This work provides an understanding of the human factors issues encountered in the design, implementation, and evaluation of products and systems. Emphasizing the close relationship between basic theory and application, the authors offer a framework for the research process.

"PepsiCo's and 3M's award-winning chief design officer reveals the secret to creating life-changing innovations: putting the human factor at the center of everything. In every industry, new technologies have lowered the barrier to entry like never before. Either you design exceptional products, brands and experiences, or somebody will beat you to it. And Mauro Porcini-PepsiCo's and 3M's first ever chief design officer-says, the key to real, world-changing...

"Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious-even liberating-book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled...

Argues for including empathy for humans and the natural world in design, exploring the strengths and weaknesses in architects' approach to the design of communities, regions, and buildings and suggesting ways to create a better world that focuses on the people who use and are affected by the infrastructure, as well as the need to reconnect design to human and natural elements.