This Human
A book that takes formalisation in a completely different direction. Trying to take the perspective of empathy and how to think and be in their practice of design.
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The Design of Everyday Things
Donald Norman’s design classic – the bible on the cognitive aspects of design, containing examples of both good and bad design and simple rules that designers can use to improve the usability of objects.
Shipping Container
Craig Martin’s book illuminates the “development of containerization”- including design history, standardization, aesthetics, and a surprising speculative discussion of the futurity of shipping containers.
Synectics
Another excerpt from the Delft Design Guide. Only the synectics spread is mandatory material, but also take a look at the other spreads in the enriching section.
A (very) brief history of interaction design
An excerpt from Chapter 1 of Dan Saffer’s Designing for Interaction. It describes the history of interaction design from the perspective of the products that resulted from user-centered design.
Don’t worry about all the details and chronology, read this as a history of interaction design from the perspective of an interaction designer.
Participatory Design History
A chapter of the Routledge International Handbook of Participatory Design on the Heritage (aka history) of participatory design.