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DESIGN:Far from being purely about looks, good design is all about a full user-centric experience and for Don Norman, it is a way of life, writes DAVIN O'DWYER

THERE WAS a time, not that long ago, when the word design was thought to relate purely to an object's appearance. A designer made things look pretty, whether it was clothing or book covers or cars or electric appliances. Design, it was thought, was more art than science. Now, however, we understand that design is as much about how things work as how they look. That shift in perception has much to do with the work of Don Norman, the renowned "usability guru" whose seminal book, The Design of Everyday Things, changed the way many people in the design world comprehend objects.