The product I love:

This is a Christmas gift from my boyfriend’s company. It is a recreation of the “loot box” from Overwatch game. Loot boxes are often given to the user when they played, as rewards to level up. I am not a gamer, but when comparing the object to the game, it is very close in term of design. The material is plastic, with very nice color combinations and does not look cheap. I think for game fans, this is definitely something fun to relate to.

When he first introduced the gift for me, I looked at the box and thought: “It was a well-made toy. But that’s about it?” Initially, when looking at the product, from a design standpoint, it’s purpose was not clearly visible. I was unsure of its intended use and function. However, the way it was put together made me want to explore it further.  It also made me want to know what was in the inside.

But then when we opened it, my perspective was different. It was very clear that the intended use was easily visible and discovered its use was of a mini picnic set. There are 4 pairs of coaster and glasses, which all contain details and illustrations from the game. When we removed all of these items from the box, we discovered that it could also be used as an ice box.

There are so many times I bought some functional object mostly for the look of it. I think this is a great design from both visual and functional standpoint. The object brings fun and entertainment to the user. It also gives us a surprise of affordance (we don’t know what it really is until we open it), but easy mapping (We can figure the coasters are there to be used with the glasses).

The product I love/hate:

Why do I have a love/hate relationship with this machine?

This machine saved me during the hot summer, but it also ruins the look of where ever I had to put it. This is a portable air conditioner so it convenient for me to move it to the location where I needed to use it.

While it provided me with cooling relief during the summer, the cost-benefit of the product was relatively high. This is due to the fact that this machine has only one main purpose which is providing cold air.  However, this does not provide any benefit whatsoever for the cold winter months. So, therefore, I would need to purchase another product to keep me warm during this period.

While it provided benefits during summer, one of its major constraints is due to its physical size.  When fully set up, the machine almost took ¼ of the available space.  The product came with two big tubes, that needs to be connected to the outside of the window.  To properly install these tubes, you have to open part of your window and attach them to a panel so the air can be circulated. When looking at the overall design, we can see it doesn’t provide good feedback. We don’t know if the two air tubes will fit in different windows if we have to move the machine to another location.

  To use the air conditioner, I have to locate it in an open space, otherwise, it will block all the ways. It came with two big tubes, that will have to be linked to outside of the window. To install these tubes, you will have to open part of your window and insert it in. For me, it has so many physical constraints. When we look at the design, we can see it gives bad feedback. We don’t know if the two air tubes will fit in different window if we move the machine.

 

Object I Love: Vitamix

My Vitamix is probably one of the most beloved appliances in my kitchen. I often use it once or twice a day. I whip up all sorts of delicious goodies – smoothies, sauces, soups, chia seed pudding, ice cream, pancake batter, hummus, and vegan cookie dough. Best of all, I can make nourishing meals for myself with very little time and effort. I simply throw in a bunch of roughly chopped ingredients, spices, and liquid… then flip a switch and turn a dial. Within less than a minute, voila! It’s done in a flash. It also takes minimal time to clean. You just have to rinse it, fill it halfway with water and a tiny bit of soap, and turn the blender back on for a minute until the water is nice and sudsy… then rinse it again and let it air dry.

The design of the machine is also practically idiot proof. The blender has several defined constraints. The start and stop switch on the right and the pulse switch on the left have easy to understand mappings. The dial in the middle conveys the speed of the blender from 1-10. This axes also provides feedback, because once you turn the dial, you can hear the level of the motor and see the speed of the food whirling around until it’s the desired consistency.

Although the blender is quite expensive, it has an amazing cost benefit. Considering that I’ve owned it for 5 ½ years and practically use it every day without any technical issues, it’s definitely an amazing investment. I’ve also saved oodles of money by cooking in instead of eating out! The blender has also kept my health in check, which has saved me money on medical bills.

Object I Hate: My Corner Cabinets

The corner cabinets in my kitchen are so badly designed. They’re situated on either side of my refrigerator. Although they look nice, I feel like they’re just an aesthetic necessity to create a clean wrap-around row of bottom cabinets for uniform connectedness. Due to the placement and hinge of the cabinet door, the affordance of the cabinet’s ability to open all the way is impeded by the physical constraints of the refrigerator.

Although both of the cabinet shelves are Lazy Susans, I find it very challenging and irritating to reach in and get anything out or put anything back in. I often have to contort my body in odd positions to get what I need.  The awkward Pac Man-like shape of the Lazy Susans and the height of shelves also limits what I can put in there. I also discover that I end up buying things that I already have, because things are easily forgotten about if they’re stored in my cabinet vortex from designer hell.

 

 

A product I love … and hate

Behold, the Miele “Pure Suction” Compact Vacuum. I love things about it and hate things about it.

To say that I love this object (“Miele”) is wildly overstating my affection towards it, but I will say it is a fine sucker of dust, dirt, and hair. A lot of other vacuums have critical flaws, from poor suction to incredibly heavy, and frankly, they blow.

I moved in, and there it was. I don’t love carpet but I do like clean carpet, so I soon found myself looking for a lost user guide. It is a testament to Miele that I did not need one, for the 80/20 rule of operation was in effect.

Miele exhibits proper adherence to important design principles. To begin, the unit is unmistakably a vacuum cleaner. In terms of overall design, its ancestral lineage can be traced clearly to the very first vacuum cleaners which surged from the primordial froth, liberating Betty Friedan’s people. It has a head on a stick, and a body trailing behind. Unlike a Dyson product, which does not look like a snake pulling a space capsule, the Miele maintains design consistency with its forebears.

Overall, Miele works very well. It is very light, and it is very quiet. And wow, can it suck. Form follows function. On my first pass, I was able to vacuum the heck out of my room. This was after I wrestled it out of the supply closet, difficult because it is a two-piece unit. The vacuum body is separate from what is clearly, in terms of constraints, the business end, which I learned is the “telescoping suction wand”.

The power cord is stored within the compact vacuum unit, the plug clearly visible, which afforded grasping and pulling on it to extend the cord and plug it into a wall socket. I was pleased the plug did not require a hidden release switch to extend the cord, an unexpected constraint that could have resulted in a broken fingernail.

Miele exhibits visible features beyond its core identity. These would be to provide priority visibility to the key functions of turning it on/off, and extending/retracting its sinuous black power cord from its candy-colored shell. Thus, having never used it before, I was immediately able to grasp Miele by its head-end, plug it in, and turn it on.

The operations of power and the cord retractor are aided by a team of affordances. The two priority features flank the body of the vacuum, aided by large gray button surfaces. Sensibly, the retraction button is proximal to the side it lives on. No driving into the gas station on the wrong side with this vacuum. The big buttons are further afforded by icons meant to be universal in nature – the retractor button sports an illustration of a three-pronged plug and coiled cord, while the power button features the ever-universal straight line through a circle? In any event, I recognize the plug, so by my keen power of deduction, I know the other.

Miele is the top-of-the-line vacuum because it sucks the heck out of the aforementioned grime, and, it has a great mechanism for retracting the cord. One of the irrational fears I have is that the cord will retract with such speed the plug would whip around like the snake it resembles, and batter my hand as I depress the retraction button. That has never happened, and I suspect significant design resources went into constraining that possible effect.

However, in the drive for more features and market share, it is as if a secondary design team was given the at-bat. Miele has a “system” for increasing and decreasing the suction of the unit and accounting for hard vs carpeted flooring. To change the function of one of these (I’m not sure which) there is a rotating dial with inscrutable icons for the levels. Ah, but if you look closely, someone has aided the odd mapping of the dial. The leftmost setting has been labeled with the word “min”, and the rightmost setting has “max”. I like the attempt to map the functions, but I’m still not sure what is being min’d and max’d.

Beyond the dial, the machine does not offer feedback to confirm the setting is what you want. I have a workaround, I listen to changes in the sound of the vacuum to determine its state. The lower the pitch, the less it sucks. That’s the mental model I have developed for it. I am pretty sure that model is wrong, because it still doesn’t work.

But wait, there’s one more switch on the head of the snake. I think one way is for hard flooring and the other for carpet, but when it is depressed this particular way,  it sucks for dear life to the carpet AND to the hard floor. So that’s what that does?

These last two functions, unhelpfully afforded by beautifully legible graphics of uncertain meaning, are actually quite problematic because of Miele’s excellent suction. When the settings are improperly adjusted, which is always, I have to vigorously push and pull the wand end and it is not easy to move it along the surface.

Finally, Miele continues to offer one of the worst design features in vacuums. In hiding it’s interior components, the dust bag for the unit is entirely enclosed and hidden from view, just as it is with many other vacuums. That means I have no idea when to change the bag, and lie awake at night wondering when the bag is going to tear open and blow me away in a vortex of dirt, dust, and hair. Sounds like modern art.

If that was not enough hate…

If I have not given adequate space to an object I hate, here is the HVAC controller in my little bedroom. I’m not sure if this controls just my room or if I’m torturing my roommate with my preference for an average room temperature of 24C. That is 75F to you, mate.

I operate it solely by pushing the down and up arrows.

After that, I am lost. You can push the buttons to set the time, which would matter if the unit knowing the time meant something significant. But when you push “Pgm”, the ability to control a target temperature is lacking, even though you can choose a day of the week and time. Curious. This constitutes a hated object, in which hate is much too strong, but nevertheless, I disdain to learn it.

If that was not enough love…

This is my Bagatelle leather skirt in oxblood. It is perfect. It has pockets, and it is pull-on. It is high-waisted. It is warm. It is chic. It is everything.

I also got it for $15 on eBay. So it is cheap, which makes me feel smug.

So you can see, there is a lot of emotional resonance with this object.

 

At first, thinking of things in my house that I love and hate was a daunting task. I’m pretty good with my money, so I don’t tend to buy things that I hate. Additionally, I have a lot of things that I love, so picking just one was another challenge. As I started to think about it more and more though, one object in particular became completely clear. My trashcan’s lid.

I understand its general purpose, to keep my house looking nice and smelling nicer, but its not built well at all. It has physical constraints, but they are negative and unhelpful rather than useful or even necessary. If my trashcan is pushed up against the wall completely, the lid doesn’t open all the way, and when my hands are full and I need to throw something away, it just completely stops me from doing so. Additionally, as you throw things away, the lid gets dirty, and unless you clean it regularly, it just sits in your house or apartment showing the world (quite literally) your personal garbage. Its built to reduce visibility, but instead it increases it. I understand the need for it, but this thing causes too much irritation consistently to be something that I could not hate.

 

On the other hand, there is a lot of items that I love in my home, my computer, my desk, my bed. I decided on discussing one that most people are probably not totally familiar with. Its my Gyokucho Double Edge Pull Saw.  I absolutely love this thing. When I first started my woodworking hobby, getting straight saw cuts was nearly impossible. As you might know, when cutting some wood, even getting started is hard. Most beginning woodworkers pull the blade back towards themselves along their drawn line to start cutting, then once they get a small cut in the wood, they then begin to make full strokes using a forward and backward motion. What many people may not know however, is that traditional “western” saws, like this one from home depot only actually cut wood when pushed forward, so beginners don’t actually make any cuts on the wood when they’re trying to establish that line in the wood, they actually just mash the wood on the line. This is a physical constraint of western style saws. This constraint is part of this Japanese saw as well, since it cuts on the pull stroke, but those first few pulls to get lined up actually cut into the wood, and make progress much faster and easier for beginners. Second, as you cut the wood, your arm tends to twist to one side, and causes your cut to drift from a perfect straight line into something that is either wavy or just not where you want it. This pull saw has a handle that is long and straight, forcing the woodworker to hold it very particularly, which actually encourages straight cuts. Also when the saw is placed against the wood, the position of the handle affords pulling, which like I said, is the cutting half of the saw motion. Additionally, its easy to keep it vertical due to the shape of the wooden handle. Its an oval that when held naturally puts the blade perpendicular to the hand. Its very easy to establish and maintain proper form as a habit. Finally the thing I like most about this saw is that it has 2 separate edges, one for doing rip cuts, and the other for doing cross cuts. The difference between the two cuts is actually very important, and using the wrong side can possibly ruin a piece. Thankfully the teeth are fairly distinct, which increases the visibility of the saw’s operations.  Its a little hard to see with the photo, but you can see how the teeth on the bottom are much closer together than the teeth on the top. What you can’t see due to the photo is the actual design of the saw teeth, and if you’re interested in learning more about the differences between the teeth, this website has a pretty good write up. Look at the first image to get the easiest understanding of the differences.

 

• Object I love: Ju-Ju Be Diaper Bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

I fell in love with this bag the moment I saw it. I’ve been using this bag for 5 years now. It looks small, but the way it is designed can fit more than I could imagine. It has many pockets. 3 on the outside and 8 on the inside.
My favorite feature is the shoulder straps. The straps afford to wear the bag as a backpack which helps a lot with my shoulder and back pain. The shortening mechanism on the belt has visible signifiers that help understand how to change the length. When reached to the desirable length, the strap buckle gives feedback with a clicking noise which means the strap is locked in place.
The bag also has an over-the-shoulder strap option.
There are two round side pockets on the outside. These pockets are insulated and are designed for baby bottles. I like the circular shape which constrains putting anything other than a baby bottle in insulated pockets. Besides lots of storage pockets inside, this bag has storage on the front which is designed primarily for keys, sanitizers, cellphone, and credit cards. This provides the comfort of carrying only one sack.

 

• Object I hate: Bissell CrossWaive vacuum and mop

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hate my Bissell vacuum cleaner and mop. When I first saw this product, I was thinking it is going to make my life easy since it both vacuums and cleans different surfaces. However, when I tried it, I realized it does not do any of the jobs well. Besides being heavy and its super loud noise, it leaves the floor wet which leaves stains on my wood flooring. First time I wanted to use this I was utterly clueless about how to use it. There is absolutely no visual cues of how to use it. There were no signifiers for how and where to add water and the detergent. How to clean and empty the trash storage tray. The storage tray seemed to affords pulling. Therefore, my conceptual model was that I need to grab the handle and pull it out. I almost broke the handle because I had first to push the handle to unlock the storage tray and then pull it out. Another problem I have with this product is that it does not provide a feedback on wether it is on carpet clean mode or wood flooring mode. My work around is that I push carpet clean button several times to make sure it is on that mode when I clean the carpet.

The Good:
Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset

While visually stunning, the Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset is a treasure trove of design on all counts. As soon as it is put on, one can see, hear, and feel the incredible amount of thought put into every aspect of the headset’s design. Similar to the magical regalia a player might don their character with, this headset provides a considerable boost to enjoyment and engagement when worn – you can definitely consider this loot to be god-tier.

 For starters, the visibility of controls and status is both simple and sleek, and just the right amount. A small light indicates whether you are live, muted, or connecting based on it’s color and whether it is solid or blinking. In terms of controls, they blend seamlessly into the material with just enough protrusion to be both visible and easily found by touch. Interacting with these controls is extremely easy, thanks to the system’s feedback mechanism and physical mapping. A press of the volume up or down button, for instance, not only follows our mental association of increase being up, and decrease being down, but you are given both haptic and on-screen indicators of what action has been taken. Similarly, pressing the mute button stops an ever-so-slight feedback of your own voice following a high-pitched beep, clearly indicating that something (in this case, your voice) is on hold. The last key feature of these headphones is their ability to weed-out unwanted background noise and mumbling. In this way, the habituation of a normal conversation is not put at odds with using this device, and we can converse with others as if we were there in person – no need to worry about possible distractions around you!

The Bad & Ugly:
Apple’s MacBook Pro Touch Bar

Ok, so maybe it’s not ugly…until you open up anything on your desktop. While this technology could still prove to be fairly useful, the first few iterations of it have been absolutely terrible. And not just subjectively – the inherent concept behind it is flawed. By trying to eliminate the physical constraints of a keyboard, Apple created a customizable space in which users could fine-tune macros and functions and essentially create their own, personal keyboard. If only that’s what they ended up with! This space is supposed to be dynamic as well as reactive, reading not only the behavior of the user, but the context in which they are present. For instance, switching into a photo app will place the thumbnails of every photo in your library into this tiny space, so you may, allegedly, quickly sort through them. But what if I wanted to use that space for editing tools? I have to now double down on my own work just to have a functional space, in which function once existed (the F-keys).

Beyond this dissonance between app context and user context, this touch bar makes an already poorly physically-mapped keyboard even smaller, thus causing innumerable typing and input errors. And now that it’s missing F-keys, the burden is placed on the user to re-configure something that existed for years before, or find those functions within the menus of every application. Semantic mapping also gets thrown out the window now, as common labels and functions are simplified to an extreme purely for the sake of this flashy tool. Apple has forced us into iconography that is repetitive, confusing, and innumerable at best, rather than allowing its users to rely on their experience with similar tools. Our habituation of not only a keyboard, but the advanced functions held within, is completely disregarded by this ‘purposeful’ design choice.

An item I love… 

This bracelet hair tie holder. As someone with longer hair who is perpetually living in a warm location, I have always been in the habit of wearing an extra hair tie around my wrist “just in case” I want to pull my hair back. Even when I’m dressed up to go to a nice event, I would often find myself still with a hair tie around my wrist because I never knew when hairstyle breakdown or sweat (or one because of the other) would occur. Often the best hair ties would be too tight on my wrist and cut into my skin slightly, leaving an uncomfortable line around whichever wrist was bearing the elastic that day.

Enter the bracelet… the solution to all of the hair tie problems!

The circular nature affords being wrapped around the wrist like any sort of cuff bracelet. The outwardly curved nature provides a constrained path for the elastic to sit and not slip off the curved surface as it wraps around your wrist.

It is such a simple and elegant solution to every issue stated above with keeping a hair tie always around your wrist. It maintains the easy accessibility by allowing the elastic to still be present around the wrist at all times. It slightly lifts the hair tie off the wrist, preventing the elastic from digging into the skin. Additionally, it appears as a simple bracelet in any attire, allowing wear in even to the most sophisticated events without drawing attention.

Some of you in the cohort may have seen me wearing this bracelet in our intensive and never even noticed it’s true purpose!

 

An item I hate…

The light switch in my laundry room. There is absolutely nothing intuitive about the light switch for controlling the overhead light in my laundry room.

Seems like an easy solution, right? But you notice the switch appears to the “off” despite the light being obviously on.

The initial thought since I live in an old house is that maybe the switch was installed backwards. Seems logical! This happens all the time. If you toggle the light switch to the “on” position, the outside light turns on.

Looking around the room, there is no other switch visible. If you go into the small bathroom just off the laundry room, there is only one switch which controls the over-sink light in that space. If you go into the kitchen, there is only a single switch controlling the overhead light in the kitchen. There is no visible way to turn on or off the laundry room light.

Let’s explore the space further…. 

There is nothing along the baseboards, no pull strings for the light overhead.

But there is a closet…

Opening the closet door yields no obvious ways to turn on the light switch.

You have to look deeper. 

Yes, this is the switch to turn on the laundry room light. When we first moved into this house (we rent), the outdoor motion sensitive light was burnt out and therefore yielded no cue that the switch on the wall inside did not control the one light inside the space. After changing the lightbulb several times, we were convinced that the light was improperly wired and called the maintenance company.

The arrows in the above picture were added by the maintenance man… after he climbed into our attic crawlspace chasing wires because he also could not find the real switch.

They have been left there for posterity.

Object I Love: Bathtub Overflow Drain Cover

For about 15 years of my life, I always thought good baths at home were a myth because the tubs were too small and uncomfortable, and water levels never reached past my shoulders. I’d be freezing from shoulders up with hot water shoulders down, making a dichotic and wholly unsatisfying experience. Enter the bathtub overflow drain cover! As a Southerner living in cold DC weather, this changed my life in the winter. The cover is a physical restraint for water, and the affordance that’s immediately obvious are the little suction cups that place the cover onto the tub, and gives a bit of space for the person to lift the edges and peel off from the tub when they’re done. Suction cups tell me that they’re supposed to grip onto something, and my mental model of suction cups based on past experiences (sticking GPS or phone stand onto car window) tell me that the surface is more than likely going to be vertical.

The material of the drain cover is soft and flexible, giving the user a bit of room for forgiveness should the structure or shape of the bathtub or drain cover be slightly different (rectangular vs rounded rectangle of clawfoot tub). The drain cover reminds me of an analog version of Fitt’s law because the drain itself is huge, but the drain cover is even bigger, so it’s quick and easy placement over the drain.

The material is soft, clear, and takes the temperature of the water, so it’s unobtrusive visually and forgiving should the person touch or rest against it. For such a simple object, Dieter Rams said it best: “good design is unobtrusive”. Having a warm bath is usually a gratifying experience – it’s an easy, out of the box installation with very little cognitive load on the user.

Object I Hate: Petwell Pet Drinking Fountain

 

What you see is my cat doing everything but drinking from the fountain – she will wait patiently for me at my bathroom sink until I turn on the faucet and hand feed her water, or drink out of my cup on my desk. Like all cats apathetic to consumerism, my cat chose to drink everywhere BUT the $40 fountain. What I quickly discovered was really a product suffering from aesthetic-usability effect. The amount of money I spent made the fountain seem like a luxury by raising my perception of it’s value and the water coming out of a fake spout that streamed down looked very aesthetic. The visual feedback was immediate after pouring water inside – the water looked like my own Roman fountain for my beloved cat.

However, what made the fountain unusable it’s propensity for mold (made worse from the material it was constructed from) and the amount of effort required to clean the fountain. The fountain cover created a dark and moist well for mold to grow inside. The material of the fountain was porous and slightly rugged, perfect for mold to cling onto forever and thrive. At one point in my life, and for longer than I’d like to admit, I scrubbed this piece of garbage daily with scalding hot water, pipe cleaners, and various scrubbers. The various nooks, crannies, and impossible places to clean really made the fountain a terrible experience to clean, and it’s clear that many of them were unnecessary and were only hollowed out in that way to save material cost.

The only clear, explicit affordance to me was that the cap should go on the top (but I later removed it because the top of it grew mold all the time) and where to place the ‘torso’ of the fountain. However, if I didn’t place the motor correctly the ‘torso’ wouldn’t fit in place, as evidenced by the middle picture. One feature that was an implicit affordance was that the water pump inside could be taken apart into two pieces. The first time I discovered the ability to do so, I was horrified by the gunk and hair inside and angry that I was not informed of my ability to take apart the motor for cleaning. The cleaning instructions in the manual did not have that step in it. If I had a journey map of my experience using this fountain, it dipped sharply when I called customer service when the fountain broke one day, and the very first thing he asked me was whether or not I had taken apart the motor and cleaned it, and that it’d been a known problem for several years.

For those of you wondering, this fountain solved most almost every problem above in both thoughtful design and material.

It may be odd to love a toaster oven, and yet here we are.  After just a few weeks of having this toaster oven, I am more impressed than I ever have been with a kitchen appliance and find myself using it far more frequently than the rest of the gadgets in our kitchen.

The visibility on the toaster oven is both useful and minimal.  The screen stays subtly back-lit when not in use which makes it unobtrusive but still visible to the user, even in the evening when the natural lighting is less.  However, as soon as the large knob is turned or the toaster oven door is opened, the screen lights up fully and presents a list of options for use, such as “bake”, “reheat”, “toast”, et cetera.   While the toaster oven is in use, such as preheating, baking, or toasting, the screen is still lit but not quite as brightly as when the user is selecting an option.  This means that with a quick glance, the user can see what is happening with the toaster oven and its current temperature, but it is not so bright to be glaring and distracting while performing other tasks around the kitchen while the toaster oven is in use.

In concert with visibility, the feedback on this toaster oven is effective and simple.  Described above, the user is presented with a list of options as soon as they move or click the large knob on the display.  As soon as an option is selected by pressing the knob, the screen shows the option the user has selected and then any further details, such as the time it will take to be done in the instance of toasting or the current degree of heat and what the final level of heat will be in the instance of baking.  I find this to be very useful feedback because it displays exactly the information I am looking for, specifically, what state it is in and what the end result of such state will be (such as the final temperature on the bake setting).  I have used several toaster ovens with incredibly poor feedback that make the user struggle to figure out what the current and expected future status will be, resulting in burnt food and a few explicit phrases.

 

Also found in the kitchen, an object I have grown to hate is a small Keurig coffee machine.  While at the time of purchase, nearly six years ago, I thought it was quite fun and functional, I no longer feel this way.

My biggest issue is with the physical constraints of the water loading mechanism.  In order for the Keurig to work and produce coffee, it needs to be filled with water, nothing ground breaking here.  However, when the lid is lifted to fill the tank with water, all that is show is three plastic circles slightly raised from the bottom of the tank, each displaying a different sized cup.  The user is supposed to put enough water in the tank to reach the desired circle and therefore is able to choose between three sizes of coffee.  The lack of physical constraint that frustrates me is that the user is able to pour in nearly twice as much water as needed by the largest sized cup of coffee the machine can possibly make.

There is much more room in the top of the tank to fill with water than what is actually needed, leading to the common problem of over-filling the water tank.  This may not sound like too great of an issue, but in this specific design of the Keurig, since it is small and compact, it does not have its own separate water tank that you can fill beyond the amount needed for a cup of coffee.  Instead, when too much water is put in the tank, the excess water gets deposited out of the bottom into the little tray.  This often results in overflowing from the tray since the tray is quite small as well.  I think that if the tank itself offered more physical constraints to prevent the user from overfilling, it would be much more enjoyable to use and waste far less water.

A DESIGN I LOVE

A new Keurig coffee maker is my choice for a design I love. Not only does my new coffee maker provide a delicious beverage full of much needed caffeine, It also has well designed features for ease of use. There are numerous affordances that give the user clues on how to operate it, even if it is their first Keurig. There are both visual and auditory feedback, letting the user know that the machine is working and what stage of the coffee making process the user is in. There are also natural mappings and constraints that make for a pleasant experience.

Affordances such as the shape of the lever, on the front of the machine, and the protrusions on the water tank lid indicate to the user that these are movable parts. Each affords lifting. Once, you open the lid to the machine, there is spot for the K-pod.

A physical constraint prevents the K-Cup (a plastic cup filled with coffee) from being placed in the machine the wrong way. When you lower the lid, tactile feedback indicates that the pod is being opened. A visual indicator gives feedback to let you know that you can now brew a cup of coffee.

 

The water tank has a direct natural mapping to the amount of coffee your machine will make for you. What you pour in, is how much coffee you get out. When you push the giant K button on the machine, it immediately gives you feedback that the process has begun. The water tank empties, and the indicator light pulses to let you know things are working as intended.

There is a platform that affords holding objects, and your mug fits perfectly on this spot. The brewing process ends with auditory feedback of the machine pouring hot delicious coffee into your cup.

A DESIGN I HATE

A design I hate is my Creative E5 24 bit DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter). This little black device is loaded with top of the line features and specs that would satisfy the desires of most audiophiles. However, there is no way for me to enjoy these features because of two major flaws with how the designers built the hardware. The flaws are directly related to how it gives you feedback.

The device is battery powered and marketed as a way to take your audiophile needs on the go. This basically allows you to use high end headphones with your smartphone or laptop. You stream your music to the DAC via Bluetooth or plug it in directly via USB. The device converts the digital signal into an analogue signal that your headphones can understand. To control the E5, there are buttons as well as lights on the side. These lights are supposedly there to give you visual feedback and let you know when it is on, charging, and in Bluetooth pairing mode.

 

 

The power button toggles the E5 on and also serves as a way to activate the Bluetooth pairing mode. From the start there are problems. Push the power button for a couple of seconds, the E5 turns on. There is a small amount of tactile feedback as the button pushes in. Hold it for a few more seconds, you switch it into Bluetooth pairing mode. Hold the button even longer and it turns off again. This is a convoluted design as the mode that you are in depends on how long you hold the button. There is poor visual feedback, which fails to let you know what mode you have entered. This visual feedback, which is a different color of light, is insufficient because it is covered by your finger when you press the button. The buttons are smaller than even a child’s finger. Awkwardly, you will try to push the button without covering the light. What’s more, because there is only a small moment of time between switching modes, you will often have to try multiple times to get the device either to enter the correct mode, often overshooting into the one after. Additionally, I don’t understand having a timing element to switching between modes. I have many ideas on how to improve this design, but we need to move things along.

Once you have powered the E5 on and get it connected you will run into even more feedback problems. There is a volume knob on the front of the DAC to allow you to control the volume. However, there is no physical constraints on

the knob, allowing endless scrolling. There is also no feedback (visual or otherwise) to indicate what volume the device is currently set to. Pair this with the fact that you are intended to use this with multiple devices, means that the volume can easily be switched to different levels depending on the source of the audio. Initially, I would accidentally blast my ears with music on near maximum volume because of this problem. Not only could this potentially damage your ears or headphones, but is an overall unpleasant experience. This expensive little device now sits on my desk as a paper weight. Poor design inhibits its most basic functions and eliminates the possibility for a good experience.

Object I love: Hario V60

The Hario V60 is a drip coffee maker that I love because of how easy it is to use and understand how it works. The form of the coffee pot with the Hario Dripper affords the idea that the dripper fits on top of the coffee pot as shown in the image provided. Moreover, the handles let the user know that those are the areas from which you lift and can carry the distinct parts. This design also allows proper mapping and habituation because you can clearly see where the coffee is supposed to go and where it should end up after the brewing process, so a user does not have to think twice about it and all they are focused on is the coffee being made.

object I hate: window blinds

I hate working window blinds because of the lack of visibility and regular breakdowns that occur when trying to use one. Opening the blinds can be very straightforward, you pull and the blinds go up. The reverse action is what gives me a headache every time; I was taught that to close the blinds, you had to pull a little, and then when you release, the blinds will fall to the window sill. Of course, what takes incredibly long is figuring out just how much you have to pull for the blinds to go down, and what way you have to wiggle the cord to make the blinds know they are supposed to go down. From the pictures I provided, you can clearly see there is no way to see how the release mechanism works, all you know is that the cord goes into the little dark rectangle at the top and at some point you either close the blinds or give up.

Object I love: Collapsible Laundry Basket

Collapsed:

Expanded:

This is the ideal basket for space saving purposes. It can expand up to 4 times its size and be able to hold a good amount of material. It can also collapse and be stored in a reasonably small space. I will never give this basket up. The rubber material and creases affords the ability to expand the middle body and collapsibility of the basket. Collapsed, I’ve used it as a tray to carry light stuff around the house, but it’s not designed to be tray, therefore it typically serves no purpose but to be stored in a small space. Expanded, I’ve primarily used it to hold my laundry to and from the washer and dryer. The rubber handles make the basket much more comfortable to carry on the palms of my hands. And the holes around the basket allow for air circulation that is needed when I load it with warm clothes fresh from the dryer. All in all, the design of this basket, especially focusing on its ability to be shrink in size, is a winner in my book.

Object I hate: New Macbook Charger

Don’t get me wrong, I am typically a huge fan of Apple and their designs. Their older magnetic charger ports and the feedback of the charging state by the light indication on the port is simply perfect. What I mainly have an issue with is their redesign of the port as well as the lack of update on the charging block. Switching the port to be a USB-C might have made it more universal, but it is lacking satisfaction and feedback. Going from the ports magnetically attaching to the laptop to having to look around and insert the charger is a step back in my opinion. Not to mention, there is no visual indication on whether or not the laptop was charging. I have heard it make a sound when it connects, but it’s not always consistent. I have had to open my laptop some days to make sure it actually is being charged since I did not receive any sort of feedback that it was indeed charging.

Moving onto the charging block, I have a major issue on its size seeing as it needs to sit perpendicular to the socket. The constraint of this design is not ideal if the wall outlet is behind the couch, for example, and one might need to move a couch in order to charge their laptop. I am aware that they have a cord attachment where the block will sit in between the cords and the size issue is no longer existent, however, it does make the product less compact and more cumbersome to carry around when on the go. If they can make an attachment where the prongs are placed on the side, allowing the block to be parallel to the socket, it would solve many space saving issues. I have depicted in the picture here how potentially simple this new proposed attachment might be.

A Product I love –
Amazon’s Voice-bot Alexa

One of my favorite products that I cannot live without (Ok, that’s an exaggeration, to only express my appreciation for the brilliant design.), Amazon’s voice-control system, Alexa. It lets you speak your wishes to an Echo smart speaker and see them fulfilled.  Using nothing but the sound of your voice, you can play music, search the Web, create to-do and shopping lists, shop online, get instant weather reports, and control popular smart-home products—all while your smartphone stays in your pocket. The product well applied several great design principles and puts the users’ needs into a deeply thoughtful consideration.

Let’s go over some of the explicit design reflections in Alexa.

1. User Intuitive and harmonious
The Alexa app provides simple and easy steps for a user to set up the voice-control system with his/her phone. The design of the product provides 4 buttons and a succinct instruction to minimize any confusion for an average person to interact with the product without requiring the extensive learning. The natural setting of the interaction between the system and the users provides a seamless and pleasant user experience.

2. Consistency
The only requirement of saying the word “Alexa” before sending out voice demands creates a consistently interactive process.

3. Accessible to all users
With only one single requirement of speaking to the device, the system provides access to a variety of users including people with certain disabilities.

4. Reversible
It is ok to say the wrong thing or giving the wrong requests, just shout out “Alexa, stop,” the smart voice AI is capable receive any updated requests.

5. Many more
Above is only a list of a few general features of Amazon’s Voice AI, Alexa can provide to its users. In reality, Amazon has developed multiple versions of their echo products to serve their target users groups for their specific needs.

A product I hate – Google’s Chromebook

 

 

My first impression of Google’s Chromebook is simply great: its sharp sleek look. It is fast enough for tab-heavy browser work. It provides a full workday of battery life; it supports Android apps, and it has a small, light body, and a bright screen. Most importantly, its very affordable price provides people with the pleasure of owning a laptop.

Not until after using it I was extremely frustrated by its missing Cap lock. The Cap key was oddly replaced by another function, “Search” in all Google’s Chromebook keyboards. Instead of locking caps, this key calls up Chrome OS’s search window. You can still do cap lock by having to hit the Search key while holding down the Alt key. The fact of those two keys being far away from each other has disabled the handling of the keys by the user’s left hand  without constantly repositioning. This missing function of locking Cap has violated so many areas in the principles of the basic design and user interactions. It takes away the consistency in the typing experience of the users and violates the fundamentals of the typing rules the users have adopted for years, which in my opinion makes the product unusable. This random update by Google is a violation of these two design principles: Design consistency, habituation.

AN OBJECT I LOVE is my Bose SoundLink Mini, a small, portable Bluetooth speaker that sits atop a charging cradle.

Apart from the great sound quality for its size, I love the care that went into the little design details.

Its buttons afford being easily located even in the dark since the volume buttons are raised and the power button is flush to the left raised edge.

It uses a small signifier of a green battery icon to indicate it is fully charged, and a yellow pulsing icon to indicate it is charging.

I appreciate the audio feedback – when removed from the cradle, it emits two soft beeps in a falling tone. When reconnected to power, it emits the beeps in a rising tone.

The fact the charger can plug directly into the dock means it affords easy removal when I want to take the speaker with me. No need to unplug anything. Just lift and go.

 

AN OBJECT I HATE is this Samsung microwave. It stings, because I picked it out of many, carefully reading reviews online.

There’s a habituation my housemates and I have about how a microwave works and the fact this one works very differently frequently causes a breakdown by needing to think hard about the system’s function.

Most of us are used to typing in the time we’d like to microwave something through a numerical keypad, then pressing the start button.  This microwave dispatches with the numerical keypad, requiring you first to press Start on the microwave (which begins microwaving with 30 seconds on the timer), and then have you rotate the dial to increase the time in 30-second increments.

Not only does this violate the cognitive model of the order we should take (we aren’t used to pressing Start before we enter a cook time), it also makes it challenging to figure out the total cook time.

Let’s say I’m trying to microwave something for 2 minutes. By the time I have pressed start and rotated the dial forward, the time reads 1:57. It puts a non-trivial amount cognitive load on me to do the math and realize I should stop rotating the dial. Worse, if I go too far, and take two seconds to get back, I now have to realize that 1:55 is the correct place for a 2 minute total cook time.

A design I Love: DeWalt Cordless Drill

A design I love is my DeWalt Cordless Drill. This cordless drill with rechargeable battery is easy to handle and understand. To be honest, power tools are not my strong point so being able to use the cordless drill like a pro is a great feeling. This design allows any beginner to just pick up the drill and use it without the need for online tutorials or lengthy instructions manuals (do people actually read those?).

 

 

 

 

 

The DeWalt drill has great visibility. The affordances indicate settings and activation which are easily located and understood, making the drill easy to use even for beginners. The semantic mapping of the settings is clearly indicated, affording easy adjustment. The battery has clear tactile indicators of where to hold and press in order to release the battery. The battery’s physical design also creates a physical constraint, indicating the position the battery should be in when reattaching it to the drill. The iconic representation of the forward and backward arrow clearly maps the direction the drill will turn. The arrow can be pressed in only on one side at a time, physically constraining the possible outcomes.

A design I Hate: Samsung TV Remote

A design I hate is my Samsung TV remote. I have to give the designers props for simplifying the remote compared to the traditional button-loving style of remote, however, their design is not intuitive whatsoever.

While the semantic mapping of some buttons clearly affords each action, the design breakdown is in the circular control, and the volume and channel controls. Perhaps my (and most Americans) prior use of the Apple iPod’s original design utilizing a wheel to control the device influenced the way I perceived the remote. This circular control, however, is not a rotating wheel, it is simply a four directional button– up, down, left, right. This is incredibly confusing, especially without any semantic mapping.

The volume and channel buttons are semantically mapped; however, this is where the second breakdown occurs. The first time I used this remote I did not understand what to do. I first tried to push it as a button. Unfortunately, in regards to the volume control, this just mutes the TV. Albert Einstein famously said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”. Well, I must be somewhat insane because what did I do over and over again but press the control like a button. After several minutes of this, I finally figured that you had to push these tiny devices up or down to change the volume and channel. After much time wasted over a remote, I was finally able to watch one TV episode on Netflix… OK, or maybe a bunch.

Loved Object – Multicolored Pen

The multi-colored pen, invented nearly 60 years ago, is one of the most efficient and versatile writing tools that I’ve always taken for granted and recently had a newfound appreciation for. Nowadays, it even commonly includes a pencil amongst the writing options too!

To start, each option has a fin/tab of sorts at the end and a visible spring that serves as affordances telling you whether it is in a compressed state and can be extended or is in an extended state and can be compressed. When the designer chooses an opaque body, the colors of these tabs still map to the color of the ink you that will be selected. Then, when you push it down far enough, there is a tactile and audible feedback of it lock in place to be used. When one is locked and another is pushed down, there is similar feedback signaling the release of the locked one. This means that half of the motion of switching unlocks the previous color but does not yet necessarily lock the new one, thus eliminating the need for an separate unlocking mechanism. You can either push another halfway and release to an inactive mode or push it all the way to switch completely to another active mode. This automated release also serves as a physical constraint that avoids any simultaneous “selected” statuses and thus avoids confusion of which cartridge is activated. Often, at least some portion of the pen is transparent increasing visibility of the options or what cartridge is currently activated. The number of fins you see maps to the number of cartridges and is usually color-coded to the ink color. Otherwise, the general shape of the pen remains consistent and similar to most other pens for familiarity such as the clip at the end. Some brands even allow for switching out the components to refill or change colors. Coincidentally, the thicker body of the pen improves the accessibility aspect as those with less range of grip and hand closure often need thicker pens to hold properly.

This common tool seems undervalued, but especially useful for professions that require multiple colors frequently such as artists, designers, editors, teachers, etc.

On a somewhat related note / fun fact! :

Although I don’t see very many people use these pens anymore, the desire for multi-color pen is still very strong. A few years ago, someone even initiated a kickstarter project that claimed to make a smart-pen that could instantaneously produce ink matching a color of any object you “scan” with the tip of the pen.

The Scribble Pen, supposedly based in San Francisco, asked for 100k and raised 366k, only to cancel their campaign when kickstarter asked them to create a video that displayed the pen’s use more thoroughly. Their videos were analyzed and declared faked. They got away with $366,566 because people blindly supported the idea of a revolutionary multi-color pen. Tech blogs and news sites spread the enthusiasm like wildfire with more hope than skepticism. To this day, no real existing person can be found behind this fake company. Only 2 names were ever mentioned in association but nobody of such names can be found to match the profile. Imagine if Apple/Google/Microsoft actually came up with a pen that did this! There is definitely a market for it.

Hated Object – Apple iPhone/iPad

I apologize in advance because I do not know how to be concise when I feel this passionately about bad design I am forced to interact with.

My main frustration with iphones (my work phone) and ipads (my parents’ tablets that I have to set up and do maintenance for) comes from how the products over-constrain users in their actions and access. In their attempt to “idiot-proof” their products, they minimize visible actions, over-simplify affordances, and over-simplify mapping and functions. Even though Apple products are known as the most user-friendly products, these over-simplifications actually make it more difficult for me to navigate. I find myself often looking for a specific capability that is deeply nested and screaming at my phone, whereas the typical Apple approach intends for the user to choose from a list of visible capabilities revealed from the previous action/button. Then, when a basic capability isn’t allowed under certain conditions, the blue affordance is replaced by a visible grey “inactive” version, but they lack visible explanations as to why. Similarly, they persistently require authentication that you are the owner of the product to “thief-proof” while also preventing you from doing anything you might regret. Even for simple things like updating an app or turning on the phone, it feels as if I am asked to authenticate nonstop. Their overly strict security protocol also prevents a lot of app developers from publishing an app in their app store, making android’s PlayStore much more diverse and expansive.

Another issue with authentication is that they require a 2-step authentication which assumes that the owner is actively and presently holding either another or a previous product registered under the same email in order to authenticate with a code sent to it. This 2-step process used to be an option but is now mandatory. As someone who set up apple products under the same email for her elderly parents, I can imagine the same frustration for parents who hold accounts for products in their children’s possession. Now that the 2-step process is mandatory, I also cannot simply just go back and reset the older apple products under a new Apple ID to prevent linking the products. Apple products are constantly updating with new versions with an upper limit on the most updated version of iOS that it can handle after a few years, in which case these products subsequently cannot download new apps and can only grandfather old apps that were “purchased” under the original Apple ID. Even the last heard of workaround using itunes to re-sync the product with an older app is no longer viable since itunes eliminated its apps control component this past year. The updates to their software assumes that customers discard older products after a few years, despite their reputation for quality and longevity. These issues persist across all apple products and are internally consistent.

Other design aspects that I’ve strongly disliked include its tempered glass construction (I have seen many more smashed iphone screens than any other), the non-removable battery, and more recently, the specially designed headphone plug that replaced the universal 3.5mm jack, thus requiring a converter much like the macbook’s display port adaptor for the universally used HDMI cables. These are constraints, not nudges.

These newer iphone headphones then cannot be used directly with macbooks without the converter. Apple products are notoriously externally inconsistent and incompatible with the rest of the tech world. Many of Apple’s users become voluntarily consumed by Apple products saying it simply makes sense once you have one product. But that is one way of saying they have little choice otherwise. If they want to sync any of their products or even to set up products individually can become tedious and convoluted processes with any non-Apple product. This extends out to collaborating with users of other products. Classmates and professors/teachers work together less effectively as they have to consider that others are not also using macs/PCs. I personally see Apple products like VW’s TDI cars: pretty to look at, used by the cool kids, produced by remarkable people, and difficult to let go. But behind the smoke and mirrors, the insane inconvenience–disguised & marketed as “convenience”–is precisely what forces existing iphone users to upgrade often and motivates android users to avoid trying iphones. In my ideal world, I would only have to encounter android technology paired with Apple’s spectacular customer service.

An Object I Love: My Apple Airpods

They are so convenient to use and are completely wireless. I use them multiple times a day for business and personal tasks. The have a case for storing them that keeps them from getting lost, but also charges them. The visibility, feedback, and affordances all make this product truly functional and the physical design makes it delightful.

Visibility is a basic principle of interaction design and indicates a system’s status, actions that can be performed and the potential results of those actions.¹ Visibility is a fundamental feature for this product because people need to know how much battery life is left for their headphones. The AirPods provide multiple ways to have visibility to the battery life. If the case is opened near the phone, a window pops up that shows status, it’s available on the widget screen and the case itself has an led than can indicate the battery of the case or the headphones. The feedback works well too. When I put the AirPods in my ears and they connect to one of my devices, they play a sound that confirms they are connected. The case has a horizontal depression to indicate where to open it. When I pick up the case, I can just feel it with my thumb to know where to push to open it and I don’t recall ever really paying attention to this feature before, it seems like I just instinctively knew because the depression affords pushing.

The visibility, feedback, and affordances all work together to make this product very functional, but it goes beyond that because I really enjoy just interacting with this product. Norman² holds that technology should bring more to our lives than just performance and the AirPods do this successfully. The anthropomorphic shape of the AirPods is smooth and feels well thought out. The shape of the case is just the right size and the rounded corners make it comfortable in my pocket. The lid of the case closes with a magnet, so there is no latch or button to mess with. The magnet causes the lid to close with a snap that’s not too hard, but hard enough to where you feel satisfied that it’s closed and your AirPods are safe and secure inside and getting charged. The pop up window that show the battery life shows an image of the AirPods and the case and they have a nice animation where they both rotate in a circle. This animation doesn’t add anything to the functionality of the product, but it’s nice to watch and add to the overall richness and enjoyment.

Objects I Hate: The Light Switches in My House

I hate the light switches in my kitchen, well my whole house really, but I’m going to focus mostly on the kitchen for this post. There are three sets of switches total that control two sets of overhead lights and various other things. Two of the sets include a control for the pendant lights above the island and a single switch controls the recessed lights in the ceiling. Unlike Melissa and Tara, I’m fine with overhead lighting, but I am constantly going to the wrong switch to turn a light on or off because the mapping doesn’t make any sense.

Mapping is the relationship between the controls and the outcomes they cause and should reduce the user’s need to think about what a control effects or what the outcome will be.² The mapping of the switches in my kitchen are unnatural because the spatial relationship doesn’t indicate what switches control what lights. All of the lights are in the ceiling in basically the center of the room, but three different switches that control these central lights are spread out from each other. After I thought about why these switches are the way they are, I realized that the recessed lighting was added later and that’s why the switch is all by itself. There wasn’t enough room near then main set of switches to add another one. At least that’s my theory. So, sometimes when I’m in the kitchen and I want to turn on a certain set of lights, I fall back to this conceptual model that I’ve constructed and it works. The negative is that there’s a cognitive load associated with recalling that information since it’s in my head and not readily discoverable by looking around. The other annoying thing is that there are two controls on opposite sides of the room that control the pendant lights above the island. This means if someone goes to the far end of the kitchen and uses that switch to turn on the lights, then the switch at the more-trafficked end of the kitchen will be in the down position even when the light is on. If I want to turn on the recessed lights and I see this switch in the down position, I’ll walk over and switch it without even thinking about and then both sets of lights are off in the kitchen when I wanted them both on!

As if the functionality of these switches isn’t bad enough they are ugly and don’t match. Yes, I know this would something easy to fix, but we haven’t bothered to do it. The set by the back door is black and looks really old. The far right switch on that set turns off the outside light and we like to keep it on, so we’ve added a piece of scotch tape over it because it was inadvertently getting switched off, making it look even worse.

Around the house, some switches that are near doors have molding from the door around them, but some do not. Why? It’s inconsistent and weird. And, don’t even get me started on the bathroom light switches. There are two sets and we’ve had to add semantic mapping to even know what they control.

 

Object I Love: Philips Sonicare toothbrush

This electric toothbrush represents a great combination of technology and user experience. It has a very simple design, but it includes all the functionality we need. The clear visibility of the on/off button and affordance provide me what to do just by looking at it. The toothbrush has a built in timer, so it briefly pauses and sounds a tone after 2 minutes. It responds and provides good feedbacks to the user when the time is up. The toothbrush also clearly visible when it needs to be charged as it blinks red with audible beeps. It is easily charged on the charge station and the light indicates that the toothbrush is charging. My toothbrush is not the latest design since I got this a few years ago, but I like mine better than the latest design, which has been updated with more buttons and functionality. I think that the current toothbrush with one button gives physical constraint that restricts other possible interactions and is only focused on limited necessary actions. This connects to the idea of Okham’s razor, minimizing the elements as much as possible and making the simplest and fewest assumptions.

 

Object I Hate: IKEA clock

This IKEA white alarm clock is neat and modern in its design with alarm and snooze functions. The clock is visually simple, but at the first glance, I could not find a clear visual hierarchy and call to action buttons. When I flip it, it has two tiny buttons for time, date, alarm and snooze functions, another button for background lighting, and a battery. The main features are supposed to be easy to understand since the label of each button is mapped to its functionality, but the way of using the buttons is complex. To change the number each time you set the time and alarm, you need to keep pressing the mode button; for instance, to display “50”, you need to click the mode button 50 times. It also doesn’t provide any clear response and feedback while I am doing tasks or after completing tasks, so I am always unsure if I accomplish tasks correctly or not. Unfortunately, there are no manuals for this clock, and I am still not sure if I am using the features correctly or not. Especially, the complicated methods and unclear visibility make me take a long time to figure out and complete the task. I currently left this clock for display only. This clock makes me realize that simplicity is not always the answer for a good experience of a product. The problem of this clock is that it doesn’t provide a good mapping and conceptual model, so it makes it hard for people to understand what it is about, what’s happening and how it should be done.

An object I love… 

is this cheese grater!  I’m not going to lie; I may have bought it purely for aesthetic reasons, but was surprised when it actually worked well. Each of the four sides has different-sized openings used for a variety of grating styles. In this particular picture, the horizontal holes are used to slice things with an even thickness (which I have used for radishes and zucchinis).  It’s logical constraints limit this item to be used only as sharp items are used, but its form and slant signify the grater be set down on a flat surface (such as a cutting board) so the cheese or other delicacy be spread out easier than from a vertical surface. The handle on top affords itself to be held down while used… and while it may seem uncomfortable to hold, it’s actually quite fitting for a hand. For me, it goes beyond obvious need or expectation, and entices people with its unique shape and finish for a regular kitchen item.

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An object I hate…

is this stool! Okay, I know this is a repeat picture and object from our chairs post… but I seriously despise having to sit on this for more than five minutes. Of course the affordance of the shape and size of this object is to sit down, but because it doesn’t provide any back rest, it is extremely uncomfortable. The pieces of wood towards the bottom also afford for the person sitting to rest their feet on it, but the height isn’t low enough for it to feel natural. I will say, however, that this stool lends itself to be used as a step-stool to reach things on the top shelf of the cabinet. Its seat slightly adheres to contour bias, which is probably the reason I bought it at the thrift store over the traditional, circular-topped stool.

An Object Omar Loves

This simple and symmetric object is a range hood. I just replaced an inset microwave for this hood because I always wanted to have something more effective at keeping the smoke and fumes of the kitchen from spreading all over the house. Specially, when I am cooking my favorite steaks, fish, and chicken dishes.

The hood aesthetic design is inviting and conducive to better usability combined with a limited set of actions grouped in a related sequence for good continuation practice. Plus, good application and use of constraints necessary to allow the user interaction with the artifact with a minimum set of variations for the better control of the unit.

It is clear what actions can be taken and nothing else clutters the interface. The accompanying iconic representation on each button provides affordances that clearly correlate and map the full set of functions available to the user.

As the expected and user basic needs are met with the main functionality the hood design moves into up in the hierarchy of needs pyramid by providing  two easy to remove and wash filters. Plus an added set of lights for better view of the range and cooking area. The design fits my kitchen perfectly and what is most important is that it works better than expected. The one thing I will consider less than perfect is the noise of the fan when turn on. It’s a bit laud which prevents me from listening the TV when I am cooking and watching something. Everything else works like a charm.

An Object Omar Hates

Item I hate is this electronic light switch. I bought it and installed it when I traveled to Europe. It was easy to install and somewhat easy to follow directions on a (microscopic font size) installation guide.

This devise allowed me to set time intervals for certain lights to be turned on and off when I am away from the house for long periods of time.

The idea is great, and it worked as designed for the first few times. But one day I lost the small user guide and now the lights do whatever they want they turn on a three in morning, 4 in the afternoon, and when I try turning them off it doesn’t obey the command. Its like I make things worse every time I press something. They’ve turned into a nightmare for me.

With a very minimalistic and aesthetic design this device show promise but the user interaction iconic representation on buttons, corresponding affordances, and UI Button mapping have done nothing to help me remember (Memorability) what to do to reset. Even though it has the known labels such as Mode, Prog, Time, etc. every time I try to do something with it the feedback I get is opposite to what I try to do provoking cognitive dissonance in my experience and expectations. I do manage more complex UIs during my every day experience with everything I do. But this little thing caused me to experience more frustration than I think is allowed due to the low cost of the artifact.

Object I Love

I love this espresso/cappuccino machine because it’s simple, easy-to-use, and sleek (just look at those smooth curves; hello contour bias). Even without reading the instructions, the affordances in this machine’s design make it clear to users what actions should be taken of each component. Some of the affordances employed by this machine are listed below:

• The hinges of the metal lid reveal that this is a lid that swings open from the front.
• The narrowing mouth of the dispenser indicates that below this is where the drink is dispensed.
• The metal grills, which are a form of forgiveness in design, help to “minimize the negative consequences of error” (Lidwell, Holden and Butler, 2010) by acting as a security measure in the case that there is an accidental spillage.
• The four buttons clearly look like buttons that can be pressed. Each button is then made distinguishable through iconic representation that allows the user to quickly differentiate between the size (either a shot or a cup) and type (either an espresso or cappuccino) of drink that will result from pressing the button.
• The small rectangular toggle indicates that a user can drag the toggle to the right. This then results in the opening of the milk tray. While this feature may not be evident at first, a user will quickly understand its function given this machine’s purpose and through a simple process of elimination.

I thought it might be of interest to add that cognitive conditioning may also play a role in why I find this machine so delightful. Before using this espresso machine, I am usually in a groggy tired state. However, knowing that the espresso shots dispensed by this machine will increase my vitality and thereby my mood, my psycho-pleasure is enhanced while using this machine. After repeatedly using this machine, my body now associates it with the reward of feeling alive. So I guess that may be another reason why I love it.

Object I Strongly Dislike

These are the controls of my new electric clothes dryer. I realize that a lot of dryer controls look like this, but just because a design is commonly used does not necessarily make it a good. From the crowded text to the duplicate labels to the awkwardly angled off positions to the ambiguous time measurements, this design is all but easy to use.

On the day that we got this dryer, my mom explained to me, “Make sure when you dry your clothes, don’t use ‘very dry’. You can just go with less dry and keep drying it if it isn’t dry enough.” I didn’t think I’d ever heard ‘dry’ repeated so many times in a sentence. The day inevitably arrived that I needed to use this dryer and my mother’s advice echoed in my brain. However, after arriving at this device, I was taken aback by the number of options. According to Hick’s Law, the number of alternatives increases the amount of time it takes to make a decision and I remember staring at these controls for a few minutes completely dumbfounded. Not only were there a lot of options, at first glance there seemed to be two sets of the same options.

I wasn’t sure which setting to use or which “Less dry” to twist the knob to face. It took me longer than it should have to process the controls and recognize that the disparity between the two “Automatic Dry” options was the level of heat — either low or high. This was because these labels are written in a tiny font that makes them hardly legible. I feel like a better way to design this would have been to show “Low Heat” and “High Heat” as the main headers with  “Automatic Dry” underneath (in a legible font size). This way, it would be easy to pinpoint the difference between the two options.

It was also strange that the high heat “Automatic Dry” seemed to denote a(n) (arbitrary) sense of hierarchy because it was written in a larger font size than for low heat. This made me subconsciously think that it was the default option, so after all that contemplation I finally decided to twist the knob to face the high heat “Less Dry”. Needless to say, my mom had actually been referring to low heat and my clothes shrunk.

Works Cited

Lidwell, W., Holden, K. and Butler, J. (2010). Universal principles of design. 2nd ed. Rockport Publishers, pp.22, 62, 104, 132.

 

I love the Flippr Ironing Board

Ironing board was first patented in 1892 U.S. Patent #473,653 and since then, not much has changed in its design. I love Flippr for all the new ideas it brings to this age-old product. It’s strong, thoughtfully designed and practical to use.

Here’s why it stands out for me:

1. 360 flip function

The good – It makes ironing easy and efficient.

The ‘could be better’ – no affordance to hint where’s to lift and flip the board from. No semantic mapping either.

2. Clamps to hold the trouser in place

The good – Trousers remain in place even when iron is moving across and over them with applied pressure.

The ‘could be better’  – The clamps are not very strong, but there’s no constraint in the design to prevent application of excessive force.

3. Easy to fold and unfold the board

The good – semantic mapping of various levels of height.

The ‘could be better’ – no physical constraint. The height adjuster is made of plastic and can easily break if the user applied excessive force.

4. Additional plank to iron the sleeves

The good – hassle free way to iron shirt sleeves.

The ‘could be better’  – poor feedback about how much pressure it can take.

Flippr is a great idea but it could have become even better if it had a build quality to match its practical design.

 

I hate these pullout drawers

Here’s why it hate them:

1. Always gets stuck. There’s no constraint to prevent the user from exerting excessive force. There’s no affordance to lift the pullout from the bottom to prevent it from getting stuck or making excessive noise while being pulled or pushed. There is no way for the user to know how much force to apply and what to do if the drawer were to get stuck.

2. There’s no way to get habituated. Every time I open it, I feel like I’m doing it for the first time.

 

 

 

Object I Love: Easy-Macro lens

If you’re thinking that this object just looks like a piece of plastic embedded in a rubber band, well, yeah. That’s essentially what it is. Unlike the fancier macro lenses for mobile phones (lenses that clip on and have interchangeable pieces), my Easy-Macro lens is a single piece with no moving parts and zero customization options. I’ve bought a few of the expensive clip-on lenses and they all ended up at the bottom of a drawer. So what makes this one special?

The simplicity of this macro lens is its greatest strength.

Since it stretches to fit, it’s adjustable to any phone size and any lens location, fits over most phone cases, and only takes a couple of seconds to position. It’s also really strong; pretty much as durable as a sturdy rubber band. And the most important aspect for me–it’s extremely portable. I put it on a business card and keep it in my wallet. It’s tiny, it weighs almost nothing, and fits inside an item I always have with me. It’s also inexpensive enough that if I lose it, it’s easy to replace.

Constraints are paramount in this design. There is only one way it can be put onto a phone. Users are already familiar with how rubber bands function, and that they wrap around objects. The item has two parts–rubber and plastic–and neither of them move. It’s also reversible, making it impossible to put on inside-out. Mapping is simple; you position the plastic lens directly on your phone’s camera lens. Finally, there is immediate visual feedback when it is correctly or incorrectly positioned; you can tell simply by looking through your phone’s camera.

I love my dumb rubber band lens so much, in fact, that I regularly recommend it to friends. There’s something really wonderful about being able to instantly capture these hidden secrets and beautiful details in the world around me.

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Object I Hate: IKEA PS 2002 watering can

Sometimes you run across an object and you think, hey, didn’t we figure this out centuries ago? Watering cans are not exactly revolutionary items. This was my perspective when I bought a watering can from IKEA. In fact, I was so confident in its design that I bought two. I assumed that all watering cans were more or less the same, functionally speaking, so I felt empowered to opt for a very svelte looking one.

This watering can has a beautiful, sleek, and open design. The spout is a trough rather than a tube, and the body of the can is uncovered. Unfortunately, this means that it’s nearly impossible to control the flow of water. Water gushes out of this thing and all you can do is panic and slosh the can around as a puddle forms on your toes. It’s also got a cute handle, which means absolutely nothing when the can is full, since it’s completely off-balance as you carry it– even more water spilling on your feet. The handle is just a tricky affordance that lulls you into a false sense of security.

Many design principles are in use here, yet the execution is poor. Visibility is pretty clear; you can see where to fill the can and how the water pours out. The can has a lot of physical constraints. You can’t mistakenly fill it anywhere but into the body, and the spout is clearly designed to funnel water out, opposite the handle. It’s a design and action that most people are accustomed to, which makes it all the more jarring when it functions poorly.

Perhaps they should have thought less about constraining the user and more about constraining the water.

LOVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love my Louis Vuitton Zippy wallet in Damier Azur. I bought this wallet more than seven years ago and it still looks and feels great. My wallet is made out of coated canvas on the outside, cowhide leather lining on the inside with strong golden metal pieces. What I love most about this wallet is the affordance; its large capacity with 12 credit cards slots, zip coin pock, and large gusseted compartments to fit your daily essentials. I can put my Galaxy Note 8 in this wallet and still able to zip close to carry as clutch, so I don’t have to carry my big handbag. 

Furthermore, Damier Azur black and white checkered pattern is stylish, clean, and modern. I particularly appreciate brand’s logo not being all over the canvas.  The Zippy wallet was pricey, however, even after 7 years, my wallet is in great condition.  I think it’s worth every penny.

HATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An object I hate in my house has to be the HP Pavilion dv6-3013cl Entertainment Notebook PC laptop that I purchased about a year ago from Costco. What I thought was a sweet deal of only $300, now I’m thinking I paid $300 too much. I wanted a simple computer with decent glossy display for online surfing, occasional light work and email exchange.

First, battery life on this laptop is terrible– 2 hours to 2.5 hours maximum. Second, the processing speed is super slow and makes waiting time unpleasant, especially when I’m in a rush. I often had to close my laptop before the content loaded steaming with frustrations! The trackpad on the HP Pavilion is not as responsive. It fails to act when I left click, only after several attempts it will register. The tactile and aural impressions are apparent, nevertheless, I often experience failure in its response.

Object I Love: Topo Designs Backpack

An object that I love is my Topo Designs Klettersack. I have been using this backpack for over three years almost everyday– to work, to travel, and on-the-go during the weekends. I was initially drawn to it for its mountaineer-inspired look, but fell in love for how its form is a product of its functional design.

The backpack has three main storage areas and there is visibility to each, their function revealed simply by looking at the object:

• A “dopp kit” sized compartment has the only exterior facing zipper. This compartment is for smaller objects, but is deceptively large.
• Two side pockets afford themselves to holding more portable, easy to access items while you’re on the go such as water bottles, umbrellas, and even my bike lock.
• A large compartment comprises the rest of the backpack and is accessible by unclipping the “dopp kit”, flipping it over, and expanding the opening using a drawstring mechanism.

Nice red-colored accents on the zipper and drawstring contrast the dark tones of the bag and signify a means to access the contents of the bag. The drawstring is particularly fun and novel, and while this mechanism isn’t a common feature of many backpacks, physical constraints outline how it can be opened. Once the dopp kit is released via clips and flipped over (a less fun interaction), the cinch closure opening to the main compartment is revealed. A toggle runs down the drawstring which serves as a track, and loosens the opening.

The inside of the bag of the bag is also unique as it bright yellow. However, this color serves as a feature to make objects easier for people to see. Typically the insides of bags are dark and individuals have to fumble around in order to obtain the desired object. The yellow sharply contrasts with most objects contained within. Additionally, there is consistency between the interior of the main container and the Dopp kit, which again signals that the color decision is intentional. Black accents amongst the yellow interior serve as signifiers for further storage inside this compartment– a laptop sleeve and a smaller compartment for items such as papers or pencils.

Further, items such as blankets or jackets can be fastened to the klettersack by placing the item in between the dopp kit and the rest of the bag, clipping it together, and tightening the straps. This is most definitely another novel feature, that I like to use when hiking outdoors or even taking a blanket to a park picnic in the city.

 

 

 

Object I Hate: 1960s Pentax Spotmatic (At least certain parts of it…)

I must caveat that I actually love my 1960s Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic from an aesthetic perspective (its form and also the ability to create beautiful pictures). However, I absolutely hate its lack of learnability and the breakdown that often occurs with the “film advance” mechanism. This is largely a problem of another era and due to limitations in technology during this time, but my love for vintage cameras causes me to put up with the frustration.

Admittedly when I first started using film cameras, my conceptual model of how they worked was built upon the currently more common digital understanding. In order to build a new conceptual model, I observed the object. Unfortunately visibility to the entire system when film is loaded is not available as most of the “advance mechanism” must be hidden behind a closed camera door so as to not expose the roll. I had to really observe the inside of the system before loading any film to understand how it operates. Learnability is clearly not valued by the designers here, and unless you have been taught how to do this by someone, it’s really not easy to figure out on first use.

Here’s what the user is supposed to know about how it works, but can only figure out once the camera is open:

A film canister is loaded into a chamber, and film is spooled through the “advance mechanism”. A lever on the outside of the camera is used to advance a frame  from the canister to be exposed to an image by the user pressing a button. The lever must be pulled again for the frame to be transported to a storage area. As pictures are taken, exposed frames sit in the storage area until the roll is respooled back into the canister to be developed.

Further frustration relates to the times when a breakdown in the system occurs– the advance mechanism sometimes gets misaligned with the film and does not advance the roll any further. In this case, two scenarios occur:

• Feedback is provided signifying a breakdown through a physical constraint (the lever gets stuck). There is no way to fix this without opening the camera and exposing the film to light. This is directly in opposition to Don Norman’s attitude on errors, as it completely punishes the user for trying to fix the breakdown.
• Faulty feedback is provided when the lever can be rotated but the film does not actually advance. In this way, the user doesn’t even know there was a breakdown.

In the end, it’s quite difficult to understand how to operate something when half the system is hidden to the user. Further, it’s a crapshoot whether the system works as intended or you end up exposing all your film. 

 

An Object I Love: Oster Rice Cooker

While in general I am not the biggest fan of appliances with only one purpose, the ease-of-use and simplicity of this rice cooker make it worthwhile, especially if you make a lot of rice.

All of its parts and functions are easily visible, including the pot, steamer, lid, and button. The affordances of the pot easily indicate that the button is the only thing you can use to operate the rice cooker, which is also physically constrained to only move up or down.

The mapping is very clear too: when the button is in the down position, it’s cooking. When it’s in the up position after cooking, it’s keeping the contents of the pot warm.

When it’s done cooking, there is also unobtrusive feedback, as opposed to annoying beeps—you can hear the button click as it goes into the keep warm setting.

It’s very hard to mess up a pot of rice with this appliance, which is the most important thing.

An Object I Hate: Instant Pot Ultra (Interaction Design)

To be clear, I love my Instant Pot and will never stop loving it even though the interaction design on the Ultra, allegedly the most-advanced model, is awful. 

The dial is the worst for selecting which function you want to use and making changes to the settings. The mapping is very unclear—does turning the dial clockwise make it go up or down? I have yet to remember, and I’ve been using it for months. There are also no affordances on the dial to suggest that you push it to select or confirm.

Once you manage to select what you want, you can also adjust the time, pressure, temperature, and other settings. The mapping is improved because the options are displayed side-by-side, but feedback and constraints become more relevant. When you try to select a specific setting with the dial to change it, the text on the screen blinks but isn’t actually clear on what the blinking means. The real problem though, is that there are no physical constraints on the dial to force you to go through the selections slower, or one at a time. It turns too quickly.  This is useful to go through many options quickly when choosing the function, but not when there are only two options. On top of that, you’re forced to listen to very annoying and unnecessary beeping every time you turn the dial that means nothing at all.

Ironically, the older model actually has a more intuitive interaction design. It has buttons for each function and labeled buttons to control settings.

Love: my quip toothbrush

One artifact I love is my quip toothbrush. This electric toothbrush brings me joy because the vibrations that are used to clean my teeth more thoroughly than manual brushing are also used as a nudge and a constraint. Once I press the “q” button at the base of the brush head, the quip toothbrush is designed to vibrate in four 30-second increments with a short pause in between for a total of 2 minutes. The four 30-second increments are meant to brush each quadrant of my mouth (upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right) and the pauses between the 30-seconds nudge me to switch to another part of my mouth. After the total 2 minute run time, it uses 3 quick vibrations to signal its automatic shut off which is a constraint that gives me an accomplished feeling once I reach 2 minutes, as this is the recommended brush time for most people.

Since quip is a startup innovating tooth brushing, a few other cool quip features include a subscription to a replacement brush head refill sent automatically every 3 months, and the base/cover can be mounted to bathroom mirrors with an adhesive that doesn’t lose its stickiness which is perfect for traveling!

Hate: my box fan’s speed control knob

One artifact I hate is my box fan’s speed control knob. I am often left confused by the knob on this particular box fan because when I turn it on, the fan immediately jumps to its highest speed setting because the numbers go from 0 then to 3. It then takes me 3 clicks to turn it to the lowest setting of 1, which is typically my preferred setting. My mental model for fan speed controls (and most controls) is that they should gradually increase in strength and number from their “off” setting, therefore 0-1-2-3 makes more sense to me than 0-3-2-1. I keep forgetting that the control knob is different for this particular box fan and keep getting surprised by the sudden strength of the wind it emits when I turn it on.

Object that I HATE

Headphone Jack-Less iPhone

Besides being a texting device or personal computer, my phone is most importantly a music player. Listening to music in the car helps get me energized in the morning and de-stressed in the evening. It helps keep me awake during long road trips or when I’m driving late at night. But when I upgraded my iPhone, a new constraint restricted my possibilities for playing music.

The iPhone no longer sports a headphone jack, effectively severing my ability to both play music and charge my phone at the same time in the car (my car doesn’t have a USB plug, so I need both an aux cord and a lightning port).

In order to do both, I had to buy a $50 adapter in addition to using Apple’s headphone jack adapter. This results in frequent breakdowns whenever I drive over bumps. I will lose audio connection and have to unplug the adapter (while driving) and plug it back in.

Unfortunately, there is neither feedback nor visibility on the interface as to whether or not plugging the adapter back in successfully reconnected the audio. The music doesn’t automatically start replaying, and nothing on the screen indicates a connection, so I have to manually press play and hope that music comes through the speakers. If it doesn’t, sometimes I have to unplug the adapter multiple times (again, while driving) before it finally reconnects.

There’s also no feedback or visibility of the system status regarding what’s causing the breakdowns. Sometimes the audio will disconnect from the tiniest bump, while other times it will be just fine going over huge ones.

What’s most frustrating is that the removal of the headphone jack wasn’t in response to some major design flaw. It was just a shameless ploy by Apple to force us all to buy their new #$@&%*! Airpods.

Object that I LOVE

Apple Airpods

Unfortunately, I love their #$@&%*! Airpods. There is immediate habituation: once they’re in my ears, I totally forget they’re there—they fit perfectly, they don’t become loose or jostle around, and they don’t get in the way of my movements when I’m performing other tasks.

There is a visible indication of the system status (a green light in the carrying case indicates a full charge, whereas an orange light indicates that a charge is needed) and there is feedback to my actions (they make a noise or automatically start playing music when I put them in my ears, and they pause the music when I take them out).

The Airpods have very clear affordances (they’re the same shape as the previous Apple earbuds) and very clear constraints (each Airpod only fits in its corresponding charging slot).

The mapping between the controls and their effects is also very simple and straightforward. There is only one charging port on the carrying case and only one button (which is used to pair the Airpods with a Bluetooth device).

Overall, the Airpods are extremely intuitive, easy-to-use, and make my life a lot more convenient. I love them.

Love

Don’t let the name throw you off. The full product name itself already suggests this is no ordinary alarm clock. It has been a favorite object of mine used every weekday for nearly a decade. Its primary objective is to gradually wake you up with light that simulates a sunrise. If that fails a whimsical tone kicks in at the alarm “set” time just like a normal alarm clock. Mind blown ?.

Even at a remote distance the constant display of time is apparent. Two buttons along the edge map exactly to two small alarm icons on the display. Collectively these visual cues can reasonably help infer the device serves as an alarm clock. Pressing these alarm buttons provides immediate on-display feedback to indicate whether the alarms have been turned on or off. Across the bottom are four unobtrusive buttons that light up only upon approach else they remain subdued. They are semantically mapped to a single word or icon that each serve a specific function. Yet this mapping is sufficient to set the alarm, desired whimsical tone, clock time, and max brightness of the sunrise simulation.

Hate

Generally known for incorporating good usability principles, Apple perhaps didn’t get it quite right with the Apple TV remote. Its function as a remote is easily inferred with a quick glance. Button presses manipulate screen content in a timely manner. So where are the shortcomings? It lies in the lack of any physical constraints to help distinguish orientation and individual buttons which end up affecting a seamless experience. There are a set of users including myself who learn to navigate a remote by tactile feel in order to reach a few critical buttons. Over time looking at the remote becomes unnecessary. For such users the tapered physical shape helps communicate orientation and whether a remote is being held upside down. Differentiated button shapes further help identify the few critical ones that have been learned. The buttons on Apple’s remote are laid out symmetrical with each button being nearly indistinguishable by feel. The remote’s small, symmetrical rectangular shape with a nearly smooth surface across the entire top and bottom don’t provide orientation clues. The result is one must first look to see if orientation is correct and subsequently identify the proper button desired. Yes, this is without a doubt a hash-taggable “#firstworldproblem.”

– by Q aka Alex Duong

An object I love is my Bowers & Wilkins PX Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones. This love is due to the pure exhilaration and joy I get from listening to music with these headphones. The sound is incredibly crisp and well rounded, creating an immersive experience similar to a concert venue. My absolute favorite feature of these headphones are the ear pads.

Affordances for these headphones are subtle, to the point where signifiers would be helpful. The ear pads cup my ears perfectly, creating a comfortable gap between my ears and the headphone’s drivers. The drivers are angled so that they create a 3d sound effect within the ear pads. Another benefit from these drivers are that if you put these headphones on the wrong ears, the angled drivers dig into your ears. This physical constraint helps you put the headphones on correctly.

On the right ear pad, the controls are located on the back of the headphones. Volume up, pause, and volume down are grouped together and have unique ridges to differentiate from one another. The physical mapping allows me to control the headphones without having to take them off. The only confusion caused by the physical mapping is that there are hidden controls based on how many times you hit pause consecutively (double click is skip forward and triple click is to go backwards).

An object I hate and loathe is the Spigen® Car Mount Holder. At first, it seemed like an incredibly simple solution to attach my phone to my dashboard. After attaching the enclosed metal plate to my phone, the car mount magnetically attaches to the phone. Based on the way the car mount is designed, the affordance shows that it fits through the grates of your air conditioning vents.

The problem with this car mount holder is that as smart phones have grown larger, the more difficult it is to see where the car mount attaches to the metal plate. The phone becomes a barrier (physical constraint) to actually attach to the car mount holder.

The one thing I hated most about this car mount holder is also the breakdowns to this product. As I said before, smart phones keep getting larger and heavier. The prongs that I believed were a great affordance actually broke down from the weight of the phone. The prongs would no longer grip onto my air conditioning vent and broke shortly after a week of use. It was definitely the biggest waste of money in recent memory.

Power Pressure Cooker XL

A object that I love is my Electric Power Pressure Cooker XL. Why do I love it? Because it cooks me delicious food FAST. I have owned it for over two years and have used it almost every week to meal prep. It is so good, I would argue that if you owned this, you could survive without a kitchen. This pressure cooker is very easy to use and the visibility of all functions are not only indicated with words but with pictures too. There are 10 buttons: Delay time, Time Adjustment, Power/Cancel, Canning, Soup, Slow Cook, Rice/Risotto, Beans, Vegetables, Meat. To cook a meal, you add the required ingredients, press the button for the corresponding “type” of food and set the time. There is also appropriate feedback designed into the product. The buttons beep and light up when you press on it and a digital display lets you know the remaining cook time. The only complaint I have is that you aren’t given the option of cooking something longer than 20 minutes. Although most pressure cooker recipes don’t require more than 20 minutes, there are times I would like to be able to leave the pressure cooker on for a little bit longer. This constraint is probably built in for my own safety but I have found a workaround so it’s not really a big deal.

 

Misery Faucet

Although this product wasn’t in my house, I hated it so much I felt the need to write about it.  I came across this faucet at my parents house when I visited them over the weekend. The faucet has a handle that affords to be turned but when I turned it nothing happened. I proceeded to move the handle back and forth with no luck, I thought that I broke the faucet. I had to call my dad and ask him if the faucet was broken, and he chuckled and said “it’s sensor operated.” I waved my hand all around the faucet with no luck. It turned out that the sensor was behind the spout. There was no visible indicator of where the sensor would be located. To add more fuel to the fire, you have leave the faucet handle on the ON setting in order for water to actually come out. If you turn the handle to the OFF setting, then the sensor stops working. What is the point of that handle if running the water is operated by a sensor? There is also no feedback when you turn the faucet on (literally nothing happens). The faucet did not need the handle, it was an unnecessary constraint that made me believe the faucet was broken.

I would also like to note that my uncle (who happens to live next door to my parents) also has the same faucet but the sensor is located at the TOP of the faucet and not the back. So when I tried to use his faucet, I had to wave my hands around the object for 2 minutes before I figured out how to turn it on. I am not sure what brand designed these particular faucets but I know I am not buying them anytime soon. How can there be no indicators or visibility of where the sensor is!

Object that I love: Dretec Stainless Kettle (~$52 on Amazon)

I had recently purchased this kettle as I thought I would need some sort of water boiler in Japan. Since I love brewing coffee, I searched for a coffee kettle on Amazon and saw that this was the most reasonably priced. I love this kettle as it controls the amount of water I’d like to pour out and the boiling time is very fast. The kettle also turns off automatically if the water has reached boiling point. This seemingly ordinary object has several design principles including feedback, affordances, and logical constraints.

After filling the kettle with water and plugging it into the outlet, I attempted to activate/start the kettle by pushing down on the black handle on the bottom right of the picture. As soon as I pushed this handle down, the orange-red light turned on as a feedback to my actions. Sizzling sounds emerged as I turned on the kettle so even if I did not see the light, the feedback of the sound indicates that the water is starting to boil.

Several affordances can be observed such as the handle to hold the kettle as well as the handle to open the lid of the kettle. The handle with a large opening allows holding where a hand can fully grasp it. The lid handle affords pulling as it looks like a knob. The curvature of the knob makes it easier to pinch or grasp the lid handle.

The kettle also displays logical constraints by separating the metal from the black matte material. Logically metal will be hot when heated and it doesn’t make sense for the handles of the kettle to be hot when water must be poured hot. It would be unfortunate if we had to burn our hands every time for hot coffee. Showing the different materials allows its constraints to be shown to make sure only the black areas are to be touched and the metal area to be untouched.

Object that I hate: Kate Spade Handbag (~$170 or $400 for people who are willing to buy retail price)

While seemingly a harmless bag, there are several reasons why I hate this artifact. The leather look and neutral color of it symbolizes some sort of corporate professionalism, an aspect that is jarring from my casual work environment. As I prefer comfortable backpack straps, I find carrying this sort of handbag cumbersome. The handles do indeed afford holding or putting on a hook and although the spaces on the handles are large enough to fit an arm, the straps do put a strain on my shoulders after using it for a while.

Another thing that frustrates me with this bag is that I must first open the handles widely to make sure I can open the zipper to take something out or put something in.The zipper strap affords pulling in a horizontal direction but not until the handles are out of the way! Reaching for something is really difficult with this bag. Even though this bag can easily fit a 13″ MacBook Pro, the inner zipper that “closes” the bag makes it difficult to fit a laptop. I compare it to one of those model ships in bottles where one cannot fit the whole object in one piece unless it is broken down.

Disclaimer: I don’t normally provide examples, but I’ve been sharing this one for a while because it illustrates how you might work some of your new vocabulary into prose. And because it amuses me: admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve used this phone. I hope you find it illustrative and amusing too.

 

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An object I love is my STAEDTLER Mars technico 780 C lead holder. I have 4 of them. One I’ve had since 1996, and the rest I’ve acquired later. In each, I keep a different weight of lead: 6H, 4H, 2H and HB.

Affordances are subtle yet clear. The knurled end gives a tactile indication of where to best hold the lead holder; the clip keeps it secure in my pocket protector (ha, ha). As we expect, the end serves as a push-button to advance the lead. More unusually, it also serves as a sharpener, a possibility subtly suggested by its size (the same as the lead) and clarified by a diagram on the Staedtler website.

When the end is depressed, the lead advances. One problematic aspect of the design is that unlike most lead holders, the lead doesn’t advance incrementally. Instead, the push-button opens the jaws at the end that grip the lead, potentially allowing the lead to fall out of the pencil – an expensive error at 2 bucks a lead. Once learned, it becomes natural to guard against this with your other hand when advancing a lead, and the infinite adjustability permits the lead to be sharpened to either a sharp or a rounded tip, but perhaps a physical constraint could be introduced that prevents the lead from falling out completely.

There’s no way to automatically differentiate between the different weights of lead, as the only available colour is blue. I’ve added a label made of masking tape to each, which provides some visible feedback, but it’s a crude solution at best.

[Disclaimer: I’ll concede that I don’t actually use a lead-holder much anymore. So perhaps there’s some wistful nostalgia in my praise.]

 

An object I hate is my (now historic) Sony Ericsson W810i mobile phone. It seemed clever, at first: I’m impressed with the fact that the camera elements are mapped from a conventional camera. To operate the camera, you turn the phone sideways, which places the shutter button exactly where you expect it to be. By taking advantage of my existing camera interaction model, Sony has made it easier to take pictures. . . if only I could figure out how to turn the camera on.

There are also no physical constraints to keep me from pressing the buttons when the phone is in my pocket, and these affordances are way too small in the first place: I’m forever turning the walkman on when I want to answer a call, as the buttons for these functions are right beside each other.

Moreover, the audible feedback is excruciating: why can’t mobile phones come with a normal ring tone? Why does my phone have to sound like a cat? I know, I know, I can download new ring tones – perhaps one of you can show me how?