(2005-05-26) Design As Communication

Don Norman's old essay "Design as Communication" has a section called "Communication and Context: Design as Story Telling". If the designer explains the reasoning behind the model, the user will find the task of uncovering the conceptual model much easier. In other words, what we need to provide to people is reasons, not just methods... A model is a story that puts the operation of the system into context: it weaves together all of the essential components, providing a framework, a context, and reasons for understanding. Without this story, without this conceptualization, the operation of something becomes a set of memorized actions, but without reason or purpose except "this is how it is done."