NN/g News

Job Openings: UX Specialist

Nielsen Norman Group was hiring user experience specialists, but the application deadline has now passed. May 5, 2013

Providing Predictable Targets

Three principles form a foundation to the graphical user interface: Discoverability, Stability, and Visibility. April 12, 2013

Video: Bruce Tognazzini Discusses Apple iWatch (Bloomberg TV)

Nielsen Norman Group's Bruce Tognazzini and Fitbit's Eric Friedman discuss Apple's potential new project, a smart watch. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." February 11, 2013

The Apple iWatch

Our resident futurist, Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini, did an in-depth article revealing what Apple is likely to include in a smartwatch, how it will impact our lives and Apple's fortunes. The world press quickly picked up on it. February 11, 2013

Jakob Nielsen Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Jakob Nielsen is the 2013 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Human–Computer Interaction Practice from SIGCHI, the premiere professional society in the HCI field. January 22, 2013

Kindle Fire HD now has better usability (New York Times)

Mr. Nielsen’s bottom line: “If you want a small device, for financial reasons or because you want to carry it in your purse, the smaller Fire is better than the iPad Mini. The 10-inch iPad is probably better than 9-inch Fire, but not by a lot.” December 5, 2012

Radio show about Windows 8, with Jakob Nielsen (Tech Night Owl Live)

You'll hear from veteran tech columnist Ted Landau, who writes for The Mac Observer and Macworld, usability guru Jakob Nielsen, who has actually put Windows 8 through a series of intense tests with a panel of experienced PC users, and Avram Piltch, the Online Editorial Director of Laptop magazine. November 24, 2012

New Mobile Usability Book Released

Mobile Usability, the new book by Jakob Nielsen and Raluca Budiu, examines how we can create satisfactory user experiences for small devices. This new guide focuses on usability for mobile devices, primarily smartphones and touchphones, and covers such topics as developing a mobile strategy, designing for small screens, writing for mobile, usability comparisons, and looking toward the future. The book includes 228-full color illustrations to demonstrate the points. October 25, 2012

Manufacturing, Design, and Innovation (www.jnd.org)

An expanded version of Don Norman's welcoming address to the "Workshop on Building the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation." October 1, 2012

Video: Don Norman and John Maeda (PARC Forum)

Don Norman, Principal of Nielsen Norman Group, and John Maeda, now president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) had a public, semi-moderated discussion at a PARC Forum. July 31, 2012

Interview with Don Norman: The Future of Automobiles (Irish Times)

Don Norman was interviewed by Neil Briscoe for an article in IrishTimes.com: Is the love affair about to end? "Are cars as we know them to become a thing of the past?" asks the article. Where is the room for "Driving passion"? The question, Briscoe points out, is whether we can continue to have single people driving around, each in a ton and a half of metal. May 16, 2012

Essay by Don Norman: The Rise of the Small (Steelcase)

Steelcase celebrated its 100th anniversary by asking 100 people to write essays about their dreams for the next 100 years. It is an impressive list of people and I am honored to be one of them. My essay, my dream is "the rise of the small." Here is the start: I dream of the power of individuals, whether alone or in small groups, to unleash their creative spirits, their imagination, and their talents to develop a wide range of innovation. February 29, 2012

Conversation: Jon Kolko & Don Norman mediated by Richard Anderson (Riander Blog)

Out with the Old, In with the New: A Conversation with Don Norman & Jon Kolko, mediated by Richard Anderson. The item contains photos, a transcript, and an embedded video of the event. Topics addressed included the nature of and the difference between art and design, whether design should be taught in art schools (such as AAU), Abraham Maslow, usability, what design (or all) education should be like, the problem with "design thinking" courses, the destiny of printed magazines and printed books, aging and ageism, the relationship between HCI and interaction design, Arduino, simplicity, social media, Google, privacy, design research, the context in which design occurs, the Austin Center for Design, solving wicked problems, whether designers make good entrepreneurs, politics, Herb Simon & cybernetics, the strengths & weaknesses of interconnected systems, and how designers should position themselves. December 17, 2011

Interview with Don Norman: Safety Designed In (Edmunds Auto Observer)

Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com, interviews Don Norman while reviewing the new SYNC control system for Ford Motor Company. Summary: The modern car is far too complex, thus creating potential dangerous conditions. Instead of concentrating on the road, the driver controls the entertainment and comfort system: lots of controls, lots of menus, and screens that have to be watched to ensure the right item is selected. May 3, 2011

Video Interview: Don Norman (Want Magazine)

Want magazine interviewed Don Norman in his Palo Alto, California home. February 16, 2011

Videos: Design of Everyday Things (Interaction Design Foundation)

In 1994, The Voyager Company produced a delightful CD-ROM that included copies of several of Don Norman's books ("Design of Everyday Things," "Things that Make Us Smart," and "Turn Signals Are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles"). As you read the books, if you had a question, you could just click wherever there was a link and Don would pop up, walk on top of the text and illustrate the points being discussed on that page. February 16, 2011

World's Most Influential Designers: Don Norman (BusinessWeek)

A former Apple vice-president and co-founder (with Jakob Nielsen; see slide 21) of the Nielsen Norman Group, Norman, recently announced his retirement from Northwestern University. But don't count him out just yet. February 1, 2010

Why We Look at Some Web Ads and Not Others (TIME Magazine)

Do you think you're more likely to look at an online ad if it contains 1) a picture, 2) an animation or 3) just text? The answer: just text. Surprised? Well, consider the man who was checking his e-mail when he came across a dating-service ad featuring a picture of a bikini-clad woman. He looked at the woman's face and chest once — and then at the surrounding text five times. November 8, 2009

Study: Mobile web a throwback to the '90s (USA Today)

Have a tough time getting anything more complicated than talking done on your cellphone? Small wonder. Researchers at Nielsen Norman Group put people to the test to try to look up everything from movie listings to product reviews on their handsets July 17, 2009

Don Norman Paper: Designing Waits That Work (MIT Sloan Management Review)

Don Norman's MIT Sloan Management Review paper on waiting lines is finally out: Norman, D. A. (2009). Designing waits that work. MIT Sloan Management Review, 50(4), 23-28. The URL only gives a short excerpt: you have to subscribe (or pay) to get the entire article. July 9, 2009

Jakob Nielsen Critiques Twitter (BusinessWeek)

Few would dispute that Twitter is the hottest social medium around. The microblogging application, which enables anyone with Internet access to issue short public messages—about where to buy the best red-velvet cupcakes or what the latest tally is on swine flu—has enjoyed stunning growth that has made Facebook and MySpace look like yesterday's children. An increasing number of CEOs are employing Twitter to communicate and bond with customers and employees. Nonetheless, it might be time to put some brakes on tweeting, according to Jakob Nielsen. May 8, 2009

Don Norman's TED Talk (TED)

Don Norman's talk from 2003 on "Design and Emotion" (based upon his book "Emotional Design"). March 24, 2009

Designers Challenged to Include Disabled (Interview with Don Norman) (CNN.com)

The future of design could see the divide between able-bodied and disabled people vanish. Don Norman , design Professor at Northwestern University in Illinois, and the author of ''The Design of Future Things,'' is issuing a challenge to designers and engineers across the world: Create things that work for everyone. October 30, 2008

Don Norman Video: UX Week 2008 (Adaptive Path)

Don Norman's talk on User Experience at the Adaptive Path conference on User Experience in 2008. February 6, 2008

Simplicity Is Not the Answer (www.jnd.org)

The argument is not between adding features and simplicity, between adding capability and usability. The real issue is about design: designing things that have the power required for the job while maintaining understandability, the feeling of control, and the pleasure of accomplishment. January 1, 2008

Newsmaker: Tech design with thought (Cnet)

If anyone knows a thing or two about designing for human-computer interaction, it's Don Norman, professor at Northwestern University, author of The Design of Future Things, and co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group. November 26, 2007

The web design guru that web designers love to hate (The Guardian)

Google for Jakob Nielsen and you'll often find him described as a "web design guru". He's also the man that some web designers love to hate. In particular, they love to heap abuse on his website - UseIt.com. August 8, 2007

Simplicity is Highly Overrated (jnd.org)

"Why can't products be simpler?" cries the reviewer in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the local newspaper. "We want simplicity" cry the people befuddled by all the features of their latest whatever. Do they really mean it? No. March 1, 2007

The Evolving Web (BBC)

How has the internet changed over the last decade? What do children think about Google, and how could Amazon improve its website? Author on web usability, Jakob Nielsen gives his views on the current state of the internet - and peers into its future. June 1, 2006