Plant-Watering Umbrella Stand - Casual water reuse...

We've already shown a few ways to reuse water on this blog - check out the toilet-top faucet, the brush & rinse toothbrush, heck, even the umbrella water gun. But this one's most similar to the plant-top dish drainer - in fact, it's practically the same thing. The strangely named "Take Care - Umbrella Stand" from What Else Design lets your wet umbrellas drip into a teeny tiny garden, so you're sustaining life instead of dealing with wet spots on the entryway floor. As a bonus, you get a tad more oxygen in the room - and I recall numerous studies showing that plantlife indoors increases morale, energy, mood, intelligence, sex appeal, and, I think, super-hero powers! Not a bad deal.
[via BigChief and Gizmodo]

"Are You Sure" versus "Undo"

From Aza Raskin at A List Apart comes a very insightful look at user interface element which is very common, but very commonly poorly designed: “Are You Sure?” dialog boxes in software. Take the example of deleting a file. When we humans get used to routines and then blaze through the things we’re familiar with – so when we delete that file and the dialog box comes up saying “are you sure?”, we know to expect it, we don’t really think about it, and we click “OK.” Only then does the realization hit us that, oh damn, I didn’t want to delete that file! But I already clicked OK! It’s done, it’s gone, nooooo! Ahem, dramatics aside, everyone’s probably experienced this kind of thing. What’s needed instead is an “undo” function – something that never bugs us in everyday usage, but is there the few times that we actually need it. Besides being more effective, this method is more efficient – the user isn’t bugged with dialog boxes and extra clicks that become a useless routine. It’s really a win-win in interface design, and yet it hasn’t even been universally adopted in a company known for excellent interface – as Raskin points out, Google’s Gmail makes wonderful use of “undo,” but Google Calendar still hits you with “are you sure?” every time. This is one of those little things that makes a real difference in usability – if only it can find its way into the stuff we use!
[via the product usability weblog]

Designing a Usable Work Day

I’ve long been an advocate that the principles of good usability design apply not only to products, but to processes and techniques that can be learned and applied in life. (See closet tricks one and two for some examples.) Here’s something in that vein that may help anyone who has a tough time starting work – whether that work is your job, a project, a paper, whatever. Matthew Moore, on his own blog, suggests leaving something simple, easy, or even enjoyable undone at the end of every work session, so that you can start with that thing the next time you begin working. Easing yourself into a working groove is much better than tackling a daunting challenge right from the start – and if you don’t leave something easy undone, you’re likely to do those easy things and leave the big scary stuff for “next time!” If you’re the kind of person who procrastinates in order to even begin working (for me, the sign was always that I’d clean my room instead of starting a paper) this could be just the thing to get you jump-started and, eventually, on to the big stuff.
[via LifeHacker]

Chairs and Tables Everywhere, but Not a Spot to Work...

From Iris Bell and through Mark Hurst’s Good Experience Blog comes this oh-so-depressing image of hotel guests trying to make the best of a bad situation. The situation: the fact that hotel lobbies don’t accommodate the traveling laptop worker (perhaps their most common kind of guest!), offering the choice of either table or a chair but almost never both. Why the poor usability design? There are a few possible culprits: I’d expect that the architectural/aesthetic “space” was the driving factor in choosing those big useless tables and comfy deskless side chairs, rather than any attention to the users’ activities. However, it’s also just possible that the lobby was designed more than 10 years ago, when working on a laptop wasn’t the modus operandi of the business traveler; instead, they just wanted comfy chairs without tables in which to read a paper or magazine. And finally, there’s the possibility that the hotel designed its lobby this way on purpose, to discourage people from doing work there and therefore destroying the ambiance for newly arriving guests. In the comments on Good Experience, several people note that at many hotels the wireless is free in the lobby, but costs extra in the guest rooms – so it turns out the no-desk design may just be to keep the masses paying for their room connections while being able to say “Free Wireless Internet!*”

"Cozy Suite" Airline Seats - Friendlier skies for everyone!

It's fun to ooh and ahh at the luxurious accommodations that the top 1% can enjoy ("First Class Cabin," anyone?) but more can be done for the goodness of humanity by making coach seats a little comfier. Thankfully, Thompson Solutions is on the right track with their "Cozy Suite," in which staggered seats offer both increased privacy and a place to rest your head other than the shoulder of the dude next to ya. It just makes sense, not to have peoples' squared shoulders taking up all the width of a narrow plane! This is just one of many cases where moving past the easy-to-engineer rectilinear default layout can open designers' eyes to what's really best for the user. I hope to see myself in one of these seats soon!
[via DVICE, CrunchGear, and Gizmodo]

Toothpaste Squeezers: Good 'til the last drop...

All right all you "green" people out there, it's time to put your money where your mouth is - or at least, where the stuff you use to clean your mouth is. Core77 Design Blog has a roundup of gadgets, gizmos, and techniques designed to help you squeeze every laste bit of toothpaste out of the tube before you toss it. They range from boring to tacky, and mostly use the same few mechanisms to get the job done - and none, to me, seems any more or less usable than the others. The exception may be the lone technique, as opposed to all the other physical products, in the bunch. If you're trying to be less wasteful in the first place, why buy one of these products that you don't really need? As for my "green" comment at the beginning of this post, surely I jest! It's unlikely that any of these products would be used enough before hitting the landfill themselves to make a net gain.
[via Make]

Cat Desk Bed - If you can't shoo'em, pamper'em...

Cats are mischievous, bold, independent creatures - they'll be wherever they damn well please, thank you, so deal with it. And having had a cat back at Mom & Dad's house in my adolescent years, I can vouch for this: cats, for some reasons, love computer keyboards. If you're working on a computer, that feline would love nothing better than to put a big furry stop to everything by plopping down on the keys - "what are you doing, and why aren't you petting me instead?" The usual response is to shoo him away, but it's often only a temporary solution that puts any exposed skin at risk of bites or scratches. So here we have a way to accommodate the cat's behavior instead of correcting it: the Kitt-In Box (ugh, that name) from The Refined Feline. It provides an even more comfortable surface than a keyboard - imagine that! - while allowing you to type, and allowing the cat to bask in your productive presence. Good design needs to know when to change users' (humans or pets) natural behaviors, and when to just accommodate them - and of course, when to know the difference. I think this one got it right.
[via Geekologie and Make]

Simplicity - Everyone wants it, few "get" it....

"Simplicity," and its cousin "clean design," are two of those design buzzwords that users (and marketers) love to ask for - but accomplishing simplicity is itself not all that simple! A product simplified without careful consideration for usability becomes enragingly difficult to use - it either cripples the power of the product, or forces the user into an unintuitive (or merely not to the user's liking) flow of operations. Two companies that are just plain good at making things usably simple are Apple and Google - and Eric Burke of "It's Just a Bunch of Stuff that Happens" makes an excellent recognition of this with his comic at left. You'll have to click the comic to get the final panel, since I don't want to steal the guy's thunder...
[via The Product Usability Weblog]

Fast Food - Appetizing ads, revolting reality...

On his quirky blog The West Virginia Surf Report, Jeff Kay posts some pretty amazing comparison photos between what's shown in fast food advertising and what's actually delivered. I think we've all known about this dramatic rift, deep down, all along - so why do we keep going back for more? I can only say that when you actually get the food, it's not about the looks, it's about the taste - the gooey, cheesy, beefy, chickeny, crispy, greasy taste. And I have no doubt that the ugliest of Jeff's real-world photos is still able to deliver that - with a side of reduced life expectancy...
[via Good Experience]

Another Closet Trick - Avoid overwearing clothes...

This blog is no stranger to closet-related posts - there's the Smart Closet for the woefully unfashionable, and the process-as-product technique to find clothes you never wear. This one is another technique, and a well-designed one which could really help people who need it. Susan Shellberg writes on RealSimple: "I reorganized my clothes closet so that all outfits are grouped together. I am not a morning person, and I do not like standing around, naked and cold, trying to decide what to wear. I just grab the first outfit on the right side and put it on. At the end of the day, I hang the clothes up on the left side. This way, all my clothes are rotated, so I wear them all and never overwear my favorites." She's right, that for non-morning people, trying to make a decision just after waking up which involves fashion judgment and a memory task is no picnic. This technique can take your brain out of the process - leaving it free to, you know, make sure you put everything on right-side-out and not backwards. Now where's my coffee...?
[via Lifehacker]

Kiddo Kidkeeper - Better than a leash, more like an electric fence...

I've always thought those child leashes were at least a bit demeaning (to both the kid and the parent), but what's one to do with a mischievous toddler? Well, here's something just a bit better - the Kiddo Kidkeeper, which, to continue the dog analogy, is an electric fence instead of a leash. The parent can set a certain range for the kid to roam, past which an alarm will sound so mom or dad knows to round'em up. The maker's site is thoughtful enough to point out that "the Kiddo can also be used to monitor adults (those with Alzheimer's, for instance), valuable property, or pets." Hmm, I think we're back in "demeaning" territory here...
[via Gizmag, OhGizmo, Store4Kids, and Gizmodo]

Usable Technology - Paint both sides at once...

New technologies often need some time and a few failed tries before becoming easily, effortlessly usable - but this one seems like it's ready right out of the gate. Hammerite's Metalmaster Electrostatic Paint Gun paints both sides of a metal object at the same time, by using an electrode to make the object actually attract the paint particles like a magnet. No question about it, that's just plain easier than any other way to paint something. There are limitations, of course - the object does have to be metal, and you have to use special paint - but this one's a winner!
[via T3 and Gizmodo]

In-Store Product Displays - Look, but don't touch...

User experience designer Brian Haggerty writes an excellent post on his blog, Losing Context, about the sad state of in-store product demos. Specifically, many of the devices that we'd like to try out by interacting with, especially mobile ones where how the thing feels in your hand is a factor, are so locked down by security measures that they can't be properly experienced. His photo, at left, of a Zune "display" tells the whole story. The article is definitely worth a read, but for the lazy, I'll paraphrase some of the main points:

-Aside from preventing interaction, ugly anti-theft displays actually make the product itself less attractive, more bulky, even stand-offish.

-In-store displays of computers usually have no internet connection, preventing potential buyers from testing a very common use prior to buying.

-Cell phone "demos" are often non-working appearance models, which don't accurately represent the weight of the device, the screen quality, and of course, the user interface.

-The light at the end of the tunnel: Apple. Apple stores let users interact with products that are fully functional and not encumbered by over-the-top security measures. Score one for Cupertino!

[via the product usability weblog]

AquaClimb - Climbing walls with splashy falls...

Some activities can be as much fun in the pool as on dry land, like volleyball and basketball. But a select few are turning out to be better in the water; first there was the no-cleanup-needed Pool Pong (the best drinking game idea this side of dry), and now the AquaClimb poolside climbing wall. No ropes or harnesses are needed, 'cuz you'll just fall safely back into the water. Sure, climbing might be a little tricky with wet, slippery hands, but try to see that as a challenge. That, and that group of kids who are probably about to start yanking your leg off the wall just to see you fall...
[via Born Rich and Gizmodo]

Moto Razr - Just style, not substance...

A couple of good reads about product design in the cellphone world are "Hoping to Make Phone Buyers Flip" in the New York Times, and Mark Hurst's additional comments on his Good Experience Blog. One of the most interesting cases from both articles is the Motorola Razr, which was hugely popular for a while, then dropped out of favor astoundingly quickly. Mark Hurst points out why: "the Razr was a fashion statement, not a usable device." It's true that the Razr (along with most Motorola phones) had a horrible user interface - and also true that when it came out, it was dead sexy. But while usability lasts, fashion is flaky - and once the Razr was no longer the flavor of the month, there was nothing left. The iPhone, the other inevitable example of cell phone design, has both - it's got the good looks, but also the delightful user interface to back it up once those looks lose their luster. From the NYT article, it looks like other phone makers are starting to get the idea too - and it's about time!

"Bonus" vs "Rebate" - What's in a name?

To answer the question in this post's title, a lot, apparently, is in a name. Nicholas Eply, professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, writes in a New York Times op-ed that people are much more likely to spend cash windfalls described as "bonuses" than identical ones described as "rebates." Interesting, sure, but is there a real-world application for this discovery? As it happens, an upcoming economic stimulus package will be distributing hundreds of dollars to American taxpayers; the intention is that we'll spend it, thereby jump-starting the stalling economy. The problem is that this distribution is being called a "rebate" everywhere it's talked about, rather than a "bonus" - and apparently the whole thing won't work if people save the money instead of spending it. So it turns out that even governmental actions like this are subject to the rules of product design - you've gotta know how to play to the user's mind!
[via Good Experience]

"Virtual" Cane for the Blind...

Visually impaired people have developed a great number of very effective techniques to replace the sense of vision in everyday life, but there's still certainly room for improvement. The best-known tool is probably the cane with which they scan the area around them for obstacles, walls, changes in floor, and so on - and designer Jin Woo Han may just have one-upped it. He's conceptualized a virtual wand, which senses objects in the direction it's pointed and indicates the distance to the user by different levels of vibration. I'm no expert on the techniques used by the blind with their wands, so it's possible that there's some reason why this just won't work - but to this layperson, it seems like more information (distance) from a more compact and convenient tool. Very nice!
[via OhGizmo and Engadget]

Moldable Mouse - Do-it-yourself ergonomics...

Computer mice designs try pretty hard to be ergonomic - a quick look at what's out there will show any number of swoopy, curvy, organic shapes intended to please the hand. But it's tough to be all things to all people, especially when users have vastly different hand sizes and different preferences for how to hold the mouse - not to mention lefties versus righties. So a design team at Lite-On decided to let users take mouse ergonomics into their own hands (ha!) with the Moldable Mouse, which allows users mold whatever shape they want out of lightweight modeling clay. If you want something done right - and if "right" means to your preferences and particular hand size - do it yourself!
[via Core77 and Make]

Phantom Keystroker - Innovation and technology, used for evil...

When geeks go to war with each other, things could sure get ugly - and this is one of the weapons that could make it happen. That unassuming little piece of electronic mischief is the Phantom Keystroker from ThinkGeek, which, when plugged into a computer's USB port, causes the mouse cursor to periodically twitch around and random keystrokes to be "typed" whenever it feels like it. The amount of time between incidents is adjustable; a true evil genius would set it infrequently enough that the victim wouldn't know if something's really wrong or if they're just going crazy. I think I'll be nice to all the geeks I know. Yeah, just to be safe...
[via Crave]

ZipZip - Build your own sofa, or whatever...

For those who never wanted to, you know, "leave college" or "buy real furniture," here's a little something for you (er, us). ZipZip from Pling Collection are cushions that zip together in any number of ways to make pretty much whatever your floor-lounging self might want. Want some semblance of a regular sofa? You got it. Want a lounge-chair kinda thing? No problem. Want to just make a whole continuous floor of cushion? Me too! This is a lifestyle I could really get down with.
[via Apartment Therapy and Gizmodo]

Touchscreen Finger Ring... Why?

While it's not the most dignity-sucking finger accessory out there, it's certainly a close second: the TAD is an accessory intended to help with the use of a touchscreen, or perhaps tiny (ahem, "unpressable?") buttons. You slip one of those god-awful rubber rings around your finger, with one of the swappable attachments fitted to it, and you now have a sharper point or smaller nub with which to do your business. The manufacturer claims that this "exciting" and "unique" piece of junk will "protect long nails" and "increase accuracy and ease of use with all touch-screen products." I, on the other hand, claim that it's pointless (while only one of the attachments has a point, ha ha). My evidence: any touchscreen intended for such accurate use already includes a stylus; other touchscreens are meant to be touched with the tip of the finger rather than the pad of the finger from which the attachment protrudes; and where are we supposed to keep this thing stashed when not in use, anyway? Keep your head on straight, keep your money, and keep your dignity!
[via Register Hardware and Gizmodo]

WiFi-Finding Laptop Bags - The right info in the right place...

Finding a hotspot to get your internet fix is a regular task for road warriors, and there's no shortage of wifi detectors to help with the task - from no-nonsense pocketable models to the more ridiculous wifi detector shirt. But here, we've got a decent marriage of wifi-detecting function and the time and place it would be needed - by putting the detector on your laptop bag. Soyntech makes a whole series of these bags, with the detector showing wifi status right on the outside of the bag, so you know whether or not you should be busting out the computer. It's the right info at the right place and time to be useful, and you don't even have to think about bringing along an extra gadget; very, very usable!
[via Journal du Geek, Geek Alerts, and Gizmodo]