Don Norman gave a very interesting speech at TED about why good design and thoughtfulness is important. You can find many more good articles here or visit Prof. Don Norman's Homepage.
"Donald Arthur Norman (born December 25, 1935) is a professor emeritus of cognitive science at University of California, San Diego and a Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University, where he also co-directs
the dual degree MBA + Engineering degree program between the Kellogg school and Northwestern Engineering. He is on numerous company advisory boards including the editorial board of Encyclopædia Britannica... "
-Wikipedia