
A bad design is a good reminder - revorad
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2719-a-bad-design-is-a-good-reminder
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jasonfried
Update... The architect just called and explained what happened. It appears
the custom kickplate at the bottom is covering up the light that reflects off
the floor when the machine is on. It was supposed to have been notched out,
but that detail was missed by the millworker. No problem – it’ll all be taken
care of.

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acgourley
I still feel as if a small red dot on the floor isn't enough warning that
"this door will get you wet". Especially for guests. It should lock or do a
better job turning off quickly as it is opened.

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dmazin
It's definitely not a small dot: <http://imgur.com/iMd4x>. That is large and
bright enough to be noticeable, and anyone should be able to tell that that
means "ON".

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carbocation
It would be instructive to see an actual image, rather than an illustration.

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dmazin
Ask JF.

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carbocation
Maybe he can give us a follow-up after his gets fixed? =)

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asnyder
Every time I read something like this I think about Donald Norman's "The
Design of Everyday Things", although it was first published in the 80s, we
have yet to fully learn its lessons.

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jskopek
Every time I pull on a door handle when I should be pushing, I think of that
book. Fantastic read.

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RyanMcGreal
Better design: if I open my dishwasher while it's running, the interior action
immediately stops and water has never splashed out.

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naner
I have a silent dishwasher that I sometimes mistakenly open and this is how it
responds. Everything cuts off immediately.

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brianmwang
This hits home for me since I just finished reading The Design of Everyday
Things. The two improvements that Jason suggests can be traced back to some
core design principles that Donald Norman lays out in his book:

1\. An indicator to inform the user of the object's current state. Based on
the comments in the original post, it seems that the dishwasher actually does
have an indicator light but for some reason it was accidentally covered up.

2\. A forcing function, which is meant to constrain user actions in order to
prevent error and/or guide the user toward the intended behavior.

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parbo
The integrated dishwasher I installed in my previous apartment had a red light
shining down on the floor when it was on. The only bad part was that it didn't
turn into a green light when it was done. Otherwise, pretty much perfect.

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rimantas
First thing that come to my mind after reading that blog post. I guess that
kind of light is pretty standard for dishwashers.

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ameyamk
this remind me of a glass door we had. Glass was so clean, and there was no
handle, people often used to hit either on the wrong side, or worse used to
think there is no door and hit into the glass as they walk.

~~~
patio11
There is a map in Nagoya station in an alcove. The map is a work of art, so
they put a glass pane across the alcove. Unfortunately, this compromises the
art's utility as a map, and many travelers (particularly foreigners) don't
realize that it is ten feet from the information desk that has real maps. This
led to a lot of people leaning into the alcove to see the detail on the map,
causing lots of head banging on the glass.

They eventually fixed this by a ranging for an artistic arrangement of dots on
the glass, which appear suspended in air over the alcove and clue people in
that there is glass. The new problem? People try to touch the dots, so the
glass is now smudgy for most of the day, which predictably drives the janitors
nuts.

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trotsky
When did a blank wall of brushed aluminum cabinets become accepted as
aesthetically pleasing outside of banker's penthouses in Manhattan? What are
you planning on doing, killing a hooker in there?

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Locke1689
Minimalist design: I'm a fan.

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trotsky
Up next, on our tour of faaaaaaabulous homes, we have the Army's biowarfare
lab at Fort Detrick...

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LaGrange
That's not good design, that's just the esthetics.

It's easy to make a steel plate with a handle, but design should incorporate
usability (notification LED, for example) and safety (locking mechanism).
Without those it's just pretty bad design.

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Flankk
The article says it is bad design. You have just repeated what the article
said. Furthermore, I don't think good aesthetics is easy at all.

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code_duck
Definitely a good reminder to not buy a dishwasher that look s identical to
the cabinet next to it, yes.

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napierzaza
Okay, if you purchase and keep around a machine that sprays you with hot soapy
water... you are a design snob. Or, more likely, you're just using something
as an extended metaphor. Can you REALLY not know when it's on? Or is it just
for the purposes of this article. They love to take literary liberties at
37Signals. I can imagine it happening a few times, but it's likely there is
some indication that it's on and a slight bit of attention paid to that keeps
you from making the same mistake.

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dpcan
Just leaving your hand on the handle for another 2 seconds would probably feel
warm or a very slight vibration.

I'm having a guilty-pleasure chuckle right now because the "kings" of UI are
getting sloshed with soapy water because of a bad design decision :)

~~~
iamdave
I'm with the both of you. It might be an unfortunately uninformative design,
that doesn't mean you have to rely 100% on design to accept a little bit of
responsible attention to detail and feel the door and check for movement
inside to tell you the thing is still running.

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irondavycole
Their criticism stems more from the "don't make me think" philosophy. If
you're quickly fetching something from the kitchen, it's totally
understandable if your mind is elsewhere. It's not so much that it's
_impossible_ to know if it's on, it's that it could be much, much more
obvious.

This is analogous to a row of unlabeled buttons that only show their meaning
on hover. Sure, if the user stopped for a moment and surveyed the scene, it
would be possible to know what everything does. But to what end? There are no
benefits and the cost is high: you interrupt the user's train of thought. More
on that:

[http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/help-your-train-of-
thought-i...](http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/help-your-train-of-thought-is-
sacred/)

