Text Version of “Characteristics of Good Design” Infographic

Characteristics of Good Design

From The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman

Discoverability

Can users figure out what actions they can take, along with where and how they can complete these actions?

Signifiers

Signifiers indicate how to correctly use or interact with something.

Example: The type of handle on a door (such as a plate on a door indicating that you have to push to open it).

Constraints

Constraints limit the actions users can take.

Example: Graying out unavailable actions on a menu (such as graying out the Undo and Redo options on a menu when you haven’t taken any actions yet in a document).

Mappings

How obvious is the relationship between an object and its controls?

Example: Stove burners and their dials (such as displaying the dials for four burners in the same orientation that the burners are laid out. So, the upper-left dial controls the upper-left burner, the upper-right dial controls the upper-right burner, and so on).

Feedback

Feedback lets users know that the system is processing a request or action.

Example: Confirmation messages (such as showing a success message after a user successfully submits a form).

Understanding

• Is it easy to understand what the application as a whole means?

• Is it easy to understand what the individual controls, settings, etc. mean?

• How should the application be used?