4 causes of daily frustration

I recently published on everything UX's Spanish sister site, todofluye.tumblr.com these 4 everyday objects that are a cause of frustration in my day-to-day life.

1. The first item are the doors at the entrance to the Madrid underground
   In general the Metro de Madrid trains run very well and the system is kept clean and prices low. However, the doors are extremely heavy and I don't know how people with their hands full or who are physically slight manage!
   
   Ironically, a few months ago, these blue stickers appeared on some doors claiming they were easy to open; a clear sign that their poor usability is at least recognized by those responsible.
   
   I seriously wonder if this is a half-started project or a just bad joke; there's nothing easy about opening these doors. The technique required is the same as with the rest of the doors, if someone ahead of you opens one, let the door swing, make the most of the momentum and open it in the opposite direction. If you try and sneak through after someone else, you'll just end up trapped by it (no joke!).
   
   No evidence of user-centred design here.
   
   
   
2. The office water cooler
   This machine not only often refuses to pour water, (you have to shake the whole machine to get rid of the trapped air), but it also has a mystery, red emergency button. None of us can fathom out what this button is for!
   
   An example of the need for designing a product that does it's main function very well, leaving secondary options hidden, though intuitive.
   
   
   
3. A laptop keyboard with the Function button sitting in the place of the Control button
   This is extremely frustrating when using - or trying to use - keyboard shortcuts. I often end up thinking I've copied some text only to find that I'm typing vvvv instead of pasting!
   
   A good reason for following standards!
   
   
   
4. The false checkbox of a pop up window from an antivirus with a trial period
   Q. How can I get rid of this pop up window at start up?
   A. I either have to buy the product, or uninstall the antivirus and download a new one.
   
   Fair enough, but the false checkbox which cannot be selected - despite its appearance - and the text "Check box to not see this message anymore" has tricked me at least a dozen times into trying to select it!
   
   Annoying someone into buying your product is not a great user experience!
   

Exhibition: Utility in Design

Everyday objects which not only successfully combine utility and aesthetics, but are also commercially viable are currently on display in the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain.

The exhibition stems from the idea that utility is the raison d'etre of design and lists 5 sides to utility which, roughly translated, are the following:

• Appropriate for an end
• In accordance with the body
• Easy for everyone
• According to need
• To last and be recycled

The exhibition covers a wide variety of objects and gives an overview of the history of the design and development of each item, as well as pointing out the key characteristics that make each one more useful than the average of its kind.

The Binaria stool by Oken, (see picture above), is one example of a product designed to combine comfort with practicality while encouraging good posture.

Among the other items exhibited you can find: Camper shoes, park benches, the Bilbao underground, comfortable scissors and bins that are emptied by underground pipes, avoiding the need for garbage disposal trucks in cities.

According to the online description of the exhibition:

"...this diversity exemplifies the transversal character of the quest for practical improvements in the design and development of new products."

On a final note, although I appreciate that standing up to mop the floor is a million times better than having to scrub it on your hands and knees, I have to say that the Rodex ad (left) with a woman mopping the kitchen floor in high heels does amuse me! Not the most practical choice of footwear perhaps.
The slogan reads:

"Smile with me if you've already got your Rodex" :)

Links:
The exhibition catalogue (PDF) from the Circulo de Bellas Artes website
A write-up of the exhibition in the newspaper El Público (in Spanish)

Desire paths

It's not the first time I've seen photos like these used to make a point about usability/(non) user-centred design, but it is an amusing collection of photos and I do love the name: "Desire Paths".

Apart from making me homesick for my native green and grassy England, basically it brings us around again to the idea that if something is not useful or usable, people will find a way around it. If you're going to make people work harder than they need to, think again! And, despite the "correct route" being blindingly obvious to designers, planners etc, it doesn't mean that users are going to "see" it!

These are clear examples of the need for user observation, common sense and user-centred design.

The group says the inspiration came from a book by Nick Crane 'Two degrees west' (Viking 1999):

Claire was photographing desire paths... the imprints of 'foot anarchists', individuals who had trodden their own routes into the landscape, regardless of the intentions of government, planners and engineers... They were expressions of free will, 'paths with a passion', an alternative to the strictures of railings, fences and walls that turned individuals into powerless apathetic automatons.

Call me unromantic, but I'm not so sure about footpath anachism and expressions of free will so much as the practicalities of getting from A to B!

Thanks to the Desire Paths flickr group and to John Gibbard on the IxDA mailing list for bringing this collection to my attention.

User-centred pen design

Tripod design, Tokyo, has some great user-centred products.

Check out the pens they have made for people who use their feet or mouths to write (see U-Wing pens) or those with weak hands (see Handy Birdy pens); not only do the products look great but everyone is catered for!

Importantly they aim for barrier-free design and say about their Handy Birdy pens:

These were our first products designed based on detailed dialogue with users.

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Tripod Design: www.tripoddesign.com/en/home/index.html