These texts from Norman (2011) explore the design of user experiences, focusing on managing complexity. The first text examines the psychology of waiting lines, proposing six design principles to improve user experience during unavoidable waits, emphasizing the importance of clear communication, managing expectations, and providing engaging activities. The second text addresses broader issues of managing complexity in design, advocating for a partnership between designers and users, offering design principles to simplify complex systems and strategies for users to cope with unavoidable complexities. The third text discusses the challenges of designing for simplicity in a world driven by featuritis, highlighting the biases of salespeople and reviewers that often lead to over-complicated designs, while also discussing the added complexities of designing for social interaction.

Please note that the podcast covers key points from the source with synthetic voices, which may have glitches. It’s a reflective, not comprehensive, interpretation.

Norman, D. A. (2011). Living with complexity. MIT Press.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit syntheticsynthesis.substack.com