Paradox of Technology

1. “Technology offers the potential to make life easier and more enjoyable; each new technology provides increased benefits. At the same time, added complexities arise to increase our difficulty and frustration. The development of a technology tends to follow a U-shaped curve of complexity: starting high; dropping to a low, comfortable level; then climbing again. New kinds of devices are complex and difficult to use. As technicians become more competent and an industry matures, devices become simpler, more reliable, and more powerful. But then, after the industry has stabilized, newcomers figure out how to add increased power and capability, but always at the expense of added complexity and sometimes decreased reliability. We can see the curve of complexity in the history of the watch, radio, telephone, and television set.”
The passage above makes a very interesting point. It provides a vicious cycle of sorts. A piece of technology is created and with it comes the complexity of something new. As this newness wears off and the user can actually operate the device quite simply, the device is innovated and the process begins again. This puts forward the idea that technology is in a constant cycle between innovation and simplicity and it is quite the paradox.

2. The book is, quite simply, timeless. The ideas put forward will be useful now and in the future. The concepts of making things visible, simple, and easily mentally mapped will all always be vital aspects to design. Not only these but simple conceptual models are also quite important and are mentioned here. These are all basic principles that will always be necessary to consider when designing a product. The mind will never stop trying to mentally map a device. It will also not stop trying to assume how a product works based on the parts visible. It is a natural process that occurs in the human mind, and as long as it continues to occur, designers will need to consider it when they design their products.

3. The following items would be necessary on a design checklist:
1. Is the item easily intuitive? In other words can you easily look at the item and understand how it works without any prior instruction.
2. Are all the items easily visible and well labeled? In the occasion that you cannot simply look at the device and understand it, are the functions easily understood based on the simplicity of finding them and the effectiveness of their label?
3. Is the device extremely limited by the affordances of its materials and the constraints of its purpose? If so are there any changes one could make to, in one way or another, reduce the limitations of the device.
4. Could a person easily mentally map the process involved with using the product without having any prior instruction? Are there anyways to make the conceptual model more easily understood?
5. Does a good function to button/switch ratio exist? Too many functions per button can cause confusion and significantly lower the usability of a product.
6. Does the product provide feedback, and effective feedback at that? Will a user know if he has actually accomplished the function he is attempting to execute? Will the feedback be easily presented either visually or audibly?
7. HAS THE PRODUCT BEEN CONSUMER TESTED?