Designed for Use, 2nd Edition

Fun vs. Usability

Being usable is a bit like being edible. A lot of things are edible, but being edible alone doesn’t mean that something is also delicious. Similarly, a lot of things are usable, but that alone doesn’t mean that we want to use them. But while being edible is not sufficient for being delicious, it is required. Similarly, being usable is not sufficient for being fun, but it is required.^[146]

So although not every usable product is necessarily fun, every fun product has to be usable—otherwise it will just be frustrating.

Actually, this may not be entirely true. There is a kind of product that can be unusable yet still fun: art.