The Design Of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things

Don Norman, author of ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ starts chapter six of his book with a bold statement ‘One of my rules in consulting is: Never solve the problem I am asked to solve.’

It feels counter intuitive to read at first, but imagine being a doctor and a patient reports of a discomfort (symptom) they experience, Now would you treat the symptom or address the cause?

If you did treat the ‘cause’ that’s exactly the whole point of this chapter.

Most often than not, customers report symptoms of the problems they have, You don’t just start addressing the symptom, But first find the right problem to solve, and then finding a right solution.

Don Norman proposes a model to this approach that he calls ‘The Double Diamond Model of Design’

You start with a problem (symptom) and increase the problem surface to look for real problem and narrow down on one root cause. Then repeat the same for finding solution, increase the surface area of possible solutions and then narrow down to the one that address’ it.

By Design Council - https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/the-double-diamond/