Daily Things from the Designer’s eye
how things will look different from in designers eye
Don Norman has excellently written about the designs in our everyday life in his book. if you ever get the time and wanted to know about the designs of the things around you, this might be the one for you.
As a Design student and as an upcoming designer, these are the things from my point of view.
Definition:
What is DESIGN?
When it comes to design, Some people say that “design is something that looks appealing to the eye and tries to complete the task that is made for”.While some other people say that “design is a decorative thing that looks appealing”.Well neither of them is wrong. According to me, “design is a visual representation of the thoughts and ideas of a designer, that is designed to serve its purpose”.
Observation:
Have you ever stopped for a moment and observed the world around you?
Now, design is not something that is only used in digital products, Designs are something that is started from an early man’s age. There are many things around us or things that we use on regular basis, some are spectacularly designed while some other things are not simply good designs. Bad designs don’t necessarily mean bad, it might be new to the user or it just causes some discomfort to the user.
Here are some of the examples of good and bad designs in my daily life and things that I use regularly and I am sure that some of these things are also in your everyday life too.
1.Decorative or outdoor string lights
Decoration lights are small series of lights that are multi-colored and used for decoration. Every one of us at least once used those as decoration lights for birthdays or any other occasion. While I am using these, the biggest problem I faced with them is getting tangled easily. No matter how careful I am, they got tangled and I think many of you have also faced this issue..!. since these are connected in series(current passes from one light to its next light) if one of the lights gets damaged, then the lights that are ahead of the damaged one will not glow.
So due to this discomfort, I think this is a BAD design.
2.Round junction box or extension board.
As the usage of electronic gadgets has increased drastically, we all know about a junction box, and at least once we might have used it in our life. These are used to plug in multiple devices at a time. Some of the junction boxes are straight while others are round. When it comes to round boxes, even though there are multiple ports, I cannot simply plugin all at once, due to the minimal gap between the ports. My unit has three ports, but I cannot plugin three chargers at once.
Since it doesn't fulfill its purpose completely, I would consider this as a BAD design.
3.Fevistick or glue sticks.
It is mostly used by children, students, and designers, no matter which age you are, you might have come across this thing and feel comfortable with this stick. Its design is so simple, you can carry it in your pocket without any problem and it does complete its purpose with minimal disturbance. It is hassle-free to use, there are many wet types of glue which makes our hand sticky and it takes time to dry.
Since it does complete its purpose with a simple design, I think this is a GOOD design.
4.shuttlecock retail box
Shuttle badminton is a worldwide played game and its design is so simple too. Most of us have played it or seen it at least once. Every one of us who played it would have faced this issue of taking a new cock from its box. Whenever I wanted a new cock, I must try at least five to six times to open the lid of the box. And it is visually confusing too, I must check at least two times to know the correct side of the box. They should have tried to add a small clip or a handle to pull the lid out easily and it makes the user understand visually.
According to me it does not fulfill its purpose completely and even visually it's confusing, so I consider this as a BAD design.
5. Doors without handles
When it comes to houses, most of them use a wooden door. There are some wooden doors without handles. And I am sure you must have seen it too. It doesn't cause any trouble while closing it, while opening it, it causes some trouble. I have seen many faces like me that are facing this issue.
So due to the discomforts that I face with this design, according to me, I think this is a bad design.
6.Wireless mouse
As we know the mouse is a part of a computer. Earlier it was wired and attached to the system. As the technology improved and the Bluetooth came into the picture even the mouse has become wireless. It serves its purpose completely without any discomforts. It is visually simple too. I personally never faced any issue with the design and neither of the person I know faced an issue with this design.
Since it completes its task without any issue, I would consider this a GREAT design.
7. Samsung smart remote
As per the global shipments, Samsung TVs have stood out from the crowd due to their excellent displays and their service. As they are smart TVs, they come with their own set of accessories, and a smart remote is one of them and I lost it. Samsung has provided an option to users who lost their smart remote to control their smart tv’s with an application called smart things(tv and phone have to be connected with the same wifi), as all of the options work flawlessly, while the tv is in an off state, it will take approx 5–10 min to on through smart things app. It's the issue with connectivity with all TVs that work with the smart things app.
Since it is not serving its purpose completely, I would consider this as a BAD design
8.lock and key
While we leave our house, we usually lock the door with a lock. With just one click it does its purpose. It is strong and compact, but still, get’s the job done. It doesn’t need much effort to complete its purpose. And many of us won't notice how well it is designed.
Since it does complete its job with ease and for its compactness, I think this is a GOOD design in all aspects.
9.Spoons and forks
I am sure, u must have eaten with a spoon at least once but have you ever noticed its design science?. Spoons and forks are simple and compact things that are used for eating in every house and hotel. They serve their purpose with minimum to no issues. They are easy to clean and compact to carry.
considering their usability criteria and the amount of maintenance it takes, I would consider this as a GREAT design.
10.dual-mode audio feature.
If you have ever tried to watch a film or stream music with your sibling or with you’re favorite person, then I think you might have faced this issue. When two people wanted to listen to music or watch a movie from one device, they must compromise on comforts and audio experience, until the dual-mode audio feature kicked in. It allows connecting one wired and one wireless earphone to the same device and also allows to stream the same music in both the earphones simultaneously. This enhances the audio experience quite a bit for people who wanted to watch or stream music from the same device. When I tried this feature it worked flawlessly.
Since it makes things more comfortable to some set of users, without causing discomfort to others, I think it is a GOOD design.
Conclusion:
These are some of the good and bad designs in my everyday life and I am sure that some of these are also in your daily life too. Here the bad designs are not particularly bad, due to the discomfort I faced while using these, I have considered them as a bad design for myself, it might not a bad design for you. There are many other designs that we have never noticed till now. If you wanted to more about the designs of things around us in everyday life you can always refer to the book “the design of everyday things” by Don noman.
