The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things explains confusion as a design signal, not a user flaw.

Good interfaces reveal what actions are possible, what state the system is in, and how an action maps to its result. Discovery, signifiers, affordances, mapping, and feedback become practical review tools.

Find a screen where users repeatedly hesitate. Check whether clickable elements look clickable, system state is visible, and errors are preventable or easy to recover from.

When a UI feels complicated, this book is a reliable reset point for checking cues and feedback one by one.