The Design of Everyday Things

Donald A. Norman (born 1935) is an American researcher, educator, and author specializing in design, engineering, usability, and cognitive science. Norman’s educational background directly informs the content of The Design of Everyday Things. He received his BS in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1957, completing a master’s degree in the same field at the University of Pennsylvania in 1959. Three years later, he received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, becoming one of the first graduates of the school’s new Mathematical Psychology Group. Norman is also the recipient of two honorary degrees: one in Industrial design from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the other from the University of Padua in Italy.

Like The Design of Everyday Things, Norman’s professional experiences focus on the interrelation of design and human behavior. From 1962 to 1966, Norman held fellowships and a lectureship in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard University. He then joined the Departments of Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego, where he taught for 29 years. In 1981, Norman shifted his focus from cognitive science to cognitive engineering, entering the field as a writer and consultant.