Don Norman

Biography of Don Norman

Don Norman lives two lives: theory and applications. As a cognitive scientist, he studies, teaches, and writes about the relationship between technology and people. In his applied life, he helps companies make products that appeal to the emotions as well as to reason.

Business Week calls him a “cantankerous visionary” — cantankerous in his quest for excellence. Upside Magazine named him one of the “Elite 100” for 1999. Dr. Norman brings a unique mix of the social sciences and engineering to bear on everyday products. Although is a strong advocate of human-centered design and simplicity and perhaps best known for his book, The Design of Everyday Things, he now wants to ensure that products appeal to the emotions as well as to reason.

Dr. Norman is cofounder of the Nielsen Norman Group, an executive consulting firm that helps companies produce human-centered products and services. Norman serves as advisor and board member to numerous companies and non-profit organizations in the area of policy and education. Among others, he serves on the editorial advisory board of Encyclopedia Britannica and on the board of overseers of Chicago’s Institute of Design

Norman has also been Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group at Apple Computer and an executive at both Hewlett Packard and UNext (a distance education company).

Norman received a B.S. degree from MIT and an MS degree from the University of Pennsylvania, both in Electrical Engineering. His doctorate, from the University of Pennsylvania, is in Psychology. He has received two honorary degrees: a doctorate in Industrial Design and Engineering from the Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) and the S. V. della laurea ad honerem from the University of Padua (Italy).

Prof. Norman was one of the founders of the Cognitive Science Society and has been chair of the society and editor of its journal, Cognitive Science. He has been a faculty member at Harvard University. He is now Professor of Computer Science, Psychology, and Cognitive science at Northwestern University and Prof. Emeritus of both Cognitive Science and Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, where he was founding chair of the Department of Cognitive Science and chair of the Department of Psychology. He is a member of The Industrial Designers Society of America, and fellow of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society, The American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the Cognitive Science Society. He has been a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences (Stanford).

In 2006, Norman received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer & Cognitive Science from the Franklin Institute (Philadelphia). In 2005, he received the Franklin V. Taylor Award for “outstanding contribution to the field of Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology” from the American Psychological Association. In 2002 he received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from SIGCHI, the professional organization for Computer-Human Interaction and the “Mental Health Award for contributions to business” from the Journal Psychology Today.

Dr. Norman was the lead negotiator for Apple in the discussions between the computer and television industries in the development of an Advanced Digital TV system for the United States.

Dr. Norman has published extensively in journals and books, and is the author or co-author of fourteen books, with translations into sixteen languages, including The Design of Everyday Things, Things That Make Us Smart and The Invisible Computer: Why good products can fail, the PC is so complex, and information appliances are the answer. Business Week has called this “the bible of the ‘post PC’ thinking.” His latest book, Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things, is available in 9 languages. This book marks the transition from usability to aesthetics, but with the emphasis on a well-rounded, cohesive product that looks good, works well, and gives pride to the owner. “The well-rounded product,” says Norman, “ will enhance the heart as well as the mind, being a joy to behold, to use, and to own.