DreyfussHenry Dreyfuss’s “Designing for People”

Henry Dreyfuss, an American industrial designer, wrote the classic text Designing for People in 1955.

The cornerstone of his philosophy and thinking is captured in this quote from his article in The Harvard Business Review in 1950:

“We bear in mind that the object being worked on is going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some other way used by people individually or en masse.

When the point of contact between the product and the people becomes a point of friction, then the industrial designer has failed.

On the other hand, if people are made safer, more comfortable, more eager to purchase, more efficient — or just plain happier — by contact with the product, then the designer has succeeded.”