By Aaron Gustafson CHAPTER 7

Chapter seven · by aarOn GUstaFsOn

DeSigning aDaPTive inTeRfaCeS

esign, as a concept, is a tricky little beast. On the one
hand, a well-designed object should be attractive, but on the
other it must also be easily understood and highly usable.
For a design to be successful, these two facets must be in balance. When
aesthetics trump usability, the resulting work serves the designer — by
being a vehicle for self-expression — not the consumer. Similarly, when a
project sacrifices aesthetics for usability, the resulting work can be unin-
spiring, pedestrian even. People will use it, but they won’t love it.

Pleasurable designs are not necessarily usable. But need these attributes

be in conflict? Why not beauty and brains, pleasure and usability?^

— Don Norman, Emotion & Design: Attractive things work better^1

Etymologically speaking, “design” originates from the medieval Latin
designare, to mark out. Classically, it has been synonymous with the act of
indicating. From the very beginning, design has been about more than just

1 Don Norman, “Emotion & Design: Attractive things work better”; http://smashed.by/emotion-design, 2002.

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