A recent article in the New York Times discusses the emerging field of usability, for which I am currently entering my fourth and final semester. It’s good to know that I am, for once, on the “cutting edge.” What’s better is that I like it.

Usability is a multidisciplinary field that attracts a myriad of backgrounds including anthropology, computer science, and psychology. It’s further comfort to know that companies are beginning to realize that the Internet is more than a place to post images and text and that the uses of the information they provide have considerable consequences in the overall success of their business. The article quotes Janice Redish, a usability consultant, as saying, “I think the Web has really made companies and
agencies understand they are in a conversation with their customers.”

With any luck, in a few short months it will be my job to find ways to make that conversation as smooth and informative as possible.

As I attempted to catch up on my blog feeds, I came across a post about IDEO designer, Jane Fulton Suri’s new book, Thoughtless Acts. The premise of the book is finding new opportunities for improving design by observing everyday, ordinary acts such as brushing one’s teeth, cleaning a bathroom, etc.  In a Business Week article, the IDEO process of studying human behavior and ultimately designing a new consumer product is described:

"They’re professionally consumed with the little tricks and rationalizations that smooth our interactions with the world. Last year, for example, they traveled the globe to watch people clean their bathrooms, finally striking pay dirt in Puerto Rico, where they saw a retired hotel housekeeper use a flat broom to reach high up into her shower’s murkier corners.

That woman’s "thoughtless act" was then incorporated into the Mr. Clean Magic Reach — a bathroom cleaning system with a telescoping pole. Proctor & Gamble, owner of the Mr. Clean brand, says it expects to sell $150 million of them this year."

I’m sure we’ve all had moments were we marvel at the "obvious" practicality of a tool or service and wonder how, if it is so obvious (as it is now presented before us), why didn’t we come up with it ourselves.  It seems to me that the best design, that which is most likely to improve our daily lives, is the hardest to achieve simply because we become too complicit in the routine and habit of our actions.  Stepping back and observing that which does not command attention is probably one of the most difficult skills a person can achieve in the field of human factors.

(Via 37signals)