxlondon #TheDon
  • As I get better at something, I need increased complexity to maintain interest, otherwise I get bored. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Complexity is good. It’s good to feel the world disappear as you engage in what you’re doing. It’s enjoyable & productive #uxlondon #TheDon
  • I think Don is proving his point re: complexity & understanding (unconvinced by his suggestion to redesign musical scales) #uxlondon #TheDon
  • @fred_beecher yes, he mentioned games re: complexity & shifting sweetspot #uxlondon #TheDon
  • we are sending seriously mixed messages – we say we want simplicity but we buy things because they’ve got more features #uxlondon #TheDon
  • we can’t resist features. Even when incredibly simple mobile phones are produced, we don’t buy them. We want features. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • quoting The Paradox of Choice, Schwartz – we have more choices than ever but less satisfaction. More is Less #uxlondon #TheDon
  • You can contain complexity by putting things in modular clumps so you only see options when you need them #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Google’s advanced search interfaces helps me do something complex in a supported way and starts to teach me Boolean search #uxlondon #TheDon
  • the solution: conceptual model #uxlondon #TheDon
  • eg file system interface is a fake. It doesn’t really exist but it helps me understand where to find things on my computer #uxlondon #TheDon
  • But the Graphical User Interface does not scale. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Another solution: Systems Thinking #uxlondon #TheDon
  • The reason the ipod is such a success is that it is a complete system. License music iTunes iPod #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Lots of the visiting US speakers are talking up the Kindle. And saying it’s increasing their reading volume. Jealous. #uxlondon #TheDon
  • Complexity can be fun – for example this very complicated coffee maker. I don’t know if it makes good coffee or not #uxlondon #TheDon
  • and that’s the end of Don Norman’s ‘In Favour of Complexity’ – what a treat! #uxlondon #TheDon
  • from the Q&A – if I can’t get my pictures out of my camera, it’s hopeless. The whole system has to work #uxlondon #TheDon
  • in the old days we suffered through technology, but now we are selling to everyday people. Things have to work. It really matters.