Visibility

When you think about a design you think it would only make sense to makes important things visible, right? While that makes perfect sense for some reason it is not always the case. Users are often left confused and trying to figure out how to complete a task because the solution is hidden from them. Why do designers do this? Why don't we make everything visible and make things easier to use?

This is a tough question to answer. As a graphic designer one of my obvious concerns is the aesthetics of a design. I want it to look good and appeal to the user. Where are a web designer might have a totally different concern and a mechanical designer has an even different concern that the others.

"Handles on cabinets distract from some design aesthetics, and so they are deliberately made invisible or left out."

-Donald Norman (2002)

Donald Norman points out and easy solution for when visibility is not an option, sound. He says that "Sound can provide information available in no other way. Sound can tell us that things are working properly or they need maintenance or repair" (Norman. 2002). I found this pretty interesting because it wasn't something I had considered. After I read it I started to think about all they things that make a sound to let me know that something is going on or working. I may not be able to see something didn't work but that error beep lets me know. Using sound as an alternative to visibility can be extremely beneficial. Because of our cultural constants certain sounds mean certain things to us. So if we use sound to give feedback for an action it eliminates the need to add an extra light or error message in our design.

Citations:

Norman, Donald A. "Knowing what to do." The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic, 2002. N. Page 100