Is Dr. Norman Getting a Bad Rap?

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Matt Write’s has some concerns about the choice of Dr. Don Norman as one of the keynote speakers at SolidWorks World 2008 in San Diego.  The SolidSmack blog also echos a couple of these concerns.

I can understand why there might be questions about a presentation called "Emotional Design"…"emotional" being the operative word.  But are we forgetting the word "design"?

Based on what I’ve read, Dr. Norman is a terrific choice to speak to SolidWorks Users.  His credentials are impeccable – he’s spent time working with design teams at Apple and Hewlett-Packard, was part of a team brought in to determine the cause of the Three Mile Island disaster (turned out to be design flaws), and in 2006 was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal for development in the field of user-centered design.

In my opinion, keynote speeches aren’t necessarily designed to educate as much as they are to inspire, provoke thought, and even entertain.  Sources that have heard him speak tell me that Dr. Norman will do that (and more).

I’ll bet there will be plenty of emotion to go around after Dr. Norman’s address – delight, awe, and surprise come to mind.  I doubt that there will be any remorse, sadness, or apprehension. 

Leave the tissues at home.

Richard Doyle

Richard Doyle

My official title is Senior User Advocacy & SolidWorks User Groups - but most people just call me "The User Group Guy". I've been a SolidWorks user since 1997, and was one of the founding members of the SWUGN Committee. Since starting the Central Texas SolidWorks User Group in 1999, my career path has led me to DS SolidWorks and a dream job supporting the SolidWorks User Group Network worldwide.
Richard Doyle

@https://twitter.com/swugn

Richard Doyle