Design

Living with Complexity

Living with Complexity

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  • Create Date：2022-11-23 05:51:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Donald A. Norman
  • ISBN：0262528940
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Summary

Why we don't really want simplicity， and how we can learn to live with complexity。

If only today's technology were simpler！ It's the universal lament， but it's wrong。 In this provocative and informative book， Don Norman writes that the complexity of our technology must mirror the complexity and richness of our lives。 It's not complexity that's the problem， it's bad design。 Bad design complicates things unnecessarily and confuses us。 Good design can tame complexity。

Norman gives us a crash course in the virtues of complexity。 Designers have to produce things that tame complexity。 But we too have to do our part: we have to take the time to learn the structure and practice the skills。 This is how we mastered reading and writing， driving a car， and playing sports， and this is how we can master our complex tools。

Complexity is good。 Simplicity is misleading。 The good life is complex， rich， and rewarding—but only if it is understandable， sensible， and meaningful。

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Reviews

Nathan Shelton ，

At times， this book was a fun read; however， the chapters were too long and repetitive to allow for a higher rating。 In short， 280 pages later， designers and users must cooperate with each other to ensure that the technology we use is complex enough to match the richness of the world we live in; however， also appropriately simple。

Daniel ，

De los del Norman hay mejores， pero siempre es lindo leerlo :）

David Shinabarger ，

another banger from Don Norman

Eric ，

Liked the first book（everyday things）， so came to read this second book in the series。 It has touched on various efficiency-topics， gave me some insight on work。

Paulo Ribeiro ，

This book was a pleasure to read as it presents high-level design principles in a very accessible language， illustrated with memorable examples。 I found it very easy to extrapolate these design principles to my Technical Writing field。

Lala Lena ，

Що ж， отак от， придбати книгу на конференції два роки тому і підписати， власне， у автора 🦭 。。。 а прочитати тільки зараз， але краще пізно， аніж ніколи。 Цікава， пізнавальна добірка історій， що будуть корисними не тільки дизайнерам， інженерам， але й урбаністам і просто всім людям， що цікавляться дизайном， як невід'ємною складовою життя。 Адже складність， це не є заплутаність， приборкування цієї складності то нагода отримувати новий досвід ну і хіба цікаво було б нам без складностей 🙃 Що ж， отак от， придбати книгу на конференції два роки тому і підписати， власне， у автора 🦭 。。。 а прочитати тільки зараз， але краще пізно， аніж ніколи。 Цікава， пізнавальна добірка історій， що будуть корисними не тільки дизайнерам， інженерам， але й урбаністам і просто всім людям， що цікавляться дизайном， як невід'ємною складовою життя。 Адже складність， це не є заплутаність， приборкування цієї складності то нагода отримувати новий досвід ну і хіба цікаво було б нам без складностей 🙃 。。。more

Ian ，

This was a let-down， I really expected more from Don Norman。 The majority of the book was unfocused and just him repeating the same points over and over in a slightly different way。

Gualtiero Dragotti ，

piacevolissimo da leggere， è assai meno profondo di quel che sembra a prima vista。 due o tre idee geniali， almeno per me che di mestiere non faccio il designer。 per il resto tante osservazioni che sfiorano l'ovvio。 piacevolissimo da leggere， è assai meno profondo di quel che sembra a prima vista。 due o tre idee geniali， almeno per me che di mestiere non faccio il designer。 per il resto tante osservazioni che sfiorano l'ovvio。 。。。more

Katrusya ，

От насправді очікувала трохи більшого。 Класна тема， приємне видання， відомий автор， актуальна мені тема， але от насправді мабуть саме тому очікувала більшого）Виписала з неї кілька хороших ідей， важливих слів і зауважень， цікавих кейсів， але час від часу траплялися сторінки， які перегортала。 Її можна було зробити динамічнішою， коротшою， живішою。 Але маємо бути вдячні за те， що є）

Soren_Schneider ，

Це друга книга Дона Нормана， яку я прочитав。 І не остання。 Загалом ця книга про те， що не варто сприймати складність як проблему。 Реальна проблема - ускладнювання。 Між цими термінами є велика прірва。 Яка саме і в чому це проявляється？ Відповідь у книзі。 Головною думкою на самому початку і в кінці є твердження， що робота дизайнера （будь-чого） - знайти медіум між простотою та складністю。 Бо обидві крайнощі приведуть нас до продукту， який не буде нікому цікавий。 Разом з тим треба зробити продукт до Це друга книга Дона Нормана， яку я прочитав。 І не остання。 Загалом ця книга про те， що не варто сприймати складність як проблему。 Реальна проблема - ускладнювання。 Між цими термінами є велика прірва。 Яка саме і в чому це проявляється？ Відповідь у книзі。 Головною думкою на самому початку і в кінці є твердження， що робота дизайнера （будь-чого） - знайти медіум між простотою та складністю。 Бо обидві крайнощі приведуть нас до продукту， який не буде нікому цікавий。 Разом з тим треба зробити продукт достатньо зрозумілим， щоб його хотілося придбати。 Тобто， у цій книзі Дональд Норман пояснює читачеві концепцію User Experience。 У той час， як попередня праця "Емоційний дизайн: Чому ми любимо （або ненавидимо） речі довкола нас" пояснює нам концепцію User Interface。 Тому ці книги варто читати одна за одною。 Принаймні я так і зробив。 Вже маючи досвід читання книжок Дона Нормана можу сказати， що іноді його складно читати。 Що є іронічним。 Деінде автор дозволяє собі робити рандомні приклади з великим ланцюгом однієї думки， яку він розкриває у той момент， коли ти забув з чого взагалі він почав розмову。 Останні дві глави було важко читати через дуже вже заморочений текст， який ти читаєш просто щоб закінчити книгу。 Тобто ти розумієш про що мова， але така вже вимучена кінцівка， на відміну від жвавого початку， де він дозволяв собі робити іронічні коментарі у бік поганого дизайну речей。 Забагато повторень。 Можливо це суто особисте враження і комусь це не здаватиметься проблемою。 Але саме через це я зняв один бал。 У висновку можу сказати， що обидві книжки мастгев для тих， хто цікавиться дизайном або хоче стати дизайнером。 Видавництво ArtHuss дуже добре попрацювали з текстами Нормана і зробили гарне видання。 Тому раджу прочитати。 。。。more

Daniel Zavala ，

Good follow up to Design of everyday things。。。 a lot of things about the mixture of complexity and simplicity of the current products and services that we encounter everyday。 Maybe there are a couple of chapters repeated between both books。

Neda ，

این کتاب با عنوان:مدارا با پیچیدگی،توسط آقای مهدی مقیمی و اینجانب ترجمه شده است، و به زودی توسط انتشارات وارش به چاپ خواهد رسید。کتابی مناسب علاقمندان و اهالی طراحی و کسب و کار

Glenn ，

Much preferred ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ over this book。 Would suggest just picking and choosing particular chapters if you’ve read the aforementioned。

Jody Barton ，

One of Norman's least inconsistent books， has some interesting observations， still think he contradicts himself， and makes claims without evidence of any kind， including seemingly personal experience， many of which are claims to universality。 One of Norman's least inconsistent books， has some interesting observations， still think he contradicts himself， and makes claims without evidence of any kind， including seemingly personal experience， many of which are claims to universality。 。。。more

Evelyn ，

I gave 3 stars not because this book is not good enough， but the content somewhat overlaps with "The design of everyday things"。 I gave 3 stars not because this book is not good enough， but the content somewhat overlaps with "The design of everyday things"。 。。。more

Craig Johnson ，

"Complexity" describes a state of the world which is not inherently bad， and is often necessary。 "Complicated" describes a state of mind marked by confusion and frustration （often due to bad design）。 The goal of a designer is to make it so that complex systems are not complicated for the user。Tessler's Law of Irreducible Complexity states that "when we add automation to simplify the demands upon people， we increase the complexity of the underlying technology。"Increased complexity increases chanc "Complexity" describes a state of the world which is not inherently bad， and is often necessary。 "Complicated" describes a state of mind marked by confusion and frustration （often due to bad design）。 The goal of a designer is to make it so that complex systems are not complicated for the user。Tessler's Law of Irreducible Complexity states that "when we add automation to simplify the demands upon people， we increase the complexity of the underlying technology。"Increased complexity increases chances for things to go wrong。 Poorly implemented automation can increase workload and frustration， whereas properly designed automation can improve human performance and reduce workload。 。。。more

Christoph Hellmuth ，

4 stars in the beginning。3 for the end。The big problem with Donald Norman books is that it starts out very enthusiastic and then pretty fast gets dragging。

Michiel ，

Leuke inzichten rondom complexiteit en ingewikkeldheid

Bill ，

Another interesting book from Norman。 Someone first gave me The Design of Everyday Things in grad school and I still hear its echoes almost every day in conversations about design。 This book is not as groundbreaking as that earlier one， but I still found it valuable。 The thesis of the book is quite simple: despite calls for "simplicity" we all actually want complex tools to deal with the complex world， so long as they are designed with care and empathy so that they can be mastered with appropria Another interesting book from Norman。 Someone first gave me The Design of Everyday Things in grad school and I still hear its echoes almost every day in conversations about design。 This book is not as groundbreaking as that earlier one， but I still found it valuable。 The thesis of the book is quite simple: despite calls for "simplicity" we all actually want complex tools to deal with the complex world， so long as they are designed with care and empathy so that they can be mastered with appropriate time and effort。 He gives interesting examples for each principle， and unlike in previous books spends time away from the world of products and screens on "service design" which was new to me and very relatable。 His style is dry but humorous。 I can tell Normal would be a very entertaining lecturer。 If you've grown accustomed to the dumbed-down prose of bullet-list business books for the busy CEO， you might not immediately like Norman's style， but for the same reason I really appreciated it。 。。。more

Maria Teresa ，

A must read for interaction designers！

Molly ，

Having never read a book on design before， this was an interesting-enough foray into the field。 Norman discusses how our world is inherently complex， so the design of objects and technology has to take that into account while still providing coherent conceptual models of how a thing should be used。 I thought certain ideas were more intriguing than others: the chapter on designing waits was probably the most enlightening， with some of the material about social signifiers and the design of systems Having never read a book on design before， this was an interesting-enough foray into the field。 Norman discusses how our world is inherently complex， so the design of objects and technology has to take that into account while still providing coherent conceptual models of how a thing should be used。 I thought certain ideas were more intriguing than others: the chapter on designing waits was probably the most enlightening， with some of the material about social signifiers and the design of systems being just about as interesting。 However， the book didn't have a lot of "oomph"。 I didn't find anything Norman was saying to be truly groundbreaking。 Perhaps that wasn't the point of the book: Norman isn't presenting his own research （very much） or trying to argue a big thesis; he's really trying more to summarize several ideas in the field of design into an overarching set of guidelines for designers of complex products。Ultimately， Living with Complexity was a slightly deeper dive into the considerations behind products I use every day。 I am coming away from this book with a lot of "huh， that's sort of interesting" feelings， and I might find a few of the ideas within applicable in my career， but my life was ultimately not changed by this book 。 。。。more

Mike ，

Living with Complexity is an unfocused， incoherent， and redundant mess。 The thesis statement presented by Bud Peterson in the foreword - what he thinks this book is about - is only applicable to the first few chapters and the last two。 The rest seem like an old crank's ramshackle observations borne from a designer's penchant for exacting fussiness。 Occasionally the examples are spot-on: unsightly wires connecting to a poorly-located outlet in the center of a conference room， and other times they Living with Complexity is an unfocused， incoherent， and redundant mess。 The thesis statement presented by Bud Peterson in the foreword - what he thinks this book is about - is only applicable to the first few chapters and the last two。 The rest seem like an old crank's ramshackle observations borne from a designer's penchant for exacting fussiness。 Occasionally the examples are spot-on: unsightly wires connecting to a poorly-located outlet in the center of a conference room， and other times they are downright wrong。 Norman praises the open layout of a bank for its so-called customer focus， even though it blatantly ignores bank customers' preference for privacy， a discomfort with overheard conversation about ones' personal finances， and lastly， this design is meant for people who are able to stand and is therefore discriminatory toward the wheelchair-bound。 No wonder the other banks condemned this layout。 Norman thinks the banks are wrong， though to avoid a lawsuit for shitty and unfair layout， and there are many moments like this where Norman simply refuses to think things through。Another is his total confusion as to why certain social signifiers in dinner etiquette - where to put what silverware and how to drape one's napkin - are so mystifying。 He chalks it up to some sort of happenstance lack of public awareness， and completely misses the OBVIOUS point that these protocols are purposefully obscured so as to signal whether or not a person has social status or class。 Certain signals given between people are meant to draw those socio-economic boundaries or， if not that， then a very narrow in-group/out-group dynamic。 This is the low-hanging fruit of social psychology， and Norman doesn't even acknowledge it。 It's a glaring omission in his chapter on social signifiers。Norman fails to get the joke when an engineer says， "If only we didn't have all these people around， our machines would work just fine" （114）。 Clearly a wry remark， a brief aside oozing with dry wit， yet Norman sees this as a sincere remark， a harbinger of tone-deaf design that is causing the encroaching apocalypse at the hands of callous misanthropes。 He takes an inside joke in a program as a condescending threat in the same chapter。 And while he's condemning patient care and a hospital's knack for measurable qualities over human qualities， he fails to analyze this problem or really chronicle what his perfectly-designed hospital would look like。 He fails to acknowledge why his rudimentary examples （the Apple iPod， a TurboTax that lets you skip sections at will） are great examples: they are， by nature， not complex。 The overwhelming amount of necessary measurements on top of immeasurable qualities in patient care without a doubt create a severely complex system。 This much Norman acknowledges， but he is not audacious enough to outline a hospital that may be designed in the manner he adulates。 I wonder if it's because he knows it's not enough， or that maybe in his narrow scope of vision of door signs and campus lawns he doesn't have the answer。 Nor that does he acknowledge that people are trying to make health care simpler （see: Phreesia）。And boy does Norman jump the ship on explaining things that merit explanation。 After this quote: "The 'sameness' hypothesis is only sustainable if one ignores the internal meanings that people assign to cultural innovations。" （196） There are no examples after; the section simply ends at this。 The section about how design could or could not address if not shift firmly-rooted cultural practice is about six pages long and ends with little explained。 This is a pattern in Living with Complexity: Norman presents mind-numbingly simple examples about a problem （e。g。， the Disneyland "fast pass" when it comes to waiting in line） and then lines his credo with obvious statements （e。g。 design ought to be human-oriented， simple things can be made complicated， it's important that people perceive fairness in how they are treated）。 But once he has the opportunity to analyze those simple things into complicated things， he abbreviates the discussion or sidesteps it altogether。 A brilliant page about Ockham's Razor is cut short after the whole tenet is tossed aside。 His discussion of cognitive dissonance is， at my most generous， a sloppy introduction （210）。 He goes on to praise the virtue of checklists， but doesn't address why checklists aren't the be-all/end-all of problem-solving。 This is a critique that has existed since Charles Perrow's Normal Accidents decades prior， not to mention how checklists can easily turn into fantasy documents， or how health and safety inspectors are liable to become so primed by checklists that they may succumb to a sort of habit-formed myopia and fail to see nuanced findings in their inspections。 He doesn't address another low-hanging fruit - moral hazard - in these situations at all。 Why does Norman choose to make some topics more complex， but not others？ There's not much of an answer beyond that this was clearly a hastily-written rehash job。Norman's book also suffers from the same platitudes as Tim Brown's Change by Design does: so-called home runs like "In many cases， the best way to simplify a task is to reconceptualize it" sort of sound promising but still beckon for more meaning （231）。 That is， when his book doesn't outright contradict itself。 On 255， he writes that oftentimes salespeople are too biased to sell a well-designed product: "they couldn't get the salespeople to sell the phones。 They weren't cool。" Norman answers this question earlier in the book: not only are people bad judges of what they want， but things are more sellable to people generally if they possess features。 So even if a design crew creates a Norman-approved phone to address peoples' needs， it might pain Norman to know that a phone created by the Creed of Norman doesn't abide something he already knows about the same people: "Features win over simplicity， even when people realize that features mean more complexity" （55）。 So which is it， Norman？ Is it the bias of the sales force that deters consumers from buying a simple product？ Or is it what you said previously in your book？ Or is it that humans are contradictory and will give primed responses that don't necessarily reflect their needs based on the context in which the question or the need is presented？ How did this pass an edit？Outside of these glaring issues in continuity， Living with Complexity is a collection of statements of the obvious about the mundane。 Toilet paper， wires， doors， you name it。 This may very well ruin my ability to read a much better book， The Design of Everyday Things。 What a purposeless chore of a book。 。。。more

Sandro Mancuso ，

This book was a bit frustrating as it mostly state the obvious。 There is nothing new or groundbreaking there。 Still don't know if the book is about design， complexity， or both（？）。 Regardless， it is shallow in both。 This book was a bit frustrating as it mostly state the obvious。 There is nothing new or groundbreaking there。 Still don't know if the book is about design， complexity， or both（？）。 Regardless， it is shallow in both。 。。。more

Masha ，

Listened to the entire audiobook on the plane。 It was really good。 I enjoyed reading the little stories throughout， and his critical parsing of the notions of complexity in design， usability， social organization， productivity， systems， etc， was really insightful and brought to light a lot of things that I hadn't considered， or had thought of only in very stereotyped terms。 I almost teared up at the plane scene at the end， it was quite moving， perhaps because I was on a plane myself。 I'd like to Listened to the entire audiobook on the plane。 It was really good。 I enjoyed reading the little stories throughout， and his critical parsing of the notions of complexity in design， usability， social organization， productivity， systems， etc， was really insightful and brought to light a lot of things that I hadn't considered， or had thought of only in very stereotyped terms。 I almost teared up at the plane scene at the end， it was quite moving， perhaps because I was on a plane myself。 I'd like to re-read it some time。 。。。more

Cami ，

"Simplicity is not the opposite of complexity。 Complexity is a fact of the world， whereas simplicity is in the mind。" "Simplicity is not the opposite of complexity。 Complexity is a fact of the world， whereas simplicity is in the mind。" 。。。more

Joaquin ，

Este libro trata de la complejidad de los productos y servicios， explicando cómo abordar esta complejidad para que los productos y servicios no sean difíciles de usar。 En él se explica que la complejidad es normal por naturaleza y que lo que tenemos que hacer es ser capaces de gestionar esa complejidad convirtiendo ese producto complejo en algo que se ajusta a las necesidades， es fácilmente entendible， usable y agradable。Personalmente me ha parecido que todos los conceptos que explicaba era fáci Este libro trata de la complejidad de los productos y servicios， explicando cómo abordar esta complejidad para que los productos y servicios no sean difíciles de usar。 En él se explica que la complejidad es normal por naturaleza y que lo que tenemos que hacer es ser capaces de gestionar esa complejidad convirtiendo ese producto complejo en algo que se ajusta a las necesidades， es fácilmente entendible， usable y agradable。Personalmente me ha parecido que todos los conceptos que explicaba era fáciles de entender e incluso he tenido varios momentos "ajá" durante la lectura。 Sin embargo， hacia el final me se hizo un poco pesado por la reiteración de algunos conceptos que ya conocía de otros libros como The Design of Everyday Things y The Design of Future Things。"Modern technology can be complex， but complexity by itself is neither good nor bad: it is confusion that is bad。" 。。。more

Kate ，

Feels like an addendum to The Design of Everyday Things。 Expanded my understanding with some new examples and a few case studies。 Worth a quick skim。

Erik Ramsgaard ，

The first two chapters were fantastic in their explanation of the necessity and psychology of complexity， and I think most people would enjoy reading them。 The rest of the book is a bit more dry as it treats how designers can understand and tame complexity。

Binit ，

I picked this book up because I thought this was more a discussion of complexity in our every day lives （professional and personal） and may be even ways to combat it。 It isn't。Its a book about complexity of systems and services that we interact with in everyday life and what we can do as designers and users to ease it。 The central thesis of the book is two-fold。 The first one is that users we need to accept that as we want more our of our life complexity becomes inevitable and we need to put in I picked this book up because I thought this was more a discussion of complexity in our every day lives （professional and personal） and may be even ways to combat it。 It isn't。Its a book about complexity of systems and services that we interact with in everyday life and what we can do as designers and users to ease it。 The central thesis of the book is two-fold。 The first one is that users we need to accept that as we want more our of our life complexity becomes inevitable and we need to put in a reasonable amount of effort to learn and become experts in certain things so that we can enjoy them fully。 The second one is for designers to realize that complexity is not an excuse for complicated i。e。 a complex need is no excuse for bad design。The second part is really what interested me the most and the author puts forward an interesting thesis that complex things can be made "usable" by defining a familiar conceptual model and then building on that。 Of course you need to read the book to get the how。I think I am unfairly giving the book 3/5 because it did not meet my misplaced expectations of content but overall it is a good read。 。。。more

Initially NO ，

A philosophical discussion of why what might seem to simplify， actually complicates。 The hole codes on salt and pepper shakers being up to the discretion and custom of those who use them; how Disney Land purposely keeps people waiting as long as they can at rides， so they don't have to build more， and instead offers street entertainment so people don't think too much about waiting。。。 A very pared-down accessible book， that is interesting enough。 A philosophical discussion of why what might seem to simplify， actually complicates。 The hole codes on salt and pepper shakers being up to the discretion and custom of those who use them; how Disney Land purposely keeps people waiting as long as they can at rides， so they don't have to build more， and instead offers street entertainment so people don't think too much about waiting。。。 A very pared-down accessible book， that is interesting enough。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Living with Complexity

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Living with Complexity&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Living with Complexity&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0