Sunday, June 17, 2012
Take advantage of the hand
Remote controls for TVs, DVRs, and DVD player are often used in low light. Typically, I like to watch movies in a darkened room. This means that a well-designed remote is one that provides non-visual cues. See the picture below. Which is the better shape? The one on the right; it widens at the top. By feel alone, one can position the remote in one's hand correctly.
Form obliterates function
The reigning chic in kitchens seems to be large stainless steel panels. That's OK, I like the look myself. But what happens when the tyranny of cool won't accommodate a blemish? You get an appliance that is very annoying to use.
Look at the beautiful, sleek, clean, and simple front panel to a KitchenAid dishwasher - marred only by the brand name (of course) and (heaven forbid a useful visible object) a handle - and ask yourself the question: "Is it on?"
I answer that question routinely, by accidentally opening the machine up in the middle of a cycle and uttering a string of unmentionables.
To start the dishwasher one opens the door, pushes the start button on the control panel that is only visible when open, and closes the door.
Is it on? How soon will it be done? The best you can do is bend to the height of dishwasher and look for LED lights in the 1 inch gap between the top of the door and the underside of the counter. Information that should be instantaneously conveyed requires body contortions and the interpretation of lights whose labels are, at that angle, invisible.
Many years ago I visited a trendy Manhattan night spot. I've long forgotten the name but not the bathroom, which was the height of hip. Everything was hidden - urinals, the doors to stalls, spigots (this was long before hands-free faucets). It may have been a beautiful, stylish room but what is the most important thing about a bathroom?
"USING THE BATHROOM" or possibly "USING THE BATHROOM"
Solving puzzles is not what you want to be doing when feeling the call of nature.
Staring at a blank door is not what you want to be doing when wondering if your dishwasher is still running.
I answer that question routinely, by accidentally opening the machine up in the middle of a cycle and uttering a string of unmentionables.
To start the dishwasher one opens the door, pushes the start button on the control panel that is only visible when open, and closes the door.
Is it on? How soon will it be done? The best you can do is bend to the height of dishwasher and look for LED lights in the 1 inch gap between the top of the door and the underside of the counter. Information that should be instantaneously conveyed requires body contortions and the interpretation of lights whose labels are, at that angle, invisible.
Many years ago I visited a trendy Manhattan night spot. I've long forgotten the name but not the bathroom, which was the height of hip. Everything was hidden - urinals, the doors to stalls, spigots (this was long before hands-free faucets). It may have been a beautiful, stylish room but what is the most important thing about a bathroom?
"USING THE BATHROOM" or possibly "USING THE BATHROOM"
Solving puzzles is not what you want to be doing when feeling the call of nature.
Staring at a blank door is not what you want to be doing when wondering if your dishwasher is still running.
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