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Norman Doors

Has This Ever happened to You?

Posted:  Nov 07, 2016
Ever walked up, and then into, a door? Ever pushed on a pull door, or pulled on a push door, or simply pulled/pushed on the wrong side of a door?

This can be frustrating, embarassing, and just downright confusing.  So what's up with these weird doors?

Unfortunately, this is just part of every day life with doors.  Sometimes the fault is caused by confusing signage, or improperly installed hardware.  Occasionally a variety of code and installation issues combine for the perfect storm of confusing door hardware.  Hardware that you might be accustomed to pulling might be a push system in a different opening.

While hardware manufacturers cannot ensure that their products never ever confuse anyone ever, but now we can at least give you a name for this kind of opening: the Norman Door.

Norman Doors are a term that collectively defines an opening that is counterintuitive to use.  The name comes from Don Norman's amusing and informative book "The Psychology of Every Day Things."  It is a fun read and while only a small portion of it talks about door hardware, I still highly recommend it.

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