Human Factors
The study of how cognitive and physical environments affect human performance and wellbeing.
Design Principle
Cognitive Ergonomics
Systems should reduce friction, support recall and help people work with complex information without losing orientation.
Research foundations
Relevant research traditions and thinkers that inform this principle.
Distributed Cognition
How cognitive work distributes across individuals, tools and environments.
Heersmink
Richard Heersmink's work on cognitive artefacts and the conditions under which tools genuinely extend thought.
Cognitive Load
The mental effort required by a task — and how to design systems that don't exceed working memory capacity.
Sensemaking
How people construct understanding in complex and ambiguous situations.